Autumn

I love everything about the fall... harvesting tomatoes, peppers, raspberries... the cool, crisp weather... the blue sunny skies... the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows of the trees.  I like everything about fall... except one thing:  it's a sure sign that winter is coming (especially up here in Minnesota!).

Sometimes, as I revel in fall, my brain will switch gears and propels me ahead into the cold, dark days of January.  "Winter's coming...." my subconscious whispers to me.

At moments like that I have a choice:  allow my brain to jump ahead to winter, or stop and revel in the moments of autumn.

I'm naturally someone who seems to live in the future (really!), but I've realized that I'm really better off when I chose to enjoy the present.   So today... I'm basking in the sunlight, and the colors... and I'm even going to go see if there's any more raspberries to be captured before we finally have a hard frost.

And when winter finally arrives?  THEN I'll step into that present, catch my breath at the beauty of the snow, switch on our fireplace, and grab a cup of hot cocoa.   But not before.  Not one second before...