Leaves

I read all my FB friends status updates, and the romanticism sometimes gets to me. I must admit that fall in New England is spectacular. The colors in the postcard picture scenery is indeed amazing. It really worked for me as long as I could forget that I was going to have to rake bag and haul all those pretty things out of my yard. I just spent a week in Florida visiting my mother and there you still get to rake and bag those leaves without the pretty colors. The tree in the picture has great big leaves that were coming down like rain. My blisters are still here to remind me of the love hate relationship that exists with those beautiful leaves. It is just harder to appreciate the beauty when you are the one who will deal with the work.

I've always said that most negative attributes have a positive counterpart and vice versa. Marsha used to call me stubborn and all of you who know me know that was just an incorrect legend. Yeh right!! Well I guess I have a stubborn side. But I remind people that stubborn is just the difficult side of persistent. We all like people who are persistent. We admire people who don't give up, who persevere in the midst of challenges and difficulties. I find a lot of things in life are a double edged reality. I can procrastinate but I'm good at spontaneity. I sometimes drive people crazy with my slow verbal responses, but what I say tends to be thought out. Examples abound.

I like to say that life is pregnant with possibilities. Every situation, every circumstance has embedded within it something beneficial. It may not be a good experience that brings enjoyment but it will at least have a lesson we need to learn or an opportunity that will open up a future good. Too often we can't see it because we focus on the problem and miss the possibility. This is not exactly an "If life gives you lemons make lemonade." view. The moment may not ever be sweet, it may always bring a sour taste to your mouth, but it may create a strength that will hold you up in later challenges, or some other benefit we can't find at the moment. With the leaves the best comes before the worst. In life sometimes the worst comes before the best.