let the wind roll by...

I love days like now. Where you can still smell the freshness of the summer air, but yet the leaves fall around me and change colors. The air is chilled, and I break out my assortment of coats and fuzzy socks, and my long-johns! And then I wrap up in a blanket and make my way to the rocking chair.

Sometimes it's nice to be on the front porch, looking in. Evaluate. Reflect. Apparently it's good for the soul.

I suddenly have the urge to jump in big leaf piles. Memories from my childhood flood me, and I wish to be little again. Have you ever just sat down and watched children at work? If you haven't, you should. You can spend dollar after dollar on the top-of-the line toys, and yet they're just as happy with a stick, a mud puddle to jump into, or a cleared spot in the woods for a fort.

A video game doesn't compare to a game of Cops and Robbers or Cowboys and Indians. The discovery of a good hiding place during your daily rituals of Hide-and-Seek makes you feel fulfilled; kind of like learning to tie your shoes for the first time, or the ability to color within the lines.

If only life could be as simple as it was ten years ago...

A little girl in your First-grade class walks up to you and asks you to be her friend. It's an instant bond. You're inseparable for years and years afterwards (even after her dog bites you in the leg) and then somehow it all changes.

You go through your childhood with people telling you not go grow up so fast, for when you're old, you'll wish you had your youth. I've finally seen the truth in the statement.

The leaves rustle and the wind sends chills. The flannel and Carhartt surround me. Here comes another winter.