When all else fails and it seems nothing can cheer Nathan up, I take him outside. Now is the perfect time of year. It’s the period when the summer heat has melted away but the winter chill has not yet arrived. The sky is bright blue and rays of sun are dancing on the lawn, shining on the leaves that are daintily falling to the ground. Trees boasting leaves of vivid yellows, oranges, and reds dot the countryside.
As soon as I take Nathan outside, his tears dry and a smile brightens his face. His eyes flit tirelessly from one interesting object to another. He grabs onto my shirt tightly with one fist, the other fist held straight out from his body. Like a miniature Superman.
He loves to walk around the yard and watch as the colorful leaves spin lazily in the air as they descend to the ground. Sometimes a gust of wind shoots by, gathering the leaves from the roof and fanning them out all over the yard.
He laughs when this happens.
If you listen closely, you can almost hear the trees talking to each other, answering as gusts of wind whisper of winters to come. I think Nathan will really enjoy this time of year, hopefully as much as Paul and I do.
