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This is easily my favorite time of year. While I love the snow and find it beautiful, autumn is more comfortable to be outdoors and enjoying the remarkable show Mother Nature treats us with. Don't get me wrong, spring flowers are lovely and the deeper more lush blooms of summer are equally entrancing. However, there is something about autumn.
It's rarely too hot to breathe, and most people find it comfortable to wander about in a sweatshirt and jeans. Apples are ripe, the winter pears soon to be, and pumpkins have grown huge (much to the children's and young-at-heart's delight!). School is back in session, and all is right in most people's reality.
As I was driving home from work this morning, I paused along the expressway and simply took a deep breath. It was a feast for all of my senses. With a loving brush, the earth has painted her tallest children, the trees, in radiant vibrant shades of riotous color. How incredibly beautiful it is today.
Yes, it is gloomy looking, at least when considering the sky. It has rained for the past few days, and been extremely damp. All of that aside, I simply had to smile and admire the beauty of the trees.
Several years ago, I worked with a woman who was fostering a child from the inner depths of Detroit. During this time of year, I always remember them. Not because they made a lasting impression on my life, nor because I miss them; I remember them because of a story told to me by my co-worker. She went to Detroit and brought her foster-child back to her home in a small town not far from Lansing.
Once they left Detroit and all of its suburbs behind and were traveling up I-75, she noticed her new child, teen actually, had quit speaking and was staring out the windows in a rather dumbfounded manner. Understandably, the woman presumed her charge was experiencing loss and sadness to be leaving her home and uncertainties about how to face life in a small town as opposed to living in a large city. Wrong.
The teen wasn't scared, sad or uncertain. She was in awe. She had never seen so many trees in her short life. And, from what I understand, she fell in love. She fell in love with the wonder of nature.
As I said previously, I remember them during this time of year, and with good reason. For I too am in love with the wonders and intricacies of nature. One of my oldest and dearest friends is the maple tree outside of my childhood bedroom window. And, gentle reader, I know with unwavering certainty the many secrets I've whispered into its bark over the years will never be shared.
When was the last time you paused and just admired the scenery around you? No, I mean really. Don't do it because some random woman you've never met is asking you to...do it because it will cleanse your soul. |
