Goodbye Summer....

While Fall is my favorite time of year, I always go through a little bout of depression at the end of summer.   It happens gradually, as my days get busier and life goes from slow and lazy to fast and crazy. And then one day I wake up in a funk and feel like I haven't had a second to breathe, let alone soak in all those little moments that make it worthwhile. I get grouchy. I walk around in a fog. I move from task to task to task and fall into bed each night tired but unsatisfied. Inevitably, after a couple of weeks of this ho-hum attitude, a familiar (yet often absent) part of my psyche knocks on my brain and says
"You do this every year, you know. Get off your self-pitying ass and go outside and breathe in the air for 20 minutes. Don't think. Don't do. Just breathe. And then walk down your porch steps and onto the paved country road and walk. Don't think. Don't do. Just walk. Once you feel the tension ease from your shoulders and your gait is fluid rather than tight, say goodbye to summer. Give it the farewell it deserves. Think fondly of summer vacations and long days filled with nothing but time. Remember bare toes and ponytails, summer dresses and sticky nights. And then let it go."
Fall is here and with it comes the absolute loveliness of crisp nights and pumpkins, bonfires and apples, sweaters and cider. But it also heralds in a time of homework and school functions, volunteering and getting prepared for winter, shorter days and busier schedules. The realization that life is forever about change and balance always shocks me momentarily. There are positives and negatives inherent in every last thing and without one, you cannot have the other. Autumn reminds me of this and by the time our neighbor starts to harvest the corn in front of my house, I am once again in balance.

Life is good.