In other words, the change that belongs to a particular season….

I love FALL!!  This is one of the top ten reasons I don’t plan to ever move to the South.  The changing seasons are a necessary part of my life, all four of them, but Fall’s change particularly speaks to me.  The colors draw me in with beckoning to my spirit, along with the coolness in the air (though this Fall is unusually warm) and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet.  I desire to be in nature at this time of year.

Growing up in the hills of WV, we would spend hours upon hours hiking the hills in the Fall, after we were pretty sure the snakes had gone into hibernation.  I long to do some hiking right now; my soul is aching for me to do so.  I had planned to hike on Sunday afternoon, but alas it was raining, cold, dark, and dreary.  Now, here I am sitting in my classroom awaiting my next group of students and lamenting that I can’t just go run to the hills and climb a rock, slide on some wet leaves, and breathe in the freshness of the woods.

Yet, there is a different change belonging to this Fall; one I’ve never experienced until now….when I think I may be entering the Fall season of my life.  My baby is a senior in high school, plus after she graduates, we will be moving to a new town.  This Fall is filled with the changes brought on by those realities.  I don’t have much time to be melancholy about it all because I’ve been super busy with our family’s normal hectic Fall schedule, since we have 6 birthdays within a 6 week time span (4 of us plus 2 grandparents), as well as the football season (with a cheerleader daughter) and homecoming, plus senior pictures and my own busy teaching schedule.

Sometimes, I simply want to sit and ponder it all.  Yes, I pray and talk with God about it all; however, I feel a need to step back and dwell on it all for a while….to mull it over and take better mental pictures of this season and all the changes that belong to it….because I don’t believe I’ll ever pass this way again….there will never be another Fall like this one…