{"id":263,"date":"2013-10-14T17:13:15","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T17:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robinbotie.com\/blog\/?p=263"},"modified":"2014-01-22T11:09:18","modified_gmt":"2014-01-22T11:09:18","slug":"healing-from-loss-octobers-colors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robinbotie.com\/blog\/healing-from-loss-octobers-colors\/","title":{"rendered":"Healing from Loss: October’s Colors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Images<\/a>This week there were sunny warm days where I could pretend it was still August. There were clear star-riddled skies at night with a half-moon bright enough to throw moon-shadows. But we\u2019d already had a few frosts. The flowers by my door were gone.<\/p>\n

I asked a dozen people to tell me something beautiful about October.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe colors,\u201d several said. \u201cThe smell in the air,\u201d said others. Sniffing the crisp air, I went on walks with friends and photographed hillsides of trees blushing red. Camille showed me a big wall of stone hearts just behind us that I missed, distracted by a swollen stream. Dennis pointed out huge root systems buried under the leaves in the woods.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee the leaves raining down?\u201d asked Virginia. Our feet made loud shooshing sounds as we walked through the light crunchy blanket on the forest floor. It was stunning. It mostly made me sad.<\/p>\n

My daughter loved this time of the year. Marika could make Halloween last the whole month.\u00a0 She saw lights and music, opportunities to dress up, silly pumpkins, and the holidays to come. I always saw mud, short dark days, flooding, imminent storms, and long months ahead lumbering under heavy winter jackets.<\/p>\n

At home I turned up the heat. I made chili and started to stuff the freezer with storm food. I put out plastic battery-powered candles that flick fake orange fire. It was not beautiful but the candles\u2019 glow and the aromas of hot hearty soups comforted me.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook,\u201d said my friend Valentina, \u201cyou didn\u2019t see.\u201d She pointed to the single flower she\u2019d placed on the table next to my manuscript that I have started to rewrite once more.\u00a0The flower stood there, simple and sweet but cheeky. Still fresh, its long petals were just beginning to tangle. It had a radiance that made me melt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the last flower from my garden,\u201d Valentina said.<\/p>\n

I sat with it and couldn\u2019t help but smile. I watched it like I used to watch my daughter\u2019s hazel eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week there were sunny warm days where I could pretend it was still August. There were clear star-riddled skies at night with a half-moon bright enough to throw moon-shadows. But we’d already had a few frosts. The flowers by my door were gone. I asked a dozen people to tell me something beautiful about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-25"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t