Little Apples

I love autumn. The cooler temperatures, vibrant colors, smell of a bonfire, and taste of crisp apples just bring a peace to my soul. I look forward to this season with great anticipation. When roadside stands begin to fill with pumpkins and apples, I am positively giddy!
One of my favorite pastimes is baking.  While I bake year round, I certainly bake more in fall and winter. Once the apples are ripe, I am off to bring home a bushel. In the days that follow our home is filled with apple pie, apple bars, apple cake, apple crisp, and apple muffins.  I spend hours peeling apples and pouring over my recipes.  My family usually enjoys it for a few days and then they’ve had enough apples. Once they are saturated, I start showing up at friend’s homes with baked goods in hand.
Apple season offer me the opportunity to spend a lot of time in thought.  As I sit at the table peeling apples, my kids run in and out.  We have conversations and then they are off to work, play and so on.  Peeling apples gives me time to just sit and observe them.  It got me thinking about one of my favorite sayings; “That little apple landed right next to the tree”.  I say it often, about my own children. Sometimes when one of my children uses one of my mannerisms, my husband will say it to me.
If you think about it, our “little apples” do land right next to the tree. Sometimes it’s funny and sometimes it’s revealing.  In watching and listening to my children I see so much of myself in them. When my daughters use my expressions, it warms my heart and makes me chuckle.  When one of my children yell “move it grandma” from the backseat of the minivan when a pokey driver is in front of us, I cringe.  I need to remember that my little apples have been greatly influenced by the tree they grew on. They’re always watching and learning.  Truth is told, the behaviors they exhibit that frustrate me the most are usually traced back to the tree trunk.
This fall, my prayer is that I will remember the great gift of influence I have on my “little apples”.
Be Blessed!
Leslie

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