Autumn enjoyment

As I sit at my computer, I look at a live oak tree with maybe a quarter of the straggly orange-ish leaves left hanging on. They appear dull and lifeless, but they are tenacious. They are hanging on. Earlier this season, as the leaves began to turn colors, I reveled in their beauty. I liked watching the leaves dance across the street as they fell. There are three trees with yellow leaves just outside my back patio.  All the other neighbors have pine trees (boring, in my book!) but God placed me here with these beautiful yellow-leafed trees. As I would eat breakfast, the sun would bathe those yellow leaves in golden sunlight, making the yellow even more beautiful. This fall is my first in this home, so the scene would excite me each morning. The front tree dropped leaves on my lawn and driveway, so as I went to the mailbox, I would drag my feet through the dry leaves and hear that inimitable sound and enjoy the smell of warm, dry leaves.
Autumn has been my favorite season since high school days in Maine when the air turned crisp, the leaves put on their magic show changing colors, and the days got shorter. I got married in October one year and thought it was the best season for a wedding. Friends introduced us to picking apples, so that added to my joy of Fall. The cool air revs me up and I get energized! Sleeping with a window open is another favorite for me. 
But today, as I look out an upstairs window, I see a naked lawn and driveway where the neighborhood maintenence guys came yesterday and sucked up the leaves with their big vacuum.   I don't like boring (clean) driveways and lawns.

Words from my father over the years...

Yesterday was Father's Day, and as I looked at people's pictures of their fathers on the social media pages, I thought of words Daddy had spoken to me as I was growing up. Some are words of wisdom; some are just words from Daddy.

"Your paycheck will look like a lot on paper" (spoken to me after I set up a payment plan to buy stainless steel cookware before I began my first teaching job…I thought I was being responsible, but he let me know otherwise)

"Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm" (probably started hearing this 50 years ago..still like it)
   
"Sit in the front row..95% won't do that" (of course, he didn't do this in church, but his words have always stuck with me!)

"Smile and show your pearly whites" (said to me when I came down to breakfast without a smile….I hated this one!)

"Get off your high horse" (must have been when I was a teenager!)

"Hark" only I heard "Hahk" (it was always in the car when he wanted to hear what Mamma was saying and wanted us kids to be quiet…I honestly didn't realize it was the same word as sung in the Christmas carol until I was much older…I just thought this "hahk" word was Daddy's personal word to get us to be quiet!)

And one of my personal favorites "What do you think I am, dirt under your feet?". I most certainly was a "high and mighty teenager" when I heard that one!

Daddy loved words. He was the best story teller I knew. He could capture a room's attention with his stories and we'd always end up laughing. He loved a "piece a pie" and a "cup a coffee", and he knew every good eating place in Maine! 

It's funny, but as I sit here and think of Daddy and his days on the road, the memories just come bubbling up in my mind. I was writing this to share with you, but instead, it's been fun for me. 

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers who read this. Your words will live on.