The Fall of the Year

I do love the fall of the year.   The beginning of fall is somewhat understated in Texas.  I always recognize it with  the first little brisk touch to the air as the heat of summer begins to dissipate. Across that change from oppressive heat to a gentle cooling, sounds seem to float farther.  It always makes my heart skip a beat to hear the sounds of school marching bands practicing in the early morning.  The next sign of fall in Texas is the appearance of the annual "Fairs".  Ah, I have some wonderful memories of those shared with my sons.

As October marches on, the first decorations of fall festivities appear.  Halloween pumpkins with carved out faces appear at the front of homes along with scattered witches, black cats, and ghosts suspended from trees.  Of course there is also the fact that the day before  Halloween is marked by the day I was born.  In the era I was born there was an accepted practice that if Halloween fell on a Sunday it was observed on Saturday.  You could therefore not be denied the fun of "trick or treating" and could still go to Sunday evening church.  I thought that was quite a civilized approach to the matter.  I was born on a Saturday, October 30, so the "Trick or Treaters" were out shortly after I made my appearance.  I remember a great sense of anticipation on every childhood celebration of my birthday to be followed by an abundance of knocking on neighbors doors in order to collect my sweet second celebration of life.

Halloween is followed by autumn leaves and Thanksgiving turkeys, pumpkin pies and sweet family gatherings. We all have special memories around that wonderful celebration.  I wrote about Thanksgiving in an earlier blog.

When I had children I found them appearing from mid-September until late January.  It seems my grandchildren are following along in that pattern. My first was born three years ago in September. Currently I am awaiting the birth of my second grandchild.  She was due on the 15th but has her own sense of timing.  Her mom and dad are awaiting her appearance with as much patience as is possible with that first baby.  Another baby is due in November when my first grandson will join his older sister.  The anticipation I used to feel at the beginning of fall is a shadow of what I feel in this moment.

As is my practice I was treating my restlessness and mild dissatisfaction this morning with giving attention to the moment I am currently experiencing.  Visions of all my previous falls danced like sugarplums in my head (oops, mixed my metaphors).  I took a breath and thought of all the positive things in my life in this moment.  I took my focus off what isn't and what might be and thought instead of all the joys, both big and small, that I have experienced.  I thought of all the lives I have been joined with for brief fleeting moments or for most of my life and smiled.  

Living is about our connectivity to other humans.  Living is about experiencing every moment, learning in each moment, and  knowing in each moment how interwoven we all are with each component of this marvelous world.  It is about being present for ourselves and for others. I am definitely in the fall season of my life.  Sounds carry, feelings resonate, leaves turn to autumn colors and I rejoice at the fullness of my life.  When negativity tries to enter, I turn my back on it and smell the fall in the air, which for me is the same as eager anticipation of what is and what will be.