How Much of Ourselves Do We Leave Behind? By Sandy Brannan

Fall is a time of indescribable beauty when the leaves change their colors before they drop to the ground. It’s simply mesmerizing. Like others, I enjoy taking a trip to the mountains in search of these beautiful colors before they’re gone. I missed the glorious show one year, but I got there in time to notice that the ground was littered with red and orange leaves left behind by the trees.

Have you ever thought about how much of ourselves we leave behind, what we share with others as we go through life?

Sometimes we move on, leaving tiny pieces of ourselves as we get ready for the next season. I wonder how much of us is left as memories, gifts of ourselves that we have given to others.

Even though I missed the peak leaf season that year, I was still able to enjoy what was left behind, knowing it wouldn’t be long before it was only visible to me in my memories.

With everyone we meet we leave a tiny part of ourselves behind. Some people will have a huge pile of memories to sift through one day while others will only remember us as one leaf that fell to the ground.

I got over my disappointment that year when I missed seeing the leaves change colors. It didn’t take long for me to notice their beauty even though it wasn’t where I expected it to be. Beauty is always there. You just have to look for it.

Wayne County native, Sandy Brannan, author of Becoming Invisible, So Much Stays Hidden, Masquerade, and Frozen in Time, teaches middle and high school English. She is a regular contributing writer for Calla Press. Sandy also is a contributing writer for The Real Deal of Parenting and Her View From Home. Sandy’s idea of a perfect day is one spent creating memories with her grandchildren. This usually includes coloring and reading a lot of books. You can read more of her work on her blog at sandybrannan.com. Sandy is also active on social media and can be found at facebook.com/sandybrannanauthor as well as instagram.com/sandybrannanauthor.