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Autumn Filled Days by Evelyn Corrie Birkby
(excerpt from Kitchen-Klatter magazine, October 1958, p.6) "The dinosaurs are gallumping across the countryside again. Bit by bit the corn crop is being gleaned by the big red, green, gray and orange monsters. With all the bountiful gifts the good Lord has granted us it might be a good time to begin the process of being thankful. The rich color of the trees, the drying of the grasses, the brown of the stocks all tell us of the changing of the seasons and the constancy and dependability of this old world. But we cannot brood too long in beautiful autumn for too much is waiting to be done. I'm reminded of a friend of mine who lives in Florida. Each year she takes her vacation in the fall for the express purpose of coming back to her old home in Iowa. She comes to see the deep rich color of the leaves, to smell the burning bonfires and to shuffle her feet deep in the rustling piles on the ground. Now a long trip isn't necessary for those of us who live right here in this beautiful state. Only a few steps to the window and a rich view is available. We may never live in Florida long enough to appreciate deeply the changing of the seasons in Iowa, but perhaps by trying to look at our state with the eyes of one long away from it, we might find a refreshing new perspective. How sad to reach the age where adult inhibitions eliminate some of the wonders children experience this time of year! Just watch the combination of one or more children in a big pile of crisp leaves. Loud gleeful yells, rushing legs, soft crunching noises, complete abandonment, unrestrained enjoyment and rich contentment are the lot of children who are turned loose on a pile of autumn leaves. When bedtime comes the warm rich odor of the whole out-of-doors permeates clothing and the golds and reds and browns cling in tiny bits to rumpled hair. Nothing can quite compare with the joys of a childhood day full of autumn. Life in the little white house with the green trim has a mighty hectic quality called "normal." As normal, that is, as three lively boys can make it. I may complain at times about some of the work involved, and as you know very well it is never done, but I love the roust about, ever busy hours which make up our daily schedule. (I am determined that I shall not sit when the boys are grown and gone and say, "Why didn't I enjoy them when they were little, for that is the happiest time of all." I will enjoy the right now, confident that each age brings happiness."
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