Autumn is the quintessential season of change. A chill is the air, backyard bonfires fill our noses with the smell of smoke and leaves turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. Then they fall, creating dry, crunchy piles on the ground, leaving stark profiles of empty, barren trees. It’s a beautiful time, or perhaps a melancholy time for those of us reluctant to let go of summer.

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Lately my husband and I have been talking about life plans, goals and ambition with our grown children. They’re all young adults moving at various stages along their own individual paths of independence. Each is considering various options for the future, pondering what comes next.

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Arranged on the shelf above my desk are various photos of my dad, along with a family picture of my husband and me with our 3 young (at the time) children. A small flowery sign in the center of the pictures reads “wish you were here.” We lost my dad last summer after a difficult battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

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Time has been on my mind a lot lately. I find myself contemplating how fast it goes and how much things change. I realize how true this is because so much is different now than just 5 years ago, while 15 years ago seems like a different lifetime altogether. Memories make it possible to evaluate the force of time upon our lives; they are windows into what transpired.

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We are constantly bombarded by persuasive messages of self-affirmation. Sentiments like “LIVE YOUR TRUTH” and “YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH” are commonplace and obvious. They seem benign and positive at first…

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As a young man, my dad had a large original oil painting hanging in his apartment. It depicts a vase full of cheerful, daisy-like flowers painted in the hallmark colors and character of the early 70s: loud, gaudy and stylized; it’s a fitting tribute to the culture of that era. Years later the painting found a prominent place on our family room wall.

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