Autumn: Change and Wonder

I've always enjoyed Autumn. Spring is so welcome with it's amazing rebirth of beauty as trees regain their leaves and flowers begin their regrowth heralding the beauty that's to come. Summer and Winter often bring challenges of endurance and even survival with their climbing and diving temperatures.

Autumn heralded and still brings new beginnings. 
Marriage and moving to a new city, a new way of life. Babies born during the later months of Summer beginning to sleep through the night and beginning to take on their own individual personalities. And Autumn began our most difficult journey in life through a year and more of changing seasons and life changing experiences.

Today, a wedding invitation arrived from a relatively "new" acquaintance we've made, daughter and I, since my husband/her father's passing. She'd also lost her husband to a lingering illness/medical condition. 

We were married in October; just a few days before the date of this celebration of life and love. The groom belongs to the same Service Organization my husband belonged to. Interesting and ironic how life includes so many similarities and brings opportunities so similar, so familiar.

A new beginning. Autumn brings opportunity once again.

Winter will follow. We used to welcome the season. We enjoyed winter sports.The sons both played ice hockey and we all loved to ski. We were fortunate; we had many great family experiences. As when my husband passed, I'm so grateful we didn't "wait" for a particular time in life but took advantage of opportunities that came our way and celebrated our life together, our family, our love for one another.

We also escaped sometimes to warmer places and enjoyed the respite into the sun filled areas. Those were times of shared joy and family fun, too. We were indeed fortunate, in those days. 

Last night at an event, I sat beside a young woman who just began working at a travel business where I've returned part time to "try my wings" and fly alone into the future. It was a challenging return; a time heralded by concern and feelings of longing for the past, the time before..

She told me about other jobs and an experience she recently took advantage of; a life opportunity, one that could have been negative and turned it into a memorable positive.

She traveled around the Far East into several different countries with a friend for four months. That's a very long period of time for most people and few get this opening in life's journey -- usually the very young and sometimes those who've traveled the road of life far longer.

I applaud her personal courage to make this decision and take this journey. 

I know nothing about her family's reaction or their relationship but I see her choice to "seize the day" as an action she will take into her future, into her growing older and into her becoming "old" as a significant part of her foundation, her being and what she can contribute to life in general. 

Good for her; good for you if you have, make or take opportunities to grow, to become and to pass on to others.

Now she moves into Autumn bringing with her this life experience; it will travel with her and influence her choices and decisions as everything we do always does.

I'm so grateful I can share those joys in life I know are so important. It's a difficult journey "seizing the day" after such tremendous losses of close family members.

Will Autumn be a time of change and wonder for you?