7:01 p.m. | 2002-08-31 The Passing of Summer. �One must also accept that one has �uncreative� moments. The more honestly one can accept that, the quicker these moments will pass. One must have the courage to call a halt, to feel empty and discouraged.� ~ Etty Hillesum Ah so. That�s why I�ve been bitchy lately. I�m having an uncreative moment and need to call a halt in my life. I forgot that my birthday, followed so quickly by Labor Day, is one of the first signals that Fall is imminent. The subsequent changes in the season, weather, light, and time all throw my body into a tailspin. The pain increases, things become more difficult to deal with and I get spontaneous nosebleeds, of all things. Last year, I started a new tradition in my household. I do �Fall Cleaning�. This event resembles �Spring Cleaning� except, well, I do it in the Fall. Weetabix is a quicker study than I and already has this tradition going on. I have to say that it does wonders for me. Now I need to tackle all the stuff I put off doing in the Summer because I was reveling in my better state of health. Plus in the Summer, I spend more time outside than inside so it�s easier to ignore the state of affairs in my household. During the cold season, I spend more time inside and frankly, my house needs a thorough cleaning before I can be holed up in it comfortably. Need to tackle the spider webs, floors and closets, at the very least. (I'm still in denial about my office. One step at a time and all.) I need to halt and go back to the basics for a bit. To that end, I�ve just been a whirlwind of activity today � albeit my version of a whirlwind isn�t what it used to be. You can all breathe easier now since I actually transplanted my ficus into a huge, heavy, terracotta pot. (Okay, you probably weren�t worrying about that, but I feel better now.) Plus I bought a new mop. Not exciting in and of itself, but I actually remembered that I needed a new one right when I was in a store that had some. (It gets even better � I also bought a new battery for my smoke alarm which I�ve needed for a couple of weeks but had also forgotten about.) Then I visited the grocery store, did some much-needed pruning out back and I�ve actually started tackling the whole cleaning thing. In my world, Labor Day Weekend is just that. It�s all about labor. See this would be an �uncreative� moment. Nothing exciting about this entry. I�m just back to the basics. So don�t be anticipating any thrilling entries anytime soon. Not that you ever have. I�m just saying. ** On a more exciting note, there�s another new baby in the �hood. A baby boy born yesterday. On my birthday no less. A couple of new babies and many bleary-eyed, first-time parents are now bumbling about in the neighborhood. I�m guessing that �Labor Day Weekend� now has a new significance for these particular parents. ** Gotta go do some more boring chores. Hope you�re all having a great weekend! your thoughts? seed flower