when ashes of summer usher in the new

There is still beauty to be found in the ashes of summer’s ending, these dying back days when flowers lose their lustre. There is a tendency for us to fade with them in sympathy with summer’s passing, as we ache inside at the dimming of the light.

We might grieve a season’s closure, a period when life seemed bright and happy but is fast becoming a distant memory. Sadness can pervade all too swiftly when good times end and we get caught up in busyness.

My summer passed in a blur of unusual activity where I was overly preoccupied with the tasks before me, namely supporting my spouse’s post-op recovery. It’s still an ongoing process because of the setbacks he has endured and how much his progress has been slowed.

I mourn the months I feel I’ve missed, those lazy, leisurely days we cannot get back again for a while. I…