Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance. What man can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon?

– Hal Borland

Autumn is almost upon us. I love this time of year. After a weekend where I got to rehearse a brand new play with an amazing team of people, and I got to have a 30 minute phone call with my daughter in Finland, I thought I’d celebrate with some pictures. 

Maggie got to go on a cruise from Finland to Sweden! I sure miss having her around, but it fills my heart to see her enjoying herself. 

My son Max, and our new son Tommaso (our exchange student from Italy), had a great time this weekend. I stayed home to work, but Jeanne and the boys went north to the lake where my in-laws live and had a great time visiting and swimming!

A couple shots from rehearsal of Pulp by Joseph Zettelmaier:

Here, John Lepard and Joe Bailey have a little standoff.  (Well, their characters do. The actors get along great! 😜)
And here are Michelle, Sarah and Anna -some of the amazing people making the show happen!

Recently I made my first foray EVER into an IKEA. We and our pals the Woodards went in a big group. My ratings:

Store: Fun.  

Coffee:  Good. 

Meatballs: Meh. 

And so – today starts a new year for our house. The start of a new busy cycle. I’m deep in rehearsals for our new season of plays. Maggie may be off in Finland, but Max Tommaso and Jeanne all began a new school year this morning, which will include classes, tennis, choir, theatre guild and lots more. It’s easy to look at that and think “Oh geez, back to the grind” – but it’s also an exciting time. So much good stuff is on the way, so many new exciting projects. I know many of you are going through your versions of this transition too – and I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am!

The season for enjoying the fullness of life — partaking of the harvest, sharing the harvest with others, and reinvesting and saving portions of the harvest for yet another season of growth.
 -Denis Waitley