Autumn

It's fall. Getting cooler, leaves are turning, and the nights are coming sooner. I am glad for all these side-effects of the earth's rotation around the sun! Cooler weather means I get to wear sweaters and corduroy, and drink hot beverages whenever the mood hits me. Leaves turning means we all get to see the brilliant colors that had been hiding under all that chlorophyll. I love the pictures that are painted on the branches of trees! If only we could keep them there longer, without their all-too-soon drop to become heaps of dull moldering reminders that winter's coming. Early nights mean that I no longer have to convince my children that it is time for bed--in fact tonight Rina said, "It's almost bedtime," and it was only 6:30! God blesses parents everywhere with Fall!

Tonight I am reminded of an old song from a musical I was in exactly 6 years ago. The song's melody wistfully accompanies the words:
Autumn, shall we all meet in the Autumn
Golden and glowing by Autumn
Shall we still be best of friends, best of friends...
Let breezes blow and turn cold
As we continue growing old, this Autumn
Love newly found, may yet last...
I don't know why this song was in my head, maybe just the season and nostalgia. But I do love the thought that come what may, we can choose to love and enjoy life. Kind of like the verses in Ecclesiastes that say we should live and enjoy the fruits of our labor because they are blessings from God. So, this Autumn, I plan to live to enjoy the life and blessings God has given me; even if, and perhaps in spite of their arrival in an imperfect package!