The Changing Seasons

We went outside to play at 4:30 in the afternoon, the air considerably cooler than a few weeks before, and I was immediately grateful for the coming fall. As much as I look forward to the warm days of summer spent at the pool, the children splashing in the water, I tire of the sunscreen and swim diapers, the intense heat and suffocating humidity. I am part of the fickle human race who loses interest in the present and am thankful for the divine plan of the changing seasons.

I am thankful for the changing hues and the sweet smells that travel on the crisp air of the fall, the few weeks reprieve from the scorching heat that preceded it and a last glimpse of color before the bleak winter months that follow. And yet a part of me looks forward to the chill of the winter, the chance to sip hot chocolate beside a crackling fire and let my nostrils fill with the smell of Christmas trees and cookies baking. But as the drab and gray days of winter carry on, I long for the new life and blooms of spring, hoping this season will never end.

Each season carries with it a beauty of its own that cannot be found in the surrounding ones. Each season gives just enough change so that one may endure whatever long stretch of weather may follow and fully appreciate those that don’t seem quite long enough.

I am thankful for the season of sword fighting with sticks, while little pirates who previously played beside each other but not with each other engage in a complete battle, full of giggles and smiles. My heart grows during the moment when the smaller of the two pirates knocks down the other’s sword, yet the larger offers a heartfelt congratulations (And prize-his Iron Man Transformer until Christmas to be exact).

And I am thankful for the season of apple-thievery, as the little baby who cannot yet take part in their battle chooses one of her own.

Some seasons I wish would stretch longer, watching as they fade as quickly as the golden leaves upon the autumn trees, so I learn to savor them while they are here. Others drain me as does the heat of summer, taking every bit of strength and energy out of my bones, yet I know this time, too, is just a season; the new life of spring is around the corner.

And so I learn to find joy in every season, for in every season there is beauty, an opportunity for growth and learning, a reason to give thanks.

For what can you be thankful during this season of your life? Come share your thoughts for this ‘Focus on it Friday.’

Originally published at https://jennifervdavis.com on September 17, 2010.