Thursday, August 21, 2008

Color my world



I miss fall back east.

As I ponder my flight options to visit the family back in Ohio, I found myself looking over photos that I took of Columbus during my visit last year. Although I'm from a much smaller town, I had decided to spend a few days in Columbus because several friends and magazine articles had recommended it and, although I grew up in the state, I had never checked it out.



I had forgotten what a nice surprise it was to get there in time to see the leaves changing color. It has always been my favorite time of the year and, living in California for as long as I have, I often find myself longing for those crisp, cool days of autumn.





As a kid, fall used to signify the start of a new school year (we lived in the country, so I always looked forward to heading back to see my friends). Picking out my new lunch box (I'm sure my Partridge Family selection has finally rusted down to a nice pile of dust in my parents attic by now), buying new school clothes and supplies (I still get a little excited each year when I see them all displayed at the local drug store) and standing out in the driveway those brisk early mornings waiting for the bus to appear in the distance.





When you're a kid, you usually just want to get through school, move as far away from home as possible and become the successful adult you always dreamed you'd be.

But, there are days when I wish that life was simpler, people were friendlier, the world was less emotionally toxic and that I could turn back the clock for a few hours to be that innocent, wide-eyed kid again.

Where my biggest worry was whether everyone could see the pimple in the middle of my forehead (they could) and, if they did, would they laugh (they would).



But, on those days...I would just take my frown out to the playground, sit on the teeter-totter and look at the natural quilt of color that surrounded me and, for whatever reason, I knew that it would all be okay.

And...it was.

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