Im a seasons guy. Fall is a favorite.
I do believe we had some of the most colorful and beautiful trees this fall in all of Brookings. The large maple in our front yard was the best. The reds were as bright as they have ever been and they managed to hang on longer than one would expect. The maple was framed on the west by several trees on the boulevard that offered reds and yellows in profusion. And then on the west, our second younger maple, started turning color before any of the others and was bare before the rest of the yard brightened. Early and late, the yard was a sea of color.
Now, as always, the ground is strewn with leaves, and whats left on the trees is brown and withered. All one has to do is look at the trees to know another season is upon us. Its also hard to avoid the new chill in the air, and in the house at night. The quilts have come out and its hard to get out from under them in the morning. Its the season when we get to go trick or treating and join the extended family for a Thanksgiving meal.
Winter is not my favorite season, but Im not sure I could live somewhere without it. You dress differently. Some of my favorite things to wear are cold weather clothes; like those special sweatshirts and my old comfortable boots. You function differently. Winter slows things down.
It gets dark early, bed seems more necessary, and you likely nap more often and sleep longer.
The car has to be cleared of snow before you can use it. The driveway needs to be shoveled. It even takes a bit more time to dress appropriately. And sometimes, a heavy snowfall simply shuts all activity down. The streets are silent and all is quiet, at least for a while; before the snow blowers get going and the plows swing by. Theres something satisfying about nature stopping all human activity. The quiet of a major snowfall can be soothing; calming to the human spirit.
You can tell when spring is just around the corner. The birds start coming back. The rabbits and squirrels are more active. The buds begin appearing on the trees. Theres more light. The world is not as dark and a person doesnt feel as lonesome. The flowers start to bloom and theres more spring in our step.
I think theres also a change in attitude with spring. Its like starting a new job. One begins to think of all the things they need, or want, to do. We make lists. We make plans. Maybe we begin to travel to see family or friends in other places, without worry for the weather.
Then theres summer. My mind goes to afternoons and evenings at the lake, with swimming and grilling and good fellowship. Or sometimes it was the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Massachusetts. Those beautiful beaches! One summer we walked the beach, heading north; through the night till we tired and camped on the beach. Only to walk some more till the next afternoon when we reached our destination, feeling tired but fulfilled.
Or one need not go far. Theres a certain satisfaction in watering the tomatoes in the back yard as the summer sun warms the body. Or even the sweat from mowing the lawn brings a degree of comfort, knowing the body is working hard and showing it.
Im a seasons guy. I believe there are seasons to life. We have our spring and summer, when we are rich with promise, green and growing; soon settled in the sunshine, bathing in it. Then we begin to fall into fall. We ask more questions about meaning, about life, about why our purpose begins to fall away like the leaves of the trees.
And there is winter. Its quiet. Its a time for warmth; of friends and family. Its a time for memories; of good times and bad. Its a time for music, and art, and dance, and film, and theatre; for all manner of creative work that enlightens and sustains. And its time for facing human mortality, with a fierce and formative faith. After all, winter always breaks, sooner or later, into spring; with new life and promise.
Scripture tells us: As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. And, He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. And, He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. So be it.
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