Because He is God: So long sweet summer, I fell into you now you're gracefully falling away

Yeah that's right. I'm happy to say that this morning felt like the first real day of fall. I had to put a blanket over me while I watched GMA before work AND...here it is folks...I used the heater on my morning drive. Big day. It gave off that slightly musty smell - you know the one. When the heater hasn't been used in so long and it kind of blows dust everywhere and just reeks of un-use. It's gross, but wonderful in a way to me.

So something really strange and surreal happened last night...

But let me preface this story by explaining how Dan and I have lived for the past three years. We've resided in the same cozy apartment since our wedding day in July of 2007. In those three years, we've seen fellow Brookmeadow residents come and go. We've witnessed countless moving trucks being loaded, and rejoiced in seeing the rowdy folks leave and mourned at the loss of quiet strangers who never bothered us - those who we came to know only by nicknames. Like Hippie Neighbor, Bakers on the 2nd Floor and most of all, Phil. Ah, Phil. We only discovered, after he'd moved, that his real name was Matt. But one day, after we'd been married about three months, there were a few police cars in the parking lot and they saw us watching them from our sliding door. They came to our door, knocked, and asked if we knew a "Phil" who drove a green, beat-up car that had a tire missing. We'd seen "Matt" driving it before, so assumed, for 2 years, that this man's name was Phil. We were wrong and when we found out, it rocked us to the core. ANYWAY...all of that to say that we live very privately, our fellow occupants of 144 never exchanging hello's or sharing introductions - maybe just a friendly smile as we all pass on the stairs.

Last night, all of this changed.

I got home from work at the normal time, 5:15 - 5:30. I wanted to quickly get a load of laundry started, so I jetted back out to the laundry room. As I was loading laundry, I heard a man and young woman walking up the stairs talking. I assumed they were together, just chit-chatting while getting home from work at the same time. So they got to the landing where all four doors branch off and stayed there, talking about apartment gossip. I heard the man telling some dramatic story of calling the police on somebody being really loud and disturbing. I assumed he was talking about the temperamental woman who lives below us who has a sketchy (at best) relationship with her boyfriend who frequents the place. I listened and listened, and couldn't help myself any longer.

I stuck my head into the hallway and said, "I couldn't help but overhear...are you talking about apartment 6?" The man said no, but began to repeat the story he was telling the other lady. I all-of-a-sudden found myself wrapped up in a conversation with two of my neighbors.

(Side note - the story was CRAZY. In a nutshell, it involves a first-floor man beating his girlfriend who was yelling for help at 3:00am two Saturday's ago. The was smashing beer bottles and apparently they were doing something in the third floor laundry room. MAN! Be cool! People do LAUNDRY in there. SICK! Anyway, the man telling the story and his girlfriend got involved, called the police, gave a statement to them, etc. Turns out, one of the guys was wanted to the city police and the other was wanted by the F. B. I. [Say those letters deliberately and separately, leaving spaces between them.] Somehow...Dan and I slept through all of this.)

So it's me, this man and this lady all sharing grievances about apartment living. Dan got home from work and joined the conversation. THEN, as a circumstance would have it, the fourth third-floorer got home from work and joined us! It was the five of us, talking about where we work, where we're from, who we hate in the apartment...just having a grand old time.

I find it hilarious that after three years of never speaking to anyone in our apartment complex, one Wednesday afternoon could bring a floor together with a spirit of camaraderie and friendliness. It's sad that that had to happen mere months before we plan on moving out. I told Dan that and he said, "At least now maybe they'll talk to us and see why we're leaving, tell us goodbye and wish us well...instead of like what we do - watching people load trucks from the window and wonder which apartment is vacant."

Who knew? Mike, Ryan and Vanessa are our neighbors and they're all superbly delightful people. (Although they're not quite our demographic. I have a feeling that we wouldn't have relationships with them unless we were forced to live in a close area like we are. I realized this when Mike closed the conversation by telling us that his "buddy" can hook us up with stolen cable for a mere $50. Thanks Mike, but we'll pass. We appreciate the gesture, though.)

Now...Labor Day...

Friday: Me and Dan left work early and drove along the Erie coast for 5 1/2 hours, through Cleveland and arrived in Ashtabula, OH at around 8:15. It was cold and poured rain the whole night. I slept awful in the Savaet's camper. On the up-side, we met Lisa, Jay's girlfriend and she's a gem.

Saturday: We woke up and had homemade blueberry pancakes. We visited with each other, donned in hooded sweatshirts and sweatpants. We decided to take a trip to the beach and check out the waves. OH. MY. GOSH. It was like the ocean! I've literally never in my life experienced wind as strong as on that day. Later on, Dave and Janea showed up, followed by Ryan, Anne and baby Brennan. Supper that night was the big get-together to close the summer. Unbelievable food - in quantity and quality. We all ate too much and I almost gagged when I watched Jay eat a piece of pumpkin cheesecake that was drenched in watermelon juice. Yeah...just think about it.

Sunday: I decided it was time to shower. (Don't judge me. We were camping.) We had ginormous breakfast of french toast, bacon, hashbrowns, eggs...I eat better with the Savaets camping than I do on my own at home. Seriously. We went for a walk and decided to brave the beach, since on Saturday, the water was much warmer than the air temperature. On Sunday...not so much. It was windy, and FA-REEZING. Idiots Dan, Jay and Lisa (sorry Lisa) went "swimming" for about five minutes. Dan, the adventurer that he is, ran into the water with gusto and dove head first into a wave.

Oh! We also got to see and drive the new, unreleased Chevy Volt! Jay and Lisa are the GM Power Couple and Lisa got to bring a test vehicle with her. Thanks for letting us drive it, you guys...I especially enjoyed the music selection for the last few moments of my test drive :)

Now...pictures...

Chevy Volt