Autumn’s End

Autumn’s end is near, which means winter is just around the corner. Here in eastern North Carolina, the vivid fall colors have disappeared, and the landscape has faded into hues that are dullish and drab. White frost has replaced fall’s clear morning dew, and the forest canopy now has large holes, once filled with the lush growth of the deciduous trees.

Living in nature allows me to witness the changing of the seasons up close. In this region, the seasons arrive about three weeks earlier than the calendar dates used to define them. Nature moves on its own time, and she is never early, never late, and always right on time. Nature changes, and all living things must adapt.

My first few winters here were difficult. The days are much shorter than where I came from, and it was tough to feel motivated to do anything whenever the skies went black a full hour before work ended. These times were also lonely without my wife. During our first year, she stayed at an apartment we had in the city close to her graduate school, and in the second year, she was gone to a different city each month for rotations.

Now, things are very different. Wifey is home every evening, even though right now, she’s in Texas visiting her father and my mother. We’ve also learned to combat the early evening darkness by shifting our free time to the beginning of the day. During the fall and winter months, we are in bed by 8:00 or 8:30 PM, and awake at 4:00 AM to start our day. This gives me a full five hours to do what I want before work starts, and has been a great way to redefine the fall and winter months. When spring comes around, I actually miss this schedule.

I hope this holiday season is treating you and yours well. May we all give and receive the kindness this world so desperately needs.