The frost on the windshield of my car is melted enough that the wipers easily clear it. I am grateful and remind myself to hold firmly to the gratefulness. The arrival of crisp weather with overnight temps nearing freezing does not mean winter will be here very, very soon. Winter will arrive and depart in her own time, far outside the reach of my impulsive demand for control.
"Stay in the now," I tell my heart, "Enjoy this day."
I reach into the pocket of my coat and discover thick, inviting mittens... mittens I'd forgotten during years spent in the mild winters of Saint Louis. In the opposite pocket is a folded paper facemask. I put on the mittens and revisit gratefulness as I return the facemask to the darkness of the pocket.
Like the majestic summer days, the pandemic is in the rearview mirror, and I am grateful for the fall colors, for fragility and strength, for the creativity and tenacity of humanity, and for the splendor of this day.
Rw
