Fall is in the Air

Fall is in the air. Today I decided around noon time to run out and take care of some errands. I slipped into a pair of capris, a short sleeve shirt, and flip flops and headed out the door. Despite the sun shining brightly, the air had that unmistakable fall nip to it.


I love autumn. There is something about the colors that nature displays, the crispness of the air, the sun that teases that makes me feel introspective and peaceful. I look forward to the coming of fall each year more than any other season. It’s kind of silly, but with the coming of fall I like to pull out my old, much used home taped VHS version of “Hocus Pocus” and watch it. Fall, “Hocus Pocus”, and turning inward go hand in hand in my world.


Most of the world does spring cleaning; I do fall cleaning. As the days grow cooler and shorter I tend to think of cleaning carpets, washing windows, and organizing closets. I need to organize closets; my 3 year old nephew said to me on Saturday as we went looking for the cat who was asleep in the closet, "Your closet's a mess, Auntie Tammie."


I talked with a friend this morning and she told me how this time of year leads her to think of what the year has held and what she would like to do in the coming year. We have been friends for many years and I never knew this of her. It is my habit also to begin to make my new year’s goals around Thanksgiving time.


I am one of the Saturday bloggers over at The Christian Writer's Forum. This past Saturday I posted about a recent trip to visit family in a small farming community of Southern Indiana. Fallow Ground came out of that trip. This is the time of year when farmers are harvesting their crops and the fields are lying in lost splendor. The thing about these fallow fields is that they are not really dormant, they are reviving and restoring. They are preparing for the next growing season.

Maybe that is why the fall makes me think to the future. The activities of spring and summer are done and life seems to slow down some. It seems to me to be an opportune time to consider the year that is almost done. The restoration that is happening during this time leads to anticipation of goals to be accomplished.

This fall brings me to the one year anniversary of my mother’s death and with it the sadness of having lived a year without her. It brings with it the realization that my goals were always important to my mother. She believed I could do anything I put my mind to doing.

So, as I hunker down and replenish, I savor the memories and lean on the strength she instilled in me. A new year is coming and I still have much to accomplish. My fallow ground is making way for new growth in the coming year.