Mosaic

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting – and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~ Anonymous

That would help explain why fall is my favorite season, and reveal more than a little about me. Maybe that’s the reason why I’m neither a truly city nor country girl; I am a piece of both. I’m liberal for the conservatives and conservative for the liberals, but don’t even think about calling me moderate. I’m a woman with a career (not a career woman), but that doesn’t keep me from crocheting. West, east, north, and south – I’ve had stints just about everywhere in these United States, and while I stick out like a sore thumb moreso in some spots than others, I can enjoy just about anywhere I am.

Maybe I’m not such a contradiction after all. I’ve been thinking in terms of “or” propositions my entire life; maybe there’s more “and” to life than I ever imagined.

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I love autumn. The vibrant colors, the scent of a wood fire, holidays, campaigns, football, wearing sweaters and jackets again. Fall is one giant physical, emotional, mental, and environmental appeal to the often ethereal concept of home. There’s something calming about the season… one time a year where I embrace change with open arms, mostly because I know what the change is comprised of.

I smelled it for the first time this year a couple days ago in Pennsylvania, when Sarah and her brother and I were walking their dog. It was a scent that carried me away to door-to-door campaigns of years past; the faintest odor of decomposing leaves, of plant matter after the first big rain of a quickly waning summer. I smiled and was thankful that I had no plans to go canvassing this year (knock on wood), but reflected that it would be a tough campaign season in which I would be quite emotionally involved on the sidelines. It’s going to be a long, tough couple weeks, but somehow it’s alright. It’s autumn, and not all change is bad.

In case I don’t get to blog again before the big events this weekend, congrats to the Lampes and the Daniels… and can’t wait to see you, Bri and Michaela!