Loving the Way We Change

I love the fall season. It reminds me of growing up in Brooklyn. Our summers were busy. No, we didn’t have planned activities. The daily plan…when the Sun rose, we got up, had breakfast and hit the sidewalks. We rode our bikes, roller-skated, jumped rope. By the way, my best friend and I were the best double-dutchers on the block. We played from sun up until sun down. Or well… until you heard your mama’s call all the way down the block. There were no cell phones back them. Consequently, we all knew the voice of our mother. We ran home in a hurry when she called.

Then fall came, school started again, and so did the order of things at home. Mom didn’t work. Yes, we grew up on welfare until our teen years. It wasn’t that mom wasn’t smart, or unable to work. Quite the opposite, she was brilliant. I’m not sure if she knew how smart and strong she was.

When we arrived home from school, the house was clean and dinner was prepared. The routine consisted of dinner, homework, and a few chores. After chores, it was bath and then we could watch whatever our parents were watching. We didn’t have Cable, Netflix, a VCR or a DVD player. We didn’t have a color TV until we were teens.

Even though I grew up in an abusive home, and my mother later became an alcoholic, I remember the fall season of my youth. I remember there were moments of peace, order, structure. I remember then and now I remember the order, structure and goals I set for myself last year.

No, I haven’t reached all my goals. Like the days of my youth, I don’t have all I want. I do have all that I need. I have enough to accomplish my goals for my future and to enjoy the present moments.

I rejoice because I have completed some things, such as my third book, started a fourth, and I occasionally get to write a column for the local newspaper. So I won’t beat myself up over the other goals I have not completed yet. I know I haven’t entered that season yet, but it will come.

In the meantime, as I reflect on my youth and my today, I’ll work in this fall season on family and business matters. For me, it’s a time to settle down, find restructure and the order of life. This is a time when I draw my family closer to me; listen closely to their dreams, preparing comforting meals and anticipating the holidays to come. I remember that is what my mother taught me.  Mother has passed on and I do miss her. However, her brilliance stays with me always. I remember every lesson she taught me. So now looking outside my window, I marvel at the leaves changing. I know I change as they do. And oh, how beautiful we are.  

Brook Lynn Dorcent
Author/Inspirational Speaker
Missing the Mark (Novel One)
Pressing Toward the Mark (Novel Two)
Forgetting Those Things...(Novel Three)
Reaching Forth (Novel Four - Coming 2014)
Spirit Over Will - Devotional  
www.brooklynndorcent.com
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