Changing Seasons, Changing Lives

Fall appears to have crept in when I wasn't looking.

When I walked outside to go to work this morning the flame colored leaves on the big tree at the back of the yard took me by surprise. Considering today is October 1st it really ought not to have come as a shock; I guess my brain is still stuck on summer.

It seems like everyone loves this time of year. The cooler weather is usually a welcome relief after the dog days of summer, pumpkin and apple picking abound, and Halloween and Thanksgiving are right around the corner. Yet for me, this time of year always seems bittersweet. For some reason I can never quite put my finger on fall always makes me feel melancholy. Maybe it is because summer is always over before I'm ready, or because I know the long, gray winter months lie ahead. Whatever it is, I always feel like I'm walking around in a bit of a funk come autumn.

I feel especially funkified this year because by the time fall is over we should have some answers in the kids' case. We all have our hopes and our fears as to how things might work out, but we won't know until it is over what will actually happen. So for right now we are all just hanging around, watching the leaves change color and waiting for the next season in our lives to begin.