Autumn Appreciated

The turkey is all eaten (thanks to a turkey pot pie I whipped up and Sam devoured), the leaves have all fallen, the Christmas decorations are up (in one of our most stress-free years ever!), snow is in the forecast (what??), and our thoughts have turned toward a manger.

But I cannot say goodbye to my favorite season without one last look at another fall that has all but gone. It seems I wait the whole year in anticipation of these few glorious weeks when the shadows grow longer, the days grow shorter, and nature brilliantly screams the glory of God. And before I know it, another autumn is only a memory. I'm sure its brevity adds to my fondness for it. It's the things which slip through our fingers so easily that we wish we could hold onto the most.

So, once more, I remember the crunching of leaves, the gentle breeze, and the inviting crispness in the air. I am thankful for more sweet memories, for dimpled smiles, for swinging bats, for leaves tossed in the air, and for arms full of pumpkins. I am amazed that somehow it is in death that the essence of life is appreciated and understood.