What have you been up to this September so far? Drinking lots of pumpkin spice lattes? Enjoying cooler weather? Mourning summer? Smiling at the school buses and kids as they traipse home each afternoon, their backpacks bigger than 2/3 of their bodies?
Or is that just me?
These past ten days home have been...fantastic. Truly. The perfect balance of a social calendar and chill time. A good avoidance of the boxes I need to unpack with all of my clothes (I'm going to do it tomorrow, I swear!) (I say this to myself every.single.night without fail.) Some time bumming around Washington, D.C., not enough time in Baltimore (yet!), a re-immersion into the U.S. retail world. A good number of (unsuccessful) attempts to capture a new LinkedIn picture so that people who will work with me/want to hire me will actually recognize me.
Which brings me to this: coming home to fall is exactly what I would have picked if you would have asked me. If I could just come home to America in the autumn, always, I will die happy. Something about the chilly crispness in the air brightens my soul and sharpens my senses.
It definitely has to do with back to school season, and all the joy that brings. Back to school shopping was, quite possibly, my favorite part of my childhood. Scouring the stores for the perfect new outfits. Choosing a new schoolbag, to be used just for that year. New notebooks, new pens, new pencils, a whole new set of markers and a whole new chance to organize and arrange and label and begin.
Many say that spring is the season of renewal. Yet I say, for me, it's autumn which will always be the time of birth, of beginning, of beauty.
Perhaps it's the markedness of this fall that makes it especially poignant, as I feel like I too am shifting colors like the leaves and letting go of built-up frustrations, concerns, baggage like the trees let go of the dead and dying foliage each day, with each gust of wind.
On a lighter note, I am also chilled to the core. I refuse to admit that I am cold, but I am. I am cold. I said it. I love fall, but these 70 degree days...man!
P.S. My new computer makes one picture out of several (see above) and it amazes me. These pictures were all magically uploaded via my phone which I can access on my computer for this blog and it amazes me. I am amazed.
You were used to the hot Cambodian days! And there's nothing better than crisp Fall weather ;)
ReplyDeleteI am still loving the hair! And HI TOPHER!
ReplyDeleteFall is my favorite, but only when I can rock boots, jeans, and a hoodie. This dressing for chilly mornings and roasting at lunchtime is not so much my jam.