The power of red leaves! Daily challenge #9

Fall was definitely in the air; the squirrels were scampering around gathering their nuts, and the rainbow mixture of leaves were blowing in the gentle wind. The man held his wife’s hand tightly as they walked with slow but purposeful steps. A walk in the park was usually a pleasant experience, they would engage in easy conversation. Today was different tho, the man was lost in his thoughts, “Betty always loved Fall; it was her favorite season, she loved the hayrides and warming  up by the campfire afterwards. Roasting marshmallows was her specialty, just the right shade of brown to them. A tad crisp on the outside while sweet and gooey on the inside.” He proceeded to walk along keeping his thoughts to himself, for his wife seemed lost in her own thoughts as well.

“Its a little bit chilly out here”, thought his wife, as they strolled along. “Glad I wore my sweater.”  With that thought, she had a nostalgic moment, as her mind wandered  back to the time  when she was a child. It was during the Great Depression, and she knew there might not be anything for Christmas that year. She tried not to be disappointed, as she wore her frayed and faded blue sweater to school. The color blue just added to her sadness, she preferred red, but this blue sweater had been  given to her and they couldn’t refuse it. Ir definitely got worn and did serve its purpose, but she still loved the color of red best of all.

As they drew closer to the bench that a woman was sitting on, the man could see what she was intently doing. He started to get choked up and a tear came to his eyes. She was knitting a red sweater, Betty, his twin sister,  had  loved the color red and owned a beautiful red sweater.  When discussing with his other siblings what she should be buried in, they had picked the red sweater, for it was her favorite.  He wiped at his  tears as they drew closer.

“OH look at that!”, thought his wife, “She is knitting a red sweater!” Happiness flooded her heart at the memory of the joy she felt when waking up Christmas morning. With a gasp of surprise she had spied a wrapped box with her name on it. She unwrapped it, and to her shock and joy, she had  pulled out a vibrant  red sweater! So that is why her Mom had stayed up late so many nights; she was knitting her a sweater! She had treasured that sweater forever, as a gift of her Mom’s great love for her!

The lady looked up from the bench as she saw a couple come strolling by. In her eagerness to get this red sweater finished, she almost hadn’t noticed them.  The delight in her heart was bursting due to the purpose for the sweater; her daughter was in China now, greeting her new toddler. A sweet, 3 year old girl, that needed a home. Her daughter and son-in-law had been thrilled about it! To them this was a mighty answer to prayer, their weeping at night, over their empty home, was now turning into tears of joy, as they were going to fill their house with the laughter and spunk of a precious 3 year old! A tear rolled down her cheek at the anticipation of meeting her granddaughter for the first time. She had to share the joy with someone! Maybe the couple coming would like to sit and chat awhile….and she motioned them over to the bench. As they came over, a strong breeze blew  and shook the tree that was standing right behind the bench. The breeze made more leaves fall to the ground. The couple had sat down next to the woman and the leaves fell in their laps. Vibrant  red leaves! They both picked up a leaf and turned their faces upward, looking at the sky, as they smiled.