Another Fall

Fall is upon us once again. It's always so sad for me to see summer slip away. I love the fall colors as much as anyone and I even enjoy the crisp nights that melt into warm early fall days. If only winter didn't follow close behind.......gaaahhhhh! Anyway, I was able to slip in one more boat day on Coeur d'Alene with the Timberview staff today. The weather was amazing and the lake was gorgeous. A delightful if unproductive day!

Alex is settled into his dorm room at Eastern and started classes today. His roommate, Ryan, is from Castle Rock, WA (north of Portland) and is an accounting major and soccer player. I like to call him the "athletic geek", but really he is a nice kid and he and Alex will get along fine. He is a sophomore and has been very helpful in filling Alex in on what he should attend and what he can pass on with all the orientation activities. Ryan's mom works at a carpet store, so the first thing the boys did was wall-to-wall carpet their room with carpet squares. They also have a small fridge and freezer, as well as a microwave, so they can feed their perpetual appetites. Alex tells me he thinks his classes will be easy. He has a math class, a humanities and a history. The math is an intermediate algebra, so that should be easy for him; the humanities is Chicano Studies (they put him in there because of his three years of Spanish) and a U.S. History. Considering he did U.S. History his junior year, and A.P. Government last year, that should be pretty easy, too. Not a bad way to start his first quarter. As long as he doesn't get too busy being social or playing the new Halo 3 ( Xbox 360 video game - for those who are game players) with his roommate, he should do well.

For some reason recently, I have been observing people more closely and find it amazing how many people jump to tell you all about themselves or their jobs or their kids without ever asking about you or yours. Have we become so self-absorbed (or perhaps so insecure?) that we really don't care about other people and what is important to them? WOW.....sad commentary on how far we have come from the way Jesus lived. Reminder to self - make sure to ask people what's going on in their lives and really listen when they answer. Reminder to parents - don't indulge your kids so much that they become completely self-focused and unconcerned about others. I see soooooo many kids now that have no manners, no courtesy, no caring about how what they do affects those around them. I pray I have taught mine better.

Well, so much for my ramblings. Perhaps I have too much time to think these days......