Journey Mercies . . . Memories of Fall
Journey Mercies . . . Memories of Fall
There’s a change coming, a really comfortable change. I love the fall and when I was a kid fall meant the start of school and seeing my friends again. Halloween was coming and so was my birthday. It meant Thanksgiving. It meant that it was almost time for Christmas!
Now that I am older, I can reflect much more deeply about how much I love this time of year. The days are shorter and the air is crisp. Trees that were a common green are now vibrant with color. Beneath my feet is the crackling sound of dry sycamore leaves. Messy as they are, they always reminded me that fall was here. There are smells in the air that weren’t there before. Where barbequed burgers and steaks pierced the afternoon breeze, now pots of homemade Italian Wedding Soup and fresh baked Rosemary Bread waif through the house. Can’t you just smell it?
Fall means having my family around me. I love that more than anything. And gathering at Thanksgiving is much more purposeful than ever before. I realize more and more that being truly thankful is more than saying a prayer at the feast. It’s about being thankful for each day and making the most of the time you have with those you love. It’s about the giving and receiving of Grace. In other words, from a sermon I heard long ago, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is unmerited favor. We can be thankful for it and we can be the bearer of it. We accept grace freely, but we also need to be more mindful of showing it too!
Fall is slower, easier. It means lots of fleece and warm scarves around my neck. It’s hot chocolate or Pumpkin Spice Starbucks, a great movie like Little Women or Pride and Prejudice, and a big comfy blanket to curl up with. It’s watching It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown with my grandkids like I did with my own kids when they were small. It’s helping them carve pumpkins and roast Pumpkin Seeds.
And then there’s the best of sports! The “Boys of Summer” in the playoffs, and the World Series. College and professional football have taken over and will permeate our lives from now until the end of winter. There will be wagers made with friends, sons and dads on whose team will make it to Super Bowl. It’s already started here at work, and it’s brutal! And if you live near a high school there will be Friday Night Lights, where you’ll hear the rumble and the screams of a game well played. There’s nothing better than going to a high school football game, bundled up for fun!
Just like anytime of the year, this season brings back memories of family that I miss so much. My dad and mom both died in the fall. The holidays I cherished so much were not as sweet and fulfilling those years. Even though part of my life was emptied of their presence, in my heart I cherish the memories and photos that are sweet reminders of the times when we were all together. I reminisce on both the day of their birth and the day they died. It reminds me how important our relationships are and how we should never forget to say those heartfelt words to those we love and treasure. Do it today – don’t wait another minute!
Fall also brings Daylight Savings Time. This year we “fall back” on November 4th. Who decides this kind of stuff? Looks like this change came from the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Pretty soon we’ll be waking up in the middle of the night and it will be 8:00 am! We also have coming up the Presidential Election. This year it “falls” on my birthday.
Here’s some things my family loves to do:
• It’s apple-picking time! If you’ve never been to Oak Glen Apple Orchards near Yucaipa, where you can pick your own apples, you don’t know what you’re missing. Spend a day there with your family and you’ll experience fall at it’s best! They have a pumpkin patch, too!
• And there’s nearby Tanaka Farms in Irvine, where you and your kids or grandkids can take a cart ride out to the vast 30-acre field where you can pick pumpkins or vegetables till your hearts content. They have a corn maze and an area where you can take your fall photos surrounded by hay bales and pumpkins. It’s open from September 28 to October 31st. The cost is very reasonable so check out their website. Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch
• Finally, when my kids were younger, our street was lined with huge sycamores, and I mean 30 feet or more. On a blustery fall day when the wind would whip through the trees tossing dried leaves everywhere, they would run after them and try to catch them before they fell to the ground. If you’ve never played “leaf catch”, it’s a whole lot harder than you think. Try it!
So, fall can be many things to many people. But mostly, fall is all about change. It’s all about transformation and the shedding of the old to wait patiently for the absolute beauty of the new.
I’d love to hear what you like most about fall and what you like to do!
57 Comments
Wow, I feel like part of the family! Thanks for the wonderful stories. Fall is my favorite season – to me it says ‘new beginnings.’ What good reminders to stop and enjoy the blessings around us. I may take Hailey, my own daughter to the pumpkin patch here in a couple weeks and start a new tradition!
Hi Jamie:
I believe that new traditions are so much fun. Tanaka Farms is a great place to let your kids
run free and explore. Thanks so much for sharing on my blog.
Pat
Pat- You have painted an amazing picture of what fall means to you! These are lovely memories & feelings you have shared, thank you so much! Carrie
Hi Carrie
I do love fall . . and I know that you do as well. Can’t wait to read your Halloween blog!
I appreciate you!
Pat
Pat
You have a way with words and discribing your thoughts about fall. Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and the turkey, yes Canada has turkey too! We also have butter tarts for dessert along with pumkin pie!! yummy. The leaves have changed, the colors are vivid, it is definitely jacket weather. If we are lucky Indian Summer is still with us.–the morning frost gives way to warmer afternoons. time to rake up the leaves and cover up the bushes
Wish I could see a Canadian Fall. My grandparents lived in Penticton British Columbia and my Dad was born in Ottawa. I always went to see my grandparents in the summer. They said Penticton was the Cherry Capitol of Canada. I believed it. They had 12 cherry trees in their back yard. I learned to spit seeds with the best of them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Fall, Cheryl.
Pat
Ms. Kolstad,
After reading your blog the tears started flowing. Memories of my own childhood were flowing through my head. This is the first fall without my dear mom. The holidays will be hard, her birthday is next month and the 1 year mark is in December. This fall will be a change for our family as we grieve her loss and learn to go through these times without her. Your blog was very well written and actually got me thinking about all the very special moments that I did have with my mom. You could not be more right about telling our loved ones how much we love them. Wishing I could tell her these things now… Love to you and your beautiful family. Love, Jennifer Tweedy
Jenny . . so great to hear from you!
I remember the following you and your family through the last days of your precious mom’s life. I know that you miss her so much, as do your kids. Losing your mom so early in your life will mean that your memories will be even more important. Sharing with your children her love and devotion to all of you will become more joyful as the days pass. I love your positive response to sharing special words with those we love. It is so important.
Sending you love and hugs!
Pat
Grammy!
Oh what joy you have brought to my heart, and what memories. I love you so much and I am so thankful for this blog. You have brought me back to times I cherish most… My family times. Autumn was the favorite for all our family! But especially us girls. I can remember almost every single one! And leaf catching hasn’t even crossed my mind yet. Your house was always the best. And all of those Lovely movies! Oh, all the snuggling and sitting by the fire at Mom’s while we watched them all! I loved those times. I also remember so much of the delicious goodies we created! All those seeds and pies and bread… Mmmm my mouth waters! Grammy, I miss this, and you most of all. Hopefully this Autumn will be the beginning to start a whole new set of memories. I love you BIG as the WORLD!
Love, Meagan
My sweet granddaughter . . . you are a joy and you bless my heart.
Memories are what we build our lives on and what carries us through the years. It keeps our loved one close and brings a smile to our hearts and our faces. We can’t stop making new memories. Our Kolstad, Thomas, Leslie, Miranda, Islas, Echeverria recipes are as varied as our names. But it’s the recipe for a lifetime and I’m so grateful for each new dish we cook up! Aren’t we so very lucky. Bon Appetite for life!
I love you “Big as the World and as our little Ella would say . . Grammy, I love you “Big as the Best!”