The summer is winding down. Children are back in school. My friends who work jobs in the real world can’t come out and play anymore. Change is in the air. This morning my porch thermometer is hovering near 45 degrees. If you look carefully, many trees are already turning colors. The corn stalks are dry, the flowers are wilting, the tomatos and beans are in their final glory.
After a hot and steamy summer, the change in seasons is welcome. Today will be a good day to plant some small magnolia trees that I bought on clearance a few weeks ago. The cooler air will help them adjust and grow some roots before frost.
I always used to love everything about this change from summer to fall. The crisp air, the cooler nights, the changing leaves. This year, I have some mixed feelings. I feel like life is moving on fast forward and I’m stuck on pause.
I never want to get stuck in a self-pity mode, so I’ll just call it a pause.
Some seasons of life have themes. This summer, my theme was “acceptance”. This fall, maybe my theme is “pause”. Maybe if I call it something, I can turn it from self-pity to self-inspection. Allow me to take a moment to pause. To think. To reflect. To evaluate.
Today I will pause to consider the following: even though I have not found a job in the real world (okay so I really haven’t even begun looking!) I have a “to do” list longer than my arm. That’s quite enough evaluating for one day!
Autumn can be a busy time for everyone, so I hope that no matter how busy or how empty your days may be that you can find time for a pause. Take a moment to reflect.
lifefullyinhabited 