Amazing Leaves | Amazing Grace — Women

This week have I not been able to stop looking up. Charlotte has been covered in color as our normal canopy of lush green has transformed into a halo of gold, red, and orange

Every morning as I walk my dog, Dexter, I have paused to marvel at one bright tree or another. So many are photo-worthy and I have taken pictures to send to my mom who loves fall color but lives in the desert of El Paso with much less obvious signs of the seasons changing.

Is it just me or has the autumn this year been unusually vivid? Are the leaves actually more magnificent this year or is it we who have changed?

Maybe it is the past eighteen months of isolation and confinement that have made us more prone to look at the world around us. I remember when spring came this year after so many dreary winter months, I literally felt like dancing. It was as if it was the first-time crocuses, daffodils, Bradford pears, and cherry trees had ever blossomed.

In past years, I know I have been much less appreciative and reflective of the changing seasons. I know that Spring and Fall have happened at least 36 times since I moved to Charlotte from Texas, yet I never remember appreciating them more.

Maybe you feel that way too—as if everything looks a little brighter and leaves a little more resplendent than you ever remember.

That is what I will be giving thanks for this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving. While I am not grateful for all the lives this pandemic has taken or all the hardships it has caused families, I am grateful for the new eyes I feel have opened. Eyes that are a little more likely to look in wonder rather than complacency.

On Thursday, as Charlie and I hold hands around the table in our new home with family both in our home and in our hearts, I will be in wonder of and grateful for

Four daughters and now, son

Our son in law to be

Our grandson to be

A grandmother who will be with us after beating cancer a second time

A grandmother who will not be with us but survived a round with Covid

Moves completed and boxes unpacked

New neighbors and old friends

Wyoming mountains and Charlotte trees

Adventures completed and those to come

Full and lasting hugs

The turkey and my goose

I will be looking around the table at family so loved while missing others both in this world and already gone. And I will continue to be looking up, not only at the amazing leaves but at the amazing grace that surrounds us all.

—Kathy

Kathy Izard is the founder of Women | Faith & Story (www.womenfaithstory.com) and the award-winning author of three books. Her first memoir The Hundred Story Home released in 2016, received a Christopher Award for outstanding inspirational nonfiction. In 2019, she created a children’s book, A Good Night for Mr. Coleman with artist Evelyn Henson, encouraging kids to dream big and do good. Her new memoir, The Last Ordinary Hour, is now available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback through your favorite booksellers. Kathy’s work has been featured on NPR as well as the Today Show inspiring people to be changemakers in their communities. Learn more www.kathyizard.com.