Leaving Fall...

The foliage this year has been absolutely beautiful.  Most years, the majority of the leaves would have fallen by now, leaving mostly barren trees as a portend of the approaching winter.  Yes, it has peaked, and the annual stampede of leafpeepers have dissipated, returning to wherever they have come from.  But the foliage remains.

I had wanted to take long car rides this fall, armed with my trusty camera, and capture the beauty that is northern New Hampshire in the fall.  Unfortunately, problems with both of our vehicles have left us restricted to our local community.  Nevertheless, I've taken a few pictures here and there, mostly pre-peak and post-peak, but more than I have in recent years.

Earlier today, Noah and I were out for a quick ride to Grammie's house, and I thought to grab my camera.  In the short five minute ride, I managed to get a few fairly decent shots in, stopping the car several times along the way.

"Dad," Noah piped up from the back seat, "why do you keep stopping to take so many pictures of the leaves?!"

I expressed to him how beautiful I thought they were, and how I wanted to try to capture the breathtaking imagery of the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the still-colorful leaves.  Then it occurred to me -- the next time I would see the leaves again would be through the eyes of a 40-year-old.

I still haven't resolved how I'm feeling about this particular transition in my life, but at the moment, I seem to be at peace about the whole thing.  Of course, that may change as the days and months pass, but for now, I'm not nearly as worked up about it as I imagined I would be by now.

Anyway, back to the leaves...

Autumn is precious to me, altogether too short, but sweet nonetheless.  The sights of the changing leaves coupled with the crispness of the air evokes many warm memories of years gone by.  Fall, to me, has always been like a visit from an old friend who happens to be in town for a few days, a time of reminiscing and of remembering, but most of all, just the peaceful joy of enjoying the season for what it is.

The Last Mile (reflections on the start of a new year)

It's so hard to believe that not only is it 2007 already, but we're almost halfway into the first month. I could say something very cliche here about time going by faster every year, and so on and so forth, but I won't. I could write about New Year's resolutions, and their subsequent failures, but I won't.

Instead, I just want to take a moment to note a couple of milestones that will be taking place this year. My oldest nephew, Dan, will be 16. My oldest niece, Jennifer, will be 18 and leaving for college. My son will be 5. And I will be 39, the last mile to go before cresting the proverbial hill.

Okay, so I'm being a little dramatic on that last point. I hear that 40 is the new 30. That worries me a bit, as I had a bit of an emotional difficulty turning 30. Which reminds me of an old joke that made the e-mail rounds a few years back:

"Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. How old are you?.... "I'm four and a half" .... You're never 36 and a half .... you're four and a half going on five!

That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number. How old are you? "I'm gonna be 16." You could be 12, but you're gonna be 16.

And then the greatest day of your life happens .... you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony .... you BECOME 21 ... YES!!!

But then you turn 30 .... ooohhh what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk .... He TURNED, we had to throw him out. There's no fun now.

What's wrong?? What changed?? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40 ..... stay over there, it's all slipping away ........

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, you're PUSHING 40, you REACH 50 ..... and your dreams are gone.

Then you MAKE IT to 60 ..... you didn't think you'd make it!!!!

So you BECOME 21, you TURN 30, you're PUSHING 40, you REACH 50, you MAKE IT to 60 ...... then you build up so much speed you HIT 70!

After that, it's a day by day thing. After that, you HIT Wednesday .... You get into your 80's, you HIT lunch. My grandmother won't even buy green bananas .... it's an investment you know, and maybe a bad one.

And it doesn't end there .... into the 90's you start going backwards .... I was JUST 92 ...

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again .... "I'm 100 and a half!!!!""

-- author unknown

I imagine I'll probably be writing a fair amount about this looming milestone in my life over the next year, but don't get me wrong. I'm enjoying every season of my life, and I know the best is yet to come. I just wish time would slow down a little bit...