Nothing gold can stay

"Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."

  - Robert Frost

I love this poem.  (I love Robert Frost!  My favorite poem - The Road Not Taken - is something I think of every year during graduation....)  Over the years, the images and emotions these eight little lines bring to mind have changed, but I always think of how things change; of how fleeting every moment is and how I need to burn the memories into my mind.

Autumn is a beautiful yet bittersweet time.  All of the colors and smells and sounds....football, pumpkins, Halloween, crisp and sunny days.....I love it all.  Yet I am reminded that it changes in an instant, that the beautiful fall day becomes the snowstorm the next.

Yesterday I drove to Richland Center, WI for the last soccer tournament I will attend as the parent of a player.  Andrew had a great day and a great game; he had several great saves and was named to the all tournament team!  It was a glorious, yet cold and windy autumn day and it was great to spend it with my old and new friends.  As I sat and watched and cheered, I thought of the eight years I have spent as the mom of an MAHS soccer player; of the days of watching Garry struggle as a young player to his senior year and the skilled player he became, to Margo taking on the boys, to Andrew taking over the goalie position for his team.  My kids grew up with this team, with these players, with these families and now they are all moving on to college and careers and families of their own.

These days of homeschooling and soccer and debate and everything else are truly gold.  I've been blessed to be home with my kids and enjoy the gold of every day and every moment.  In a blink of an eye they have all gone from sweet little babies to wonderful young adults with wonderful plans and goals and big hearts.  While the gold can't stay and in so many ways is sad to see fade, the gold is often replaced with something more precious and wonderful. 

Just for today, enjoy the gold.