By Sister Marcianne Bzdon, SSND
Fall in northern Illinois? It is a beautiful season of color and change.
Fall is driving along a country road each day and watching the trees slowly change to their fall outfits of red, green, yellow and brown, and seeing them gently float to earth for a rest.
Fall is driving to school while the sun is coming up each morning, passing tall fields of dry corn and brown fields of soybeans. It is returning in the afternoon or evening hours to see these same fields clothed now in stubble or made smooth by harvesting machines.
Fall is apple orchards, cider donuts, freshly made fudge and caramel apples, covered with nuts or plain, all sold and eaten while strolling through corn mazes and picking out pumpkins for later carving.
Fall is driving around small towns and seeing Halloween decorations, some small and homey and others almost as large as Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Balloons!
Fall is homecoming parades and cheering for one’s team and collecting candy thrown into the street by proud Catholic School Teams, waving to their elementary school fans.
Fall is praying the Rosary to honor our Lady in the month of October and getting students ready for All Saints Day and El Dia de Muertos - the Day of the Dead.
Fall is being aware that God is still in charge, despite all of the political, economic, and social upheavals that an election year brings with it.
Fall is being somewhat well settled into the school routine, preparing for conferences with parents and trusting that whatever one is doing, that it is what God wants of one at this time and in these moments.
That is Fall in northern rural Illinois.
Fall is a time to say THANK YOU, GOD, for a beautiful season!
