Autumn is a mellow time of the year when life seems to slow down so we can soak up enough beauty to last us through the drab days of winter when there are no leaves on the trees or flowers along the walks or ripe red tomatoes in the garden just waiting to be sliced and placed between two slices of bread loaded with crispy bacon.

It is a time of the year when we seem to look back and seek out memories, dust them off, and enjoy them along with the beauty in the mountains. Friends come to mind, many of whom we haven’t seen in awhile, and we remember why we are friends. Instances from the friendship pop into our minds bringing cherished smiles.

Lee Iacocca said, “My father used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, then you’ve had a great life.” That is true because true friendship is a treasure beyond comparison.

As we go through life, we associate with thousands of other people, and each one of those people makes some kind of impression on us. It may not be a conscious impression, and it may not be one that lasts very long.

People who become our friends leave lasting impressions. They leave a little bit of themselves with us in memories.

As I watch the foliage turn to the beautiful colors of fall and finally disperse, I think that friendships must be a lot like trees. The colors of the leaves change through the seasons of a tree’s life, but the life-giving sap always runs through the veins. Friendship has its changes, also, but the veins of friendship always contain the sap that keeps it going and gives it nourishment.

There are trees that tower toward the sky, straight and proud, sending their heavy branches upward with the assurance that their roots are planted deep in the soil. These are like friendships that last forever. No matter what happens, the feelings of these friends reach down into the soils of love and stand fast through all kinds of storms and sunny weather.

Trees, like friendships, give the assurance of support while their branches reach out for nourishment. They grow together in the forest in a friendly environment letting each flourish yet shielding the forest floor below. They provide a haven beneath their branches.

They are there for a long time, sturdy, strong, bending with the winds, but they don’t break. Sometimes a branch may snap off, but that happens in friendships, too, when something comes along to cause a break in a relationship. If the tree, like a friendship, is strong and healthy, it heals itself without dying.

William Penn said, “There can be no friendships where there is no freedom. Friendship loves a free air, and will not be fenced up in strait and narrow enclosures.” Unfortunately, there are friendships that try to fence us into a small space.

We see these friends from the position of a tree in the middle of a forest surrounded by other trees that tower over it shutting out light and air needed for growth. If this tree lives, it is stunted. Usually, after a time, the tree dies.

Friendships, like this tree, cannot flourish because friends who try to control the friendships smother them. These one-sided relationships soon die out.

Some friendships are like trees wiped out by blight. The blight can come from outside, but sometimes it eats away from the inside. We don’t know exactly what has happened, and we may not realize a friendship’s importance until it is gone.

The world would be a dreary place without trees. Not only do they add beauty to our world, they provide necessary oxygen to replenish what we use out of the air. They take in the carbon dioxide we give off when we breathe. They add a necessary element in our lives.

Friendships are like this also. They add beauty to our world and replenish our lives with support and happiness. Friends know when we are sad. They cry with us, and they share our happiness when we rejoice.

The changing colors of the trees throughout the seasons give us something to look forward to. No matter which time of the year is a favorite, the trees help mark the season. They are always there giving us strength just like friends.

During this season of thankfulness, cherish your friends. Be thankful for them. Nourish them. They are necessary elements for a happy life.

Be the person who said, “If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn’t jump with them, but I’d be at the bottom to catch them.”