There’s a little notecard that says “Lunch” sitting on a ledge and leaning against my kitchen window. It serves as a small reminder to meet friends for lunch today, Thursday, at 11:30.

Our lunch date is a regular thing, but its regularity is random … schedules must line up. The four of us, Danelle, Marcy, Nanette and I are childhood friends that, somehow, reconnected and formed this cozy group.

We meet at palatable restaurants about once a month and we exchange stories, well wishes, and sincere hugs; it’s one of the gifts of retirement … we have time for one another.

My kitchen windowsill is where I put all my important reminders that are not “usual”; the “usual” ones are on my wall calendar or embossed in my brain. Anyway, I looked at my little note card this morning, happy to “go to lunch” and reminding myself that these small moments are still and always will be, the best things.

Speaking of windowsills, I opened my kitchen window today and the cool breeze rattled the small statue on the ledge and sent the promise of Autumn through the screen; I never tire of that first feeling of fall.

I know Spring is rebirth and invigorating, no doubt, but Autumn is coziness and home. Autumn is the sweater I grab that hangs on shaker pegs near the door, Autumn is the memory of little navy-blue caps from The Little Ones that snap under little boys’ chins and cover up tiny ears to keep the damp wind out and nighttime earaches away.

It is that first cup of hot coffee in the morning and the smell of the harvest rolling through the cane fields, coming through the backyard. It is Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin and flannel shirts; it is all the memories of home.

Curiously, each season affects us differently. Spring and summer energize and fall and winter tuck us in … nature knows; we should listen. We should listen to the hints she gives… the squirrels gathering and storing, the sleepy bears in their dens, the snow laden roads and paths that become impassable, the iced over ponds and lakes, the bare trees, and empty gardens; it’s time to slow down a bit. I suppose it is difficult for modern man to follow these natural rhythms; we have, in many ways, become unaware of these patterns; we have covered them up with concrete and lost our outdoor time to technology.

November is here. Daylight Savings time will end, as we “fall back” an hour and reenter Standard Time. November 8 will begin an interesting and very anticipated day of contrast; the natural world will experience the Full Beaver Moon and the political world will experience the world of wins and losses.

I hope you had a fun and safe Halloween. Put a simple and pleasurable “to do” word on your windowsill, and remember to exercise your privilege to vote.

(You can follow Pam’s blog, “A View From My Garden” www.pamshenskyart.com)