Feeling Fall

Every Fall I eagerly await the first colors of the leaves to pop out from the trees. I check daily from the first of August for any sign of color changes, even just a little. This year I found that the colors began to turn quite early. I began to see leaves turning olive green, and darkened yellow hues in September! In the region I am from that is really early. We are often still having triple digit temperatures off, and on through out the month of September, so to see the change of colors starting to peek out so soon was a surprise to me. Since then it has been slow progress, however. The changes have come in short bursts.

One thing I know for sure is that every Fall season produces different results when it comes to the trees, and losing leaves.

Last year's colors were rather disappointing. The trees went from an olive green, to a muted yellow, to barren. There was not much in between. The weather snapped rather quickly from hot to cold, and the leaves just went from mid-fall colors, to dead. I missed the golds, and bright oranges as they fell gently from the sky over a couple week's time. The environment dictated what needed to happen for the trees to stay safe, and strong. The trees adapted, and did what they needed to.

They were the same trees that lit up the sky in years past with brilliant displays of reds, and golds, and oranges. I'd take pictures of them. Some years they'd explode with color, and some years not so much. I'm not sure which one this year is going to be. Of course, I am hoping for a colorful year, but I understand the times where energy conservation is also needed.

I was thinking that sometimes we are like those trees. Sometimes we explode with color, and excitement, but other times, we need to pull in, and care for ourselves. It's the same tree, and the same place, same season. Nothing changed, but maybe the environment. The tree does what it has to to be healthy. Maybe other people might have judgments about that. The tree might not be as beautiful to the eyes of others while it transforms into energy conservation mode. That's not why the tree changes. It changes to prepare for winter, and others just get the benefit of witnessing the process of this change. Sometimes the change is spectacular, and other times it's a quieter event that seems to takes place in a flash.


I really enjoy fall. I enjoy the colors. I take note of the reminders of self care as the trees do it's thing I remember we need to, too. I liken the idea of the changing leaves to accommodate the changing seasons to the differing ways we change to accommodate our lives. There is something so unpredictable about the season of fall to me, and that feels quite a lot the way change feels, too. I never really know how the weather will feel, or what next week will be like. It could be 80, or possibly a few flurries! I know it will end, and Winter will begin, as it does every year. It's inevitable, just as change is.  Some changes are the bright, bold fall colors that bring with it the traditional crisp leaves, and beautiful landscapes that fill your heart, like marriage, a new baby, new house, ect... Then, there might be some of the other more muted fall seasons where the colors weren't as bright, or noticeable, and you quietly observed them on your own before moving to winter, like health issues, loved ones passing, and other less celebratory life changes. Those changes are just as important to us as the others, but aren't as noticeable to others on the outside of our lives.

What has your fall been like so far? Is yours a quiet, or expressive season? Don't forget to take care of yourself during this time, and indulge in some of your favorite fall activities, whatever they may be, as you prepare for the hectic upcoming holiday season.