Autumn a.m.

I'm just waiting for the sun to warm the chilly air up a bit before I head to the Audubon for what will, no doubt, be an exhilarating and beautiful hike/run. It's the calm after the storm in my house. Kids are woken, breakfasts and lunches made, spelling words reviewed, homework signed, hair and teeth brushed, backpacks filled, hats and gloves found and the bus has arrived. I am savoring the silence and what's left of my cup of coffee as I plan the day ahead.

This is my favorite time of an autumn day...the morning. It's when the whole crisp, colorful day stretches out before me with its endless possibilities that I feel punch drunk and energized. This is exactly the kind of morning that makes me want to celebrate every moment to the mantra on rewind that I hear in my head: I am alive...thank God, I am alive!

There's no mistaking that mornings like this make perseverance possible.