When the evenings get longer, the days shorter, and the nip in the air signals the end of summer, my heart is filled with the conflicted longing for more beach days and warm sunshine and the ushering in of sweaters, fires, pumpkin spice coffee, and sweet potato pie.
A few mornings ago, my husband confessed that he was happy about the cooler weather. I was a bit surprised; neither of us likes the cold. But, I felt him. There’s comfort in warm clothes, snuggling under heavy blankets and warm drinks. Truthfully, I was kind of happy for the break in the weather too.
Later that evening, we walked together, listening to an end of summer band performing in the park. I snapped a picture of the end of the dock at sunset. It reminded me of Winnie the Pooh. I am now a fan after having bought the anthology for my firstborn. The stories were whimsical, kind, and the themes thoughtfully mature for such a young audience.
One particular interaction invaded my thoughts as we stopped to take in the sunset at the dock.
‘What do you like doing best in the world, Pooh?’
‘Well,’ said Pooh, ‘What I like best–’ and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called. And then he thought that being with Christopher Robin was a very good thing to do, and having Piglet near was a very friendly thing to have; and so, when he had thought it all out, he said, ‘What I like best in the whole world is Me and Piglet going to see You, and You saying ‘What about a little something?’ and Me saying, ‘Well, I shouldn’t mind a little something, should you, Piglet,’ and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing.’— A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner (Chapter Ten: In Which Christopher Robin and Pooh Come to an Enchanted Place, and We Leave Them There.)
Ahhh, Heaven.
There are so many lovely things to appreciate about life when we take the time to stop for a moment and enjoy them. I feel blessed that I live in a place where I can see stars at night and that I’ve been to a place where I can see millions. I feel blessed to hear waves slapping up against the shore, taking away my stresses as they recede. I feel blessed to have a family to walk with on a cool, almost-autumn evening. And I feel super blessed that some of you enjoy my writing enough to keep reading what’s on my mind.