Seasons

      I slipped between the two sheets of my bed and they were cold. It was the first chill of Fall and for a moment I was transported back to a different place and a different time. For a minute I forgot about the long hallway outside my bedroom door and pictured the square shaped creaky hallway of our 1930s house. I forgot that mountains sat in darkness outside my window and pictured the big old trees and friendly homes on our old block. It was just a flash, but it was so clear; the smell, the sounds, the chilly Fall air outside our cozy brick home. Even after I was transported back to my current time and place I stayed in that moment in my mind. I thought of the great big piles of multi-colored leaves the kids jumped in; happy trick-or-treating between puddles; corn mazes and apple trees; putting the kids in over-sized t-shirts to paint pumpkins at the neighbor's house; the sound of a football game at the University down the street; first day of school nervousness as a mom; first night at home with a baby; crunchy leaves under stroller wheels; watching the big tree blow with the wind of a rainy day; sweatshirts and lazy Sunday afternoons watching the Browns in the living room.

     I can only sit with nostalgia for so long so I started thinking about more recent memories, closer, newer memories. I thought about the way the hot summer sun permeates your clothes here. Mornings at the playground checking that the slides were not too hot followed by cool evening walks after a fast-moving storm. I thought about red dirt in the kitchen from hikes left on our shoes. Vacation Bible School with new names and new ways of doing things. The stunning views that took our breath away on that first drive through the mountains. Endless giggles and rides at the local kids' amusement park. Breakfast and shopping while being a tourist in my own town with my mom. New friends, new story times, new play dates, new parks … so many new things. Grasshoppers and bunnies, deer and cacti. Endless blue skies over pointed peaks. I thought of that late night on the back porch, finding meaning in one another's stories with friends over wine and twinkle lights. Vacation evenings spent playing card games as a family as we realized we no longer have a baby in the family. Outdoor concerts under towering holy stones with welcoming faces. So much time pushing swings “higher!, higher!” I thought of kiddie pool fun and potty-training messes.

     Somewhere in the midst of warm thoughts the sheets became warmer and I drifted off to sleep. The next morning would bring a new season of memories that will one day keep me warm even as the air brings a chill.