A GRIMBOL GOOD BYE, By Rev Grimbol

These autumn days have been spectacular. The air so clean and crisp. The breeze brisk but not cutting. The clouds pillowy. The sky such a deep sea blue. The trees ablaze. The occasional maple looking Christmasey in dark red and green.

The gathering of pumpkins in piles and patches. The myriad houses made spooky by Halloween paraphernalia  Ghosts and goblins. Witches and spiders and cobwebs. Creaking doors and wide bloodshot eyes in windows. What fun. Child like joy abounds.

I took a wondrous trip with Justin and Heather at the very peak of the foliage. We went up to the Upper Penisula, and stayed in some funky little blue collar towns and motels. Our drives were breathtaking. Even in the rain, the colors radiated fire.

It was magical. The beauty quite healing. Beauty takes your breath and then gives it back again. Only the new breath is fresh. Fine. Filled with a gratitude for the blessings of just being alive.

Autumn is a time of memory. Remembrance is its theme. It is also a season which prepares us well to say good-bye. The glorious smells of leather and smoke and cider and cinnamon. The enchanted cool days, with a hint of summer. The haunted cold nights of being tucked in cozy.

Winter beckons from the horizon. A cold white and blue finger asking us to come home now. To sit at the hearth. To hibernate. To get ready for the drifting snows and icy winds.

This is again a time in my Life when I am being mandated to say a difficult farewell – to my beloved chuckling cheery wife, Patty. A combination of Edith Bunker and Aunt Bea and Sophia of the Golden Girls. A pal and companion and friend and partner and a soul mate par excellence. It has been an ache of an ending. Never dreamed I’d bid adieu to two great wives in my one lifetime. But I must. Feeling blessed and cursed simultaneously is an eerie and odd mix.

Autumn. The trees wave goodbye in streamers of flame. The air cools and welcomes in the cold. Life retreats, and the soil hardens. The browns come marching in. Only a few gold coins cling to the trees. We say our final good-byes to the whoops and glee of summer and blow a kiss to the fading festivities of Fall.

We are satisfied. We are at peace. We are content. Calm. At home with Life and God, and at last, with our very own Selves.