It smells like the beginning of fall — you know, that smell of half-summer, half fall. Oh, I can’t explain it… but it’s nice.  It smells like something new is coming…

So said my twenty-year-old granddaughter Lyssa, as she opened the door to the morning on the way to her college classes for the day. Her comment was a gift.

…the beginning of… the end of… Something new is coming…

I love beginnings. I count birthdays, anniversaries, New Year’s Day — any day I can find  to celebrate — as beginnings. I go off by myself with a journal and pen, and I think on paper.

What’s done? Or what’s no longer fun to do? What have I outgrown? What in my life is taking my time but is just not important to me any more? Am I spending too much time living up to others’ expectations for my life and neglecting what’s important to me?

Like leaves drying and falling off the maples and oaks, some tasks are simply finished. Or I’m finished doing them. Time to rake them and heap them onto the compost pile.

And yet, as the apple’s leaves wither and curl, the fruit ripens and strengthens its color. So… what’s next?

Do I relax and read more? Take new classes? Discover a new painting medium or technique? What will I learn and who will I meet this season? How can I make my home cozy yet fresh as the holidays approach? What are the next steps to what I’ve already accomplished?

What new coffees will I brew? (Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. )

On the blog If Mama Don’t Laugh…,  Lucy Adams says that what you did yesterday is past your point of concern:

… start over tomorrow, regardless of what you did today. You are relieved of your obligation to any path you’ve chosen that no longer suits you. Today is the day that you quit the volunteer committee that has become a burden to you. Today is the day you tell your spouse you want to make a career change. Today is the day you take the first step on your course to fulfilling a dream. Today you are throwing off all the burden of trying to live up to the expectations of everyone else and you’re starting anew as the authentic YOU. It’s the do-over of a lifetime…

For just a few minutes, sit back — with your coffee or tea — and picture yourself crunching underfoot those dry and cracked and lifeless fall leaves. What would they be? And what fall fruits would you choose? It smells like fall where I live… something new is in the air. What is it for you?

Tags: beginnings, coffee, fall, new, new painting medium, over coffee, Painter tutorial, Painter X tutorial, painting medium, painting technique, something new, the beginning of, the end of, tutorial