BY PAMELA JO BOWMAN – MESA ARIZONA – This weekend my bones could feel the equinox changing. I felt chilled in the heat of the day. I feel it every year. It makes me sad as summer ends and the year begins its decline.

Of course, as the change begins, it is beautiful. The leaves turn to amazing shades of orange. Yellow. And, red. One last splash of color before the trees lay dormant for a season. The autumn also makes me happy. A whispered promise of chilly days. A chance to wear warmer clothes and cuddle with loved ones, drinking hot chocolate and nibbling on iced cinnamon rolls.

The season ends with family traditions and moments spent loving one another and life itself. Children are back at school and soon are at my door begging for Halloween candy. Thanksgiving is overshadowed by the holidays and then New Year’s Eve closes the season. It always leaves me feeling a tad blue. All the unfulfilled hopes and unrealized dreams of the previous year haunt me.

Soon, Indian summer will begin. Evenings will be spent in night games of hide and seek. Will someone find me hiding beneath the fallen leaves? Will I touch base and free myself?

Moments of a life, my life. My bones can feel the change. Chills in the heat of my life. I do not want to miss my splash of orange.