No matter how many years I live in the Pacific Northwest, I am still surprised when, sometime between the 15th and 20th of August, Fall makes an early announcement. One day it is in the 90's and we are playing at the beach; the next day, I notice that the trees in the park next door have begun, all at once, to drop their leaves. It's as if a bell or timer went off and a loudspeaker began announcing "Hurry, hurry, hurry, don't miss out on the beginning of Fall!" One day we are still thinking we might need another tank top or pair of shorts; the next we are wondering how soon we will need to pull out those warmer socks to take away the chill.
Life is like that too. You go through your days without thinking about the fact that you are getting older. Time seems to stand still for a child. A teenager yearns for adulthood. Or a young parent wonders how he or she will ever get through the next day, the next year, of raising children -- thinking of all the years of expenses up ahead, diapers and baby food, then sending kids off to kindergarten, then middle and high school, finally college and weddings.
And then, all at once, you notice that time has begun to speed up. Just like those last two weeks of August, your life is now speeding towards a final destination, yelling "Hurry, hurry, hurry, don't miss out on anything!" You begin to think about the things you might really never cross off your list. Maybe you'll try jogging to get into better shape. But your knees tell you after a block that this really wasn't such a great idea. All those books and lists of things you need to do before you die! Thousands. Places to visit. Places to revisit. Books to read. Service to render. Relationships to nurture. Grandchildren to savor as they move through time. Not wanting to miss a thing.
So fall feels a little poignant to me. A little too much like life. Yet, I am a glass-half-full kind of person, and I will look for the clean, crisp days that autumn brings and hope that the winter is kind again this year.
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