THE PASSING SEASONS

 by Caroline Clemmons

Welcome Fall! Our weather is a little cooler. Several types of trees are getting Falll colors that show well among the dark green live oaks. I am  aware our Fall display in North Central Texas is nothing compared to New England. But this is where I live, and I'm enjoying my community.

Many people love summer’s heat, lying in the sun and getting a tan, participating in or watching summer sports, and just having sunny days. Perhaps I'm eccentric, but I'm so much more comfortable in cooler weather. Spring and Fall are mu favorites.

 As a child, I enjoyed things like climbing trees and softball in our neighborhood, but that's about the limit of my athletic acytivity. Usually, I was indoors reading comic books or playing with my paper dolls or writing little stories about a princess rescued by a dashing knight. The stories didn't vary much and didn't have many obstacles. Comic books gave way to Nancy Drew and paper dolls to riding my bike.

Now I love taking drives in the Fall and seeing all the trees and hedges changing color. With our recent rains, the grass is still green, which makes it even more attractive. My youngest daughter and I make great plans about what we're going to do to the yard. But not now—next spring.

I look forward to reading, writing, and watching movies on TV. The stories I write don’t feature a princess (with one exception), but are about  strong women ready to assist the valiant hero defeat the villain. Hmm, maybe they haven’t changed as much since I was a young girl as I’d thought.

My two precious daughters and I are slowly recovering from my dear husban’s recent death---although I don’t suppose anyone ever actually recovers from the death of a loved one. Some days are better than others, of course. I'm sure many of you have gone through the same thing. At least  I am feeling more positive and cheerful.

As the passing seasons are a part of life, so are the passings of our loved ones. It's all part of some great plan we don't understand, but we must have faith things are under control by the Almighty.