Transitions

So many things are coming to fruition.

One daughter is already firmly established in her new college world with routines and patterns and circles of life that are hers and hers alone. Another daughter is managing the transition from a year of public service following college into the world of job applications, interviews, and apartment hunting.

There are no more baby turkeys on the trails where I ride my horse. Instead I see half grown adolescents strutting (if turkeys can ever be said to strut) along as they follow their mother – finding comfort in her presence for just a little while longer.

It is almost time to begin reflecting on how this year has gone. Almost but not quite. There is still garden produce to be prepared and stored for the winter, onions to chop and freeze, apples that are waiting to become sauce, soups to be made for the freezer.

But it is coming to an end. The apple trees, once so full of ripe fruit that picking one apple would send countless others tumbling to the ground, are now nearly bare. There are only a few remaining vegetables and flowers in the gardens. These will hang on until the very last moment when a hard frost confirms that the season is over.

Our political cycle is also coming nearer to a close. It will be a relief for many, a celebration for some, a disappointment for others. I imagine that the people who sell advertising are in a frenzy of activity rushing to fill the advertising spaces that will be empty when the relentless campaign slogans and slams finally disappear in early November.

I hope that after the elections those who are selected will have a chance to retreat into relative silence for a time of contemplation and preparation. Like the seeds that are falling to the ground or already lying under it I hope they will be able to use the rest of this year to gather strength for the seasons that lie ahead when the year begins anew.

Plants and animals make the transition from season to season, from cycle to cycle with a natural ease and grace. With us it is a little harder.

However, as I watch my daughters, who are no longer children but instead are companions in the adult world, I know they are making their transitions well. As I watch my political candidates I want to believe that they will manage their transitions just as well.