Tuesday, September 29, 2009

God gets out His robe

The concept of time is tough for a preschooler to grasp. When is tomorrow today? Does holiday stuff in the store mean we can celebrate this afternoon?

We've been trying to illustrate the span of time with my 4 year old of late. Christmas is after Grandpa's and Mom's birthdays, after the weather turns colder, the grass turns brown(er), the leaves fall from the trees and snow tumbles to the ground. And I thought we got it.

And then this morning, fall weather finally hit. Dressed in fuzzy tights and jackets this morning, my daughter was ready to go. I asked her, "Why do you think it's colder?" - hoping she remembered our "fall" talk from the day before.

"God," she answers. OK, I can't argue with that. "But why does God want it colder?" I ask.

"So He can wear his robe."

Well, He's definitely got one on this evening. I tried to explain that a flowered skirt and palm-tree tank top does not make an appropriate outfit for working in the garden this evening, to no avail. (She later layered up.) Tonight, as the sky turned pink, we had our first reality check that fall's arrived. The tomato plants and cages were ripped out to make room for fall garlic. The dying bean plants were torn up as well. As we're waiting for our fall round of plantings to show the fruits of our labor, we're only hoping the first frost doesn't cut it short. Here's hoping God doesn't want to throw on a parka too soon.

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