Fall

It's fall and that's my favorite.  I love the pumpkin spiced life.  I love the salted caramel, the cinnamon, the squash.  And the colors.  How gorgeous they are!  The reds and yellows and oranges--even on gloomy days they are bright and beautiful.  It is the time of year I most look forward to.

But fall has gotten so busy.  The back to school that starts it all is filled with paperwork and doctor visits and school shopping.  Then there are the birthdays--7 of them just in our family.  Even the ones for people who don't live in my house need attention.  Then there are the parties of the friends my kids are invited to.  A drop off, a pick up, a gift, a card.  The start of school brings school activities.  So far, that's only 2 kids but Bebo will soon be demanding her own turn to play piano or whatever else she wants to try. 

Work--work is INSANE in the fall and will be for as long as I'm in non-profit fundraising.  Fall is when we have our big events.  Our big end of year pushes.  It's go go go go go go go go go for months.

And of course the holidays.  They are what makes it all so fantastic.  The rest is just the noise that gets in the way of Halloween, Thanksgiving and the big show--Christmas!  The food.  The clothes.  The gifts.  The decorations.  The parties.  The music.  The MOVIES!  It's all so warm and inviting.

But it all makes us so busy busy busy.  So busy that the whole thing flies by in an instant.  Every moment occupied with something.  There's hardly time to rest let alone enjoy all of these things.  Even sleep seems like a waste of time when there's so much to do.

Yesterday morning, the girls and I got up early to pick up Nick from the airport.  after 2 days of rain, it was a bright sunny morning.  As we drove down the highway, I had an amazing view of the Pennsylvania autumn.  It was full of those vibrant fall hues.  The sun lit them up against the soft blue sky.  In those 25 minutes as we drive, I had the chance to just enjoy the view--those colors and the crisp air that make this all what it is.  It's like even the Earth is excited for what's coming.  After nearly 2 weeks away, I was excited to see my husband--to celebrate the birth of my second daughter--to prepare for Thanksgiving--to enjoy the season for all it is.  And the colors reminded me that even a few moments of complete observation of the changing season around me could be enough not to feel, when January comes, that I'd missed it all.   I haven't missed it.  I will carry this year's memories into next year...when once again, everything will have changed.

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