The Silver Lining

Halloween conjures visions of jack-o-lanterns, costumes, and candy!  Children’s voices chiming “TRICK OR TREAT!” never fails to make me smile! Mom or dad would bring home a big orange pumpkin and we’d decide if we wanted a smiling face or a scary one – usually I wanted a smile.  I remember spreading newspapers out on the front steps so we wouldn’t make a mess, then daddy would start carving the face in the pumpkin with a big knife.  Mama would affix a candle to an old mayonnaise jar lid so it would stand level inside the jack-o-lantern.  I loved lighting the candle to bring our jack-o-lantern to life – and the smell of the candle scorching the inside of the pumpkin still makes the magic of the season seem real. I am fairly certain that my first Halloween costume was a ghost.  I recall my mom tossing a big white sheet over my head, then letting it settle around my feet.  She cautioned me to stand still while she took a crayon and marked where to cut the...

How like the autumn is my life. Throughout the hot sultry days of summer, the trees worked tireless providing shade, offering shelter, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. Now refreshing cool breezes kiss the trees and they relax. They trade their green uniforms for garments of scarlet, gold, burgundy, and orange. Perhaps they feel more comfortable wearing their true colors. One by one, the leaves relax, retire, and flutter away like snowflakes in a swirl of delight. The air feels less oppressive, the sunlight feels less harsh. The time, though shorter and fleeting, feels gentler. How like the autumn is my life.