I Can Smell It In the Air!

Today I took an extra long walk with the kids. The blue sky was full of puffy white and gray clouds, a cool brisk breeze was blowing, and the faint earthy aromas of sweet grass and leaves was in the air. Aaah! Autumn is nearly here! I just turned 30 and the whole time I was walking I was evaluating my life up to this point, goals that I've accomplished, amazing opportunities that I've had, and what I have yet to do in my life. Something about autumn stirs and awakens the feelings of ancient times past and infinite possibilities for the future in my blood. That's the best way I can describe it and it's exhilarating. I haven't taken the time lately to sit and contemplate and refresh my mind, body, and soul as I should, so the walk with my beautiful children was much needed.

On our way back, as we passed the rolling hills of a crop field-turned grassy expanse (my favorite part of the walk), we spied a huge fuzzy caterpillar attempting to cross the semi-busy road toward the field. I stopped walking so my toddler and I could watch. We cheered it on, shouting, "Go caterpillar, go! You can do it! No, not that way! Keep going!" I was a little apprehensive. What if this caterpillar's journey didn't end so well and my son had to witness the squashing of a cool fuzzy bug? Cars kept coming down the road and with each swoosh of a passing vehicle the caterpillar got tossed in the wind like a leaf. But he kept going. It was incredibly suspenseful. With every car I thought, "Oh, this is it. He's a goner." However, miraculously, he got missed each time! That little caterpillar just kept creeping along and finally he made it into the safety of the grass. We cheered and clapped. Whew!

Now for a little philosophy: I think life can be a little bit like that. Seemingly huge obstacles can come barreling down on us, or we can have a goal where the end seems impossibly far away and we just creep along (like saving for a house and land!), but if we just keep at it, even if we get blown sideways or backwards, just keep trooping along, we'll make it! One step at a time. What a great life lesson.