Again leaves twist and turn and dance all around me, tumbling onto the blanket of soil below, leaving brown brittle branches naked and quiet. I am quiet, even feeling as if I am in a downward spiral of renewal and loss. Fall’s air has a certainty about it, like no else can match it, even the wind pushes with strength and arrogance.
My son and I decided to take advantage of a no school day and drove down a local scenic byway hoping to catch some color in the trees. It was a typical cold, wintry looking day, we had jackets, scarves, leftover Halloween candy, and of course our phones for picture taking. Talking and watching the passing countryside we made our way to one of the local plantations on the river. Arriving at the old white mansion sitting there all alone behind huge iron gates we realized it was pad locked and we were the only other humans there. The only logical thing to do next was take pictures of this awesome old historic site…we snapped images to my I-pod which failed to capture the pure isolation we felt being there. We headed out to find one that had people in it!
The only plantation open was down a long country road with a sign that informed us that the road was made for a horse and carriage- so drive slowly and carefully and enjoy the ride! We both laughed so hard I just barely missed a giant old tree! At the end was 1,000 beautiful acres right on the river, we both pretended like we were back in time…so fun. Our guide was a young man who just graduated from college with a history degree. He told me this was the only job he could find in his field and he was darn lucky to have it. The three of us talked about the beauty of history and he ended up giving us free passes to come back. Wow, God sure does work in the quietness of a cold fall day sometimes- we planned our return trip to explore all the grounds in weather above 40 degrees as we walked back to the car.
Driving home my heart reminded me how special these simple days are, spending time with each other, talking, and sharing life…to me that IS life. Later on that night my son said to me, “Mom it really is all about being with family and friends, it makes me happy.” There you go, simple, truth from a teenager, truly they just want to spend quality time with us, not money or fancy places or things, just being with each other sharing life’s ups and downs together. Thank you son for a super cool fall day with you and a little history lesson too, I wouldn’t trade these moments for all the world, nope not for all the world.
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