Happy Pumpkin

My feet - shuffling their way thru the piles of fallen leaves. That rustling sound. That crunch..crunch.

The air - infused with the smell of distant burning leaves. Crisp and cool and warmly inviting.

My hands - buried deep in my pockets to keep warm. Each day was shorter than the one before.

I remember finding my way home after school. Daylight fading. The warmth of the indoors inviting. I loved looking in...capturing bits and pieces and snippets of lives that lived there. Imagining stories.

A little girl with her lunchbox in one hand..her backpack in another. A little girl with her happy pumpkin greeting her. She walked in the door..and perched herself right there on that first step..and together - they watched and waited...and waited and watched.

One season..into another.