Packing up summer

Today I packed away summer.  We brought in the patio furniture,  We stored fire pits, planters, grills, hammocks away from the elements to be enjoyed next year.  Leaves were blown into the woods for hours....and tthere are still plenty left.  I know more leaves will continue to fall.  Today I packed away summer, and did the work of fall....and started bracing myself for winter.  I hear the weather is going to be cold tonight...and become colder this week.  It's time for me to prepare for winter.  

My kids seem to transition from one season to another much more joyfully. They have been happily chattering away about applesauce and pumpkin bread.  Plans for Thanksgiving are now underway....and there is talk of Christmas....the signs are everywhere. But as I packed up summer, I took a moment to think of all it was....to remember the occasions, the trips, the people, the fun, the celebrations that made it so wonderful. And as I thought about what made it spectacular...it really wasn't the weather, or the long days...but it was people.  It seems that some extraordinary people came into our life this summer.  And those extraordinary people are still around....and that is something to celebrate.  I sat here at the computer and looked at the photos and remembered. I started thinking of next year...and making plans of the things we can do when the weather is warm and the days are long, and the nights are relaxing.  But that is a year away and I reminded myself that I need to enjoy today.  I often have to remind myself of that when the weather is cold and bleak.

So as I packed up summer, as I looked at all the photos and smiled at the memories and thought of all it was....I let it go.  I need to follow the spirit of my children...and live in the now and enjoy what is now.  Right now, I am enjoying a sense of accomplishment and looking forward to what lies ahead.  I am ready to enjoy the now with all the special people that I have in my life.  And I will remind myself, as the temperature drops, that connecting with a friend will warm my heart now just as I was warmed this summer.

"Listen! The wind is rising and the air is wild with leaves,

We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!"

~ Humbert Wolfe