Embrace Seasonal Fleeting Beauty

"You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you."

-Song of Songs 4:7

T

The aesthetic fire of deciduous trees finally enflamed in the south by colder weather, warms the passionate poet within. As a mother of three with a fourth soon to emerge in the advent season, practicality and purposeful activities such as carpool lines, grocery shopping, meal planning, laundry, and endless cleaning (surfaces live in a constant state of stickiness) dominate the majority of day-to-day existence. Thus, the need to break out of the ordinary with a little extra-ordinary, to capture the fleeting magic of each season must occur. In the autumn, apple picking, small-town scarecrow staring and pumpkin patch meandering, provide family-friendly flavors to spice up even the slightly mushiness of daily chores.

Yet, when your significant other thrives on practical purpose and suppresses any seeking poetry as frivolous, the fire extinguishes into cold drudgery. With the last several months dominates by soccer games Saturday mornings and religious education on Sunday mornings, plus occasional week day meetings, my rather reserved spouse feels overscheduled and stressed. Finally a free Saturday morning, and the last time to enjoy a local little festive adventure, my husband completely rejects the activity as a waste of time and money (total cost for parking and activities around thirty dollars for our kids). Instead he decides to enter the battlefield of grocery shopping on a Saturday morning at Costco. Instead of outside in a field of pumpkins, my husband opted for the confinements of a warehouse with a wave of people armed with metal carts. Grocery shopping necessary for the health of a body yes; however, beauty fills the soul.

Lately, my weary husband lacks the desire to dance with mine. So solo, I spread my wings to gather my three little chicks and show them the delight of scarecrows in the downtown of our local community and the joy of a simple hayride at a local pumpkin patch.

For moments to savor and not merely consume for survival revives me to live out practically and purposefully with passion. When, bonded to a partner pulling away from wonder, insisting on merely work, disappointment and despair dominates discussions.

Husbands, dance with your wife, take pictures with your children by scarecrows and pumpkins, and dare to embrace frivolously occasionality, like buying flowers for her delight in beauty, rather than your only functional interests. Dare to choose her pumpkin patch and indulge in adventure rather than just ventures.