Wreckless Leaves and Miracles

I watched them dance through the yard, swirling and twirling, happy and carefree. Without warning they ran straight into the road in front of my van, doing cartwheels as they went. If they ever looked both ways I didn't notice. The smiles, I'm sure, never vanished from their faces, and as I swished by they leaped out from under my tires and into the air behind me, shouts of laughter and excitement escaping their lips...

I suppose the end of life is just as exciting for a leaf as their new beginning in the spring. I wonder, do they yearn to be free from the branches that hold them all summer long? Do they close their eyes during thunder storms or shiver on dark scary nights? Imagine the excitement of fluttering down from the highest branches, catching the breeze, floating upward again then spinning round and round on the dizzying descent! What wondrous stories a single leaf could tell...

But enough about leaves! Just today I have heard news that some of our good friends have plans to move back to the area. Though they will return minus their two eldest children, both daughters and friends of my Bethany, and partly minus a college-aged son, who is friends with Nathan, they will still have their very special, smiley youngest son who was just three years old when they first moved here fourteen years ago. It's likely we will no longer attend the same church or plan children's birthday parties together, but I'm hoping for a grand reunion and a day or two here and there to spend with Heather. Maybe we can work on scrapbooks, go shopping, or bake cookies. Too bad that house next door isn't up for sale...

PS. Thankful #3- I am thankful for friends, old and new!