Autumn Puttering

"When we human beings let go and embrace the new,
when we flow with the seasons,
and merge with the same basic rhythm that tells the geese when to go,
we hear things beyond sound, and feel things beyond touch,
and a kind of serenity settles over our spirits."
~Jean Hersey in The Shape of a Year

See? I put up the paper leaves Michelle cut and colored

for me when we lived in the High Desert.

(But now, instead of gracing our old kitchen window,

they grace the mirror in the space between

the living room and kitchen of my little apartment.)

Buttercup squash with maple is roasting in my oven.

We had our first hard rain in a while last night.

It was nice.

The kids and I were texting yesterday

about fall memories in our old home:

Frosty-cold mornings.

Clear beautiful skies. Crisp air.

Bundling up for afternoon walks.

Stacking wood.

A crackling fire in the woodstove.

Everyone vying for that green chair by the stove.

Cheddar chowder with bacon.

Chocolate chip pumpkin muffins.

Russian tea (always mainly for Aaron).

Raking pine needles in the cold wind

(that would be Aaron, too).

Long evenings round the table,

everyone together, talking and playing games.

But that was then, and this is now,

and I neither want to go back nor try to recreate the past.
At the same time, traditions matter,
 and some of ours will be maintained forever.

I am truly thankful for whatever God brings my way.

I am thankful for now.

It's autumn, and it's lovely.