kate,

as you enter your 4th decade on this earth, i wanted to give you a small gift....a mere token of my appreciation for you (along with the other loot you'll unwrap later at home!). i have been searching for weeks, trying to find some template that would do you justice, express to the world the essence of who you are, etc.; but after days of shirking my work responsibilities in an effort to realize this goal, i came to the conclusion that it would diminish you to try to pin you down.

so, instead, i have chosen this maple leaf, brilliant with color, on the verge of winter's icy grip. not that i think for one moment that you are on the way out, my friend. on the contrary. the fall is but a precursor to real life, the life that comes after death, the shedding of the old, the giving up of that which is lost. and i see that as the path on which God has you - the path that is leading to the beginning of your real life. this season has been so much about learning to lay down, yield, acquiesce, etc. and while it may be quiet for a time, as things brew beneath the surface, there is a life being birthed inside of you this very moment and at the right time, you will step into it with full assurance that your time has indeed come.

get ready for greatness, kate. the winter is near, the time for dying nearly over.

autumn has indeed returned. shine your colors. you are born!

(i love you always.....sarah)