Autumn - My favorite time of year!

Maryland -- previous year. Now waiting for the color this year!

Autumn has officially arrived; at least for those of us on the East Coast of the US and every year I declare that it’s my favorite time of year.  I’m not sure if it’s because my birthday falls on the first day of autumn and it’s always a day that I look forward to or because I have retained the anticipation and excitement of a new school year.  At 63, you’d think that these feelings would have well subsided by now but I still secretly browse all of the school supplies knowing full well that I have plenty of binders, pencils and pens at home.

The arrival of cooler weather and changing leaves always makes me remember the cool crisp mornings when our marching band met to practice on a heavily dewed football field.  Growing up on a farm in the mid-west, I longed for school to start so that I could meet up with friends again and come out of a “lazy shell” that surrounded me during the hot summer days.

This past week as I turned 63 on the first day of autumn, I’ve been reflecting on my “own autumn” in my life.  A time in my life where I have to face the fact that I’m not 40 any more – nor am I even 50.  But that’s OK, I’m healthy, active and have a huge base of interests and still have a very long bucket list.

A quickly approaching event on my bucket list is a trip to Japan to celebrate our 20^th wedding anniversary.  Both my husband and I have visited before but never together.  This will be a real treat, especially as we’ll be staying in ryokans, traditional inns, and trying to absorb as much of the culture as we can.  The Japanese maples should be flaming reds and will make lovely photos that I can add to my journal for lasting memories. 

There are many more things on my bucket list – starting this blog is one of them.  I’ve wanted to start it for some time but just never “got around to it” but always in the back of my mind was something that a manager told me when I first started working.  “You always find time to do the things that you really want to do.  Never tell someone that you ‘don’t have time’”.  A powerful message.  So here’s the start of my blog – FINALLY!