Welcome Home
2004-09-01 @ 9:07 a.m.

Today is, in my book, the first day of fall. With the simple words "Good morning, Amarillo! You're joining us today, September 1st, 2004 at 5:00 am!!" life has a renewed balance for me.

I love autumn. It is hands down my favorite part of year. There's something about kids going back to school, about buying winter jackets and lined boots that revives me. It's as if the whole world has been exposed, has shown to everyone and everything that it's still there, it's still being abused, and that yes, in fact, the sun is still hot enough to burn grass and create a ban on fireworks in the more dry states.

But with autumn comes a closing in. The beginning of the rebirth of life. It brings couples walking in the street, kicking the leaves in the gutter like they're still children jumping into piles in the front yard. Young men hold hands with their loved one, keeping slightly chilled figers warm.

You can walk through the neighborhood I grew up in and smell the fireplaces being lit, as early as tonight. It will be the first of the year for many, a sort of ritual to welcome the season, even though it's going to get into the mid 80's today.

The street I grew up on has a canopy of trees over the street, many nights you can barely see the stars peeking through. Many nights as a teen, and into my very early adulthood, I would walk these streets just after dark, seeing the smoke drift whimsically into the air, smelling of mesquite and cedar.

Tonight, I'll park my car infront of Tom and Jodi's house. I'll leave my keys in the ingnition, my purse in the front seat, you can still do things that like there..... And I'll walk, maybe for an hour, maybe longer. I'll walk until my heart, my mind, is clear as it was years ago.

The only difference is tonight, I'll be joined with one of the few people who acctually understand this cleansing, this subtle joy, this process. With one of the few who really get me, down to the core of who I am, and know that this is a silent walk, something that while I enjoy doing, I feel I have to do it also.... Tonight, is the beginning of the rest of the year for me. Who knows, maybe, as in the past, it's the beginning of a new life.....

Welcome home Cole.