savoring each pause

The days rush by, whirring, swirling, an occasional brief pause.

But I feel the air getting cooler, the breeze tickling my skin with an invigorating rush of excitement. The absence of humidity is not mourned, the changes of the season gradually inching toward my open embrace. I see the beauty as sun beams dance between towering pines, the early morning fog hovering over creeks, those beloved smoky blue mountains rising in the distance. I hear new birdsong, the sound of slightly crinkled leaves skipping across pavement. I taste the richness and warmth of morning coffee as if it were the first taste of bittersweet darkness. I breathe in and smell the scent of autumn. And I know that these moments are so full of life.

Each pause must be savored.