It’s my favorite time of year. The air in Vermont changes around mid September, and the hot and humid weather turns to a crisp, fresh feeling of nostalgia. That back to school, apple crisp and coffee type of memory we relive every year is a lovely reminder of cozy mornings to come with flannel throws, and steaming bowls of oatmeal and maple syrup. Everywhere you go, there are hints of changing leaves and the harvesting of fall favorites like pumpkin. One morning you wake up to see the reds, yellows and oranges popping out to say hello. Once it starts, it cascades throughout the state in a glorious show of vibrancy. It has just started here, but peak season is on its way.
As a teenager, this time of year brought with it a sort of sad nostalgia. During that awkward phase of being lonely, yet not independent enough to lurch out into life and make it on my own, I longed for something but didn’t know what. It was an empty, yearning feeling with no face and no name. Now that I am grown, the nostalgia brings with it a comforting feeling instead, and I have realized why.
My family and I spent a glorious weekend together. We don’t always get to do that. Usually we have so many commitments, we have to find a way to squeeze in everything and don’t have any real family time together. This weekend it was about just us. We started off Friday night by snuggling in with my parents and having BLT’s while we watched Fly Away Home. This is a feel good movie celebrating the beauty of the changing season, family, and nostalgia.
Saturday morning we slept in and I awoke to the sound of geese overhead, honking goodbye as they flew South for warmer weather. I can’t blame them. If you see them, tell them I said hello. We stayed in jammies while we watched Netflix half of the morning. We did a few chores around the house, and then it was off to the local apple orchard for some apple picking, pumpkin choosing, and caterpillar saving for those procrastinators who were still eating instead of cocooning.
My son, Alex, has hatched several this past summer. Currently we have a Monarch munching on milkweed, a Woolly Bear chowing on cabbage, and a Swallowtail nestled into his cocoon metamorphosing. It’s a regular caterpillar hatchery at my house.
We continued in our kitchen where we made homemade apple juice and apple crisp with our freshly picked apples, and settled in for a movie together in the living room at dusk.
As we sipped our apple juice, I looked around the room at the precious treasures I am blessed to be sharing a life with. I remembered the sad feeling that would sneak up on my every fall as a young person, and the longing feeling that I had. I suddenly understood that what I have is what I had been longing for; unconditional love. Suddenly, a warm, reassuring feeling came over me like a blanket as I realized how very blessed I am. In all the fall fun and the memory making, I was harvesting love.
This autumn season, wherever you are, take time to enjoy your family and the precious blessings you have in your life. It is the harvest season where we give thanks for the things we have. Don’t just count your blessings, enjoy them too!
Scarecrows Wave Goodbye
In a moment it will be fall
and the world will
come alive as it begins to
die the death of seasons.
Coming and going with
crimson and gold on leaves,
the colors accompany them to the
frosted ground beneath.
And the geese watch
them twirl below as they
make their accent to
distant lands from calendars past.
Diamonds glitter on
pumpkin lined steps,
and scarecrows wave goodbye.
