Fall is my favorite season of the year. I get a sensation of a clean washing of the atmosphere as the first cool, damp, dew-filled mornings of fall awaken all my senses. The glorious colors of the forest foliage almost make my eyes throb. It is a time of crisp sounds such as the breaking of leaves, and the scurrying steps of squirrels rushing to hide their store of nuts. My lungs seem to breathe more deeply than at other times of the year. Thus, I begin each day of fall thinking, “It’s a great day to be alive!”
My memories of driving to Colorado and New Mexico just to view the golden colors of the Aspen leaves are embedded deeply in my mind. The joyful delight of our children playing with our dog in huge piles of fallen leaves out in the Wichita Mountains comes to my mind every time we drive out through this beautiful area of our state. I remember bon fires with young people who were part of our youth groups; a memory stirs when the smell of smoke drifts out of chimneys on cool fall mornings.
When I reached my 50th birthday, I felt that I was beginning the autumn of my life. I had a new sense of confidence since I had weathered the storms of life through a half-century. I also began to notice that women seem to be at their most beautiful stage of life. An excellent example of this would be how much more beautiful Sophia Loren became at this stage of her life. It is akin to the glorious coloring of the trees in fall. Now that I am in my seventies, I begin to be aware of the coming season of winter. I find my steps a little more carefully taken. I am more cognizant of the need to “slow down and smell the roses.” Just this morning in my Sunday School lesson, I read one of my favorite quotes: “ I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” – Stephen Grellet
What more could I say?
- Kay