October Thoughts: The Seasons of our Lives.

October 10, 2026

There is something about October that makes me remember.

Maybe it is the crispness in the air, the changing leaves, or the way the days grow a little shorter. Autumn seems to invite us to slow down and look back.

When I was a little girl growing up in Idaho, fall wasn't simply a pretty season. It was a busy one.

There were potatoes to harvest, gardens to finish, food to put away, and preparations to make before winter arrived. As a child, I didn't think of those days as memories in the making. They were simply life.

Now I know differently.

The older I become, the more I realize that some of life's greatest treasures are hidden inside the ordinary days.

A kitchen filled with familiar smells.

A parent's voice.

Children laughing.

A family gathered around a table.

A photograph tucked away in a box.

A story you've heard so many times you think you'll never forget it—until one day you realize you're the person who needs to tell it.

Perhaps that is one reason I have become so passionate about writing.

I want to save those little pieces of life.

Lately I have been writing stories from many different seasons of my life. Some have made me laugh. Others have brought tears. A few have even reminded me of those mysterious and slightly spooky experiences that seem especially appropriate to remember in October!

Every story has reminded me of something important:

Our lives don't have to be famous to be worth recording.

The people we love don't have to have accomplished something the world considers remarkable for their lives to matter.

Sometimes the most important story is simply the story of a family being a family.

I have also learned that preserving our stories doesn't have to begin with writing a book.

Write a memory on a piece of paper.

Put a name and date on the back of an old photograph.

Ask an older relative a question you've always wondered about.

Write down Grandma's recipe before nobody remembers exactly how she made it.

Tell your children the funny story they've heard a hundred times—one more time.

Someday, those little things may become treasures.

The leaves outside will soon be gone, and another Idaho winter will arrive. Seasons have a way of passing whether we're ready for them or not.

Life is like that too.

We can't keep a season forever.

But we can remember it.

And sometimes, if we're lucky, we can write it down.

Happy October,

Roma Sierk