The True Harvest

“The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched”

Henry David Thoreau

This weekend, Husband and I took the girls to the farm. To the Fall Harvest Festival at Green Chimneys, a place dear to me about which I have written before. The girls had an absolute ball. They took a ride on a pony. The bounced in a castle. They ate ice cream. They had their little hands painted. They talked to animals. And romped in leaves.

I glimpsed a few things on Saturday. Profound things.

That each of my girls is her own person. Each does her own thing.

Toddler is a paradoxical mix of strength and sensitivity. She is curious and creative. Eager to wander and explore and discover. She is protective and proud of her little sister.

Baby is a little wild one. Absolutely fearless. Eager to be a big girl like her sister. Her hero.

But I also saw something else. Something I have known for a while now. But the evidence was there. Everywhere. Unmissable. Strewn about the crisp leaves. Under the bright October sun.

That something else?

That my girls are the very best of friends. Given the choice, they are side-by-side, holding hands, marching on.

I agree with Thoreau. The true harvest of my life is intangible. But every now and then I see it and feel it. And strongly, too. Every now and then life's grays slide from the scene, and the color slaps me. Saturday was one of those times. I hung back, hand on my belly, feeling flutters from within, watching. Silently celebrating. Realizing that the true harvest of my life, my good and complicated life, is that I am part of things exquisitely bigger than myself.

A day. A season. A world. A life.

But most importantly: a family.

__________________________

• Do you agree that life's true harvest is intangible?
• Have there been moments when you have been slapped with awareness of what matters?
• Were you close with your siblings growing up? Do you think independence and deep dependence can co-exist within one creature? (I do.)
• Are your children best friends?
• Does it humble you to realize that you are part of things that are much bigger than you are?
• Is fall your favorite season too?