After years of not having furniture on our front deck, Michael and I finally invested in a set, and now I cannot get enough of the fresh outdoors. He laughs at how often I’m out there, as do I, wondering why it took us so long! The fall air makes the crisp mornings ever so inviting with a hot cup of coffee and a chance to observe the daily change of leaf colors, something I don’t want to miss. After being indoors with cranked-up AC on some of the hottest summer days, to finally be able to again enjoy nature’s organic air conditioning system is a welcome reprieve.

As I sit on our deck and listen to the wind in the trees and feel the coolness of the breeze, I know that soon the trees will be bare, and I pause in thought, remembering those we have lost. Do they still hear the crackling of the branches or the rain as it hits the ground? Are their spirits soaring above in a fluffy white cloud? We’ll never really know, but I am thankful to have these moments on my deck, drinking in the beauty of nature’s gift. It reminds me to practice what my mother taught me on our walks when she would suddenly halt and say, “Notice,” whenever she spotted something unusual or extraordinary. I would make fun of this dramatic stop, but she was teaching me to take it all in, and I thank her for that.

I guess I am more like her than I realized, and this has rubbed off on our boys, too. Our oldest texted from college just to say, “It’s such a beautiful day here.” He noticed. When our youngest gets home from high school and proclaims, “Mom, I didn’t need a jacket; the sun felt so good,” he also noticed.

I find myself appreciating more, slowing down to take a deep breath and filling my lungs with all the smells of the season: pumpkins, apple cider, cinnamon and cloves. The crackling of leaves underfoot and the colors that are better than any painter’s pallet are here to behold in October.

Find your spot on the deck, patio or bench, and look up, witness the sky and clouds, the branches swaying in the wind, and feel the energy of being alive. Our dearly departed would want us to keep on living…and notice.