The Fall

I love the Fall.

I think it's easily my favorite time of the year for a number of reasons.
One reason I love the Fall is due to my great love of football and particularly college football. But other than great gridiron action, Fall also brings around cooler weather. It means the end of another long, hot summer and is a gateway to the holidays.
The leaves changing colors from green to various shades of reds and yellows is always incredible. Even here in less than beautiful West Texas we have some Fall color. It won't exactly make you think of New England, but there is some beauty here. You just kind of have to drive around and look for it sometimes.
The problem is there are so many mesquite, pecan and live oak trees and they just don't cooperate with my agenda. There are just enough red oaks, ornamental pears and other trees that give us just a taste of the beautiful Fall colors that others get to witness yearly.
People here that were thoughtful enough to plant some of the right trees in their yards years ago have my deepest gratitude. Unfortunately, there are a lot of yards that are completely barren of trees.
I've personally planted more than 25 trees in this town and I plan on planting more before I leave. Hopefully, somebody in the future will be grateful for my contributions.

Fall also means Halloween.

Halloween means candy. Hard to get enough candy, but I give it a shot every year.
Actually, I have kind of lost my taste for candy lately.

After Halloween one of the better holidays is soon to follow.

But, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Nothing but leftovers remain and some more memories.

Of our kids, only Tyler came bringing with him his buddy, Jeromy, but they have already left. We also had Amy over to watch the Texas game and were fortunate to have her over the previous night as well. The girls are way off and it feels a little funny being just the two of us now in the holidays. I do count my blessings that I have my California Girl.

Of all the Thanksgivings, this has been one of the stranger ones. I believe it's because of the changes going on in our lives right now. Too many changes at the same time has made this a strange season in our lives. But, just as the seasons change and the sun comes up tomorrow, life goes on.

Tomorrow, I plan on going out and taking a few pictures of the leaves and enjoying the season while it lasts. That's one thing I probably didn't do enough of when our kids were little. Your children can be kind of like leaves.

In the spring, like the leaves, the children come as babies. In the summer they mature and become teens. In the Fall, they become adults. In the winter of your life, they leave making you wish you had known them better and longer.

Tara, Aspen and Tyler, I wish I had known you better and longer.