Thoughts on Fall

It has been raining...  like...   forever.

But suddenly, the realization has hit me that Fall is here.    How can that be?   Somehow it snuck in when I wasn't paying attention.  The leaves are turning colors and starting to fall, the temperatures are dropping, and Halloween will be here in 5 days.  In a week and a half, the time will change and it will be dark before we sit down to eat dinner. 

I'm not ready.  I'm not ready to rake all those leaves.  I'm not ready for the bare, dormant world.   I'm not ready.   I'm not ready for cold and frost and scraping windows, and don't even talk to me about snow!

But I love dressing Jocelyn up in warm, fuzzy sweaters, and I love how her chilly nose feels when she snuggles with me to get warm.   I love sharing hot chocolate with her and cuddling under a soft blanket.

I can't wait to see her excitement when she gets her letter from Santa this year, and her uncontainable joy on Christmas morning.

And then...  In the coldest part of winter, we will celebrate her 4th birthday.   So hard to believe my baby will soon be 4 years old.
Could it be, that maybe that's why she came into our lives so early?  To give us the hope and belief that the world will be reborn in the Spring.