As Autumn's Guest

dwell

Nov 1

We have nary a pumpkin to our name. Not a one. Maybe even more shocking is the fact that there’s not a lick of seasonal decor to be found anywhere at our house. There are no fall squashes on our step, there’s no leaf-festooned wreath on our door, there are no gourds or grains or bittersweet vines. The golden-leafed branch that sat in a vase on our table a few weeks ago is now long since gone.

Goodness.

I’ve nothing against any of this, of course. Bringing fall home is a beautiful, wonderful thing. It’s one way we celebrate, isn’t it. Taking part in the preparations for festivities ahead, building the anticipation of coziness and warmth.

But also beautiful? And for sure wonderful when the minutes of the day are taken with all manner of Other Things? Realizing that autumn is here and it has arrived with its own ta-da!, its decorations hung by nature itself. Every window is a picture of seasonal color; every view a scene of seasonal change.

There may not be pumpkins heaped on the porch, but there are amber leaves in abundance gathered, heaped, and strewn about by the whimsy of the wind itself. There are golden grasses backlit by a gentle sun. There are trees emerging as quieter, minimalist versions of their opulent summer selves. All of it together a constantly changing celebration of the season as far as the eye can see.

Loves? Can I say how lovely, how blessed this has been? To enjoy autumn’s display, it’s yearly art installation, its celebration, as an observer and appreciator without an ounce of pressure to somehow add to, enhance, or accentuate this spectacular event? Autumn, in her thoughtful way, hasn’t overlooked a single detail. Of course she hasn’t.

Here, I’m quietly joining the season’s celebration as if I were its guest whose invitation simply said, Come.

Also, loves, let’s join our thoughts and prayers for those families who recently lost loved ones in the heartbreaking event in Pennsylvania. In place of celebrating the season, they’re unexpectedly walking a road of loss and grief.