October Trees

Thank you, Kentucky

October is the best month in Kentucky, by far. (Personal opinion counts.)

The gentle breezes of October whisper encouragement as the branches dance, showing off the splendor of their leaves. Shades of red, yellow, orange, and gold blend, merging to create the most beautiful canvas I’ve ever seen.

Reflections, long-past memories, and beautiful memories in the making, October trees are at the center of so many for me.

For the longest time, October was my least favorite month because it was the month that almost took my mother from me when I was eight years old.

As an adult, I worked hard to distance myself from those bitter memories, to distance myself from the hatred I built for Kentucky Octobers, to open my heart and see them for what they could be, if only I let them show me.

Over the last twenty years, I’ve engaged in a love affair with October, and I now view it as the month that can’t be rivaled by any other.

November is a gift in her own right, and I welcome her in the place she belongs, nestled between the beauty of the now mostly fallen leaves and the first lazy snowfall, but I’m already mourning my October.

October, the mother of cool — not cold — temperatures, not-so-late sunsets, and the beautiful leaves that have yet to start falling from their homes, leaves that light the world on fire, paying homage to the flames’ many shades.

October trees offer a solace to me that even I don’t understand.

I’ll wait urgently to see them again in 2023. And should I not see their 2023, I want to pause and focus on the many thank yous I owe them for my 2022.

The thank you for the many hours I spent gazing at the beauty that is them.

All the memories that I built with my family beneath their glorious leaves.

The gentle hug they gave my brother where he lies, surrounded by their glory.

It’s beneath October’s golden leaves that I busily started the first of many bonfires (I have an obsession) for my family.

It’s beneath October’s leaves that I watched my youngest child still frolic with her cousins (will this be her last year of that?).

The October leaves provided the most beautiful of canopies as I watched my nephew throw a ball for the first time, his little face twisted in concentration.

It’s beneath those majestic leaves that I prefer to lie back and think about all the beautiful facets that made up my brother, that he still embodies for us every day, despite the fact that he’s left this world.

And it’s where I said many prayers of thanks that my sister is still here with me.

October trees watched on in approval as so many families picked just the right pumpkin, just the right shape and just the right size.

Beneath the October leaves so many boys and girls found their way through the path cut between the stalks of corn, their giggles of delight rising into the crisp air.

So many special moments. So many memories.

There is no beauty that can rival October Trees.

So, as these dancing beauties give way to the leaf blankets, stronger winds, and colder temperatures that November beckons with, I felt motivated to take a moment and say thank you, Kentucky, for another beautiful October filled with cherished memories.

Key Message: We can choose to look for the beauty in the things that have caused us pain in the past. Thankfulness for the good things should outweigh the importance we give the bad.