From green to gold, orange, red then brown they grow and they dazzle until they fall only to be raked into piles for children (and those who wish to be childlike again) to dive into in a final celebration of their gift to us. It’s easy to miss amidst the dreary gray of a cold and blustery fall day, but autumn is when all of creation’s colors are truly on display. All the shapes and sizes each similar, but with their own signature, unique as snowflakes yet bound together by an inevitable fate and letting go only when their job is done. Even a leaf must have a sense of purpose. It captures the energy of light and drinks in all that it can while it can; working every moment so that its tree, its mother, its home, its roots can live, can carry on and grow to be stronger and better because each leaf does its part. i wonder if a leaf could choose or if more leaves gave up too early, how would the trees ever grow to reach the heavens?