Autumn is a time of change. The golden rays of summer, iced drinks sipped out of glass jars and spontaneous road trips along the California coast fade into the vivid oranges, yellows and reds that remind us it's time to venture to Trader Joe's to buy pumpkin everything. With the shifting of the seasons, I am also reminded to accept that life is constantly changing. To accept impermanence.
This past summer was one of transition. I moved from my college town back home for a gap year and worked my first 9 to 5 job. My grandfather passed away and we moved my grandmother to a new home. My sister began life as a New Yorker and has started at a new university. In the blink of an eye, my world had become a place I barely recognized. People and places I had once seen each day were no longer a part of my life, I had thought.
Much of the summer, I had spent missing the familiarity I had known only months before and so many times I have wished for that life to become my reality once again. But my birthday brought on a new perspective. I played pickleball with my mother in the morning, sipped on champagne with my parents and enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. Handwritten cards and packages were delivered and the phone calls and videos from friends were priceless. My favorite moment was this one: dancing with my mom and grandma to "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang in the kitchen and seeing my grandmother beaming with her brightest smile. It can't get any better than that. And it won't.
Bopping back and forth to the beat, I savored the moment, because it would never come again. This year will never come again, nor will the opportunity to spend this much time with my family. To go on evening walks with my grandma and our dog Charlotte. To play pickleball with my mom. To enjoy a good glass of wine with my dad and make My Big Fat Greek Wedding references.
Just like the seasons, our lives are constantly changing. I had missed my friends and life in college so much that I had not realized I was missing out on the life right in front of me. Each day, I hope to live with heightened mindfulness and appreciation for the now, for every moment is only fleeting, fading into the next.
...
Some favorite snapshots of the season.
Bopping back and forth to the beat, I savored the moment, because it would never come again. This year will never come again, nor will the opportunity to spend this much time with my family. To go on evening walks with my grandma and our dog Charlotte. To play pickleball with my mom. To enjoy a good glass of wine with my dad and make My Big Fat Greek Wedding references.
Just like the seasons, our lives are constantly changing. I had missed my friends and life in college so much that I had not realized I was missing out on the life right in front of me. Each day, I hope to live with heightened mindfulness and appreciation for the now, for every moment is only fleeting, fading into the next.
...
Some favorite snapshots of the season.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
