As autumn leaves fall....

I have always loved fall. Don't get me wrong, I love spring, summer and winter as well - each season has something to love about it. But fall.....mhhhhh, fall just seems to step down the tempo that we live our summer days by and become a bit more reflective. It's a time that I get a bit nostalgic thinking of my own childhood - romping about in the leaves, going to the Community Orchard for apple turnovers and cider, picking out our own pumpkins and crisp hikes around a local state park.

It's a time for the trees to shed their leaves in one last brilliant hurrah before going dormant and standing starkly naked against winter skies only to wear while robes of frost and snow in a few months - brilliant feathery and crystalline bathed in the first light of day. Fall - like no other season has a feeling of community and gathering families together as the days shorten and we find comfort in each other's fellowship.

I look forward to a slower more contemplative pace after several busy months on the run playing at the lake and getting back into the routine of school. The final two months of the year provide some time to reflect on all that has been and all that can be in the next 365 days to come.

One of the most perfect gatherings of Thanksgiving was when we lived in Lakewood. The table and the banquet table butted against it stretched the entire length of the dining room and extended to the living room. My parents, my husband's parents, brother, brother-in-law and his family, my two grandmothers and grandfather all converged with a groaning table of food. The traditional "cookie turkeys" that we make gathered and served as place markers in the middle of the table. The house was bursting with people - and I couldn't have been happier. It's never happened since - and we've said good-bye to both my grandma and grandpa since then, but I smile every time I think of that rare gathering. It was so great to have all of our family in one place. Family time is the best gift of the holidays. Gifts come and go - but being together and making memories will last forever.

Time with family is wonderful and a fleeting thing. I am thankful to have such rich, warm memories to pull close when the cold winds blow and the temperature dips.