The only flaw in that plan is that my oldest and her husband have taken a liking to it this year after finding so much of it in their weekly CSA. My two boys are the only kale holdouts anymore; the rest of us are kale converts.

I stood in my kitchen, watching the sun come up yesterday and sipping my coffee. While a frost means your garden is likely done for the season, it’s still a beautiful sight when those first rays of sunshine reach down from the tops of the trees. Everything sparkles, and the mundane becomes beautiful. 

Whether you live somewhere with visible seasonal changes or not, it’s still a breath-taking time of year. As I was driving home from the grocery store Friday afternoon, I was struck by the beauty of the brown and dying stalks of summer flowers. 

The thistles, the skeletal umbels of Queen Anne’s Lace, and even the humblest weeds take on an austere beauty. I think I’m going to pick some and put them in a vase on my table.

As we head into this new week together, I encourage all of you to slow down a bit, to stop and admire the beauty of what’s around you. Mindfulness has become increasingly important to me in the past few years. I’m constantly reminded of the wonder of the world we live in any time I pause for a moment simply to be in it. 

I invite you to join me in wonder this week, and I’ll see you on Wednesday, friends.