Everlasting Autumn

by Margie Senechal

Autumn is my favorite season. Well, until Spring arrives with liquid green that seems to drip from the trees. Both seasons are about renewal. Well, at least to me. Spring is an actual renewal when nature wakes up from Winter and new life sprouts up. I honestly love seeing the buds emerge and wondering what presents the squirrels and birds left me. I know I didn't plan acres of bluebells or that tulip at the edge of the patio.

Autumn is a renewal for my soul. When life momentarily slows down. KB's softball season is done, which admittedly is much easier now than when she was in her teens. Now, I just have to show up and watch. And we live a block away from the ballpark. After all these years, watching her play softball is still one of my favorite activities. And baseball parks might actually be one of my happy places. 

Back to Fall...

Books from my favorite authors tend to come with fall as well. I just received Amy E Reichert's Once Upon a December, which I'm hoping to get into this long weekend (have to love working for a Credit Union after all those years in retail and holidays didn't exist), and soon Nan's book, The Fireman's Christmas Wish, will arrive in my Kindle.  

I anticipate the baking bug to hit any second now. Although, working remotely, I don't really have people to share my goodies with and that's most of the fun. I'll just have to take some into Walgreens and leave for my former coworkers. 

But, for me it won't feel like fall until the rain, wind, and storms return. It's been a long, dry summer and beginning to autumn. There's still more green than oranges and yellows. I mean, there always is, I live in the Evergreen State, but Autumn seems to be taking her sweet time in arriving. It's supposed to be 85 today. That's not Autumn.

I've been working on edits and rewrites (or additions) to Suitcases. Unfortunately, just because you write, "The End", doesn't mean the work is done. It's actually just beginning. The fun part of creating is done and now it's time to pull out the tools and fix it. 

And now, my France story that rose from the short story published in Once Upon a Bookclub's 2020 Advent book, is starting to emerge again. See, new life even in the slowdown of autumn. 

My soul is excited for fuzzy blankets, egg nog lattes, and warm brownies. Listening to the wind and rain as I read a book and pausing to watch the trees sway in nature's dance. For dark nights and crisp mornings. Come on, Autumn, the Pacific NW awaits you.

Have a great weekend and until next time, enjoy Autumn wherever you are and look to the skies on Sunday for the Harvest Moon.