Finally Fall

Boy, last week was one of THOSE weeks. A week when you want to  throw back your head and howl to the (full) moon “I am not an animal! I am a human being! AAAOOOOOOOO!!!!”

But everything’s okay now, because at some point during the week Fall arrived.

I missed the arrival – I was trapped in my cubicle, tied to a computer, eyes bleeding. But when I woke up on Saturday morning I said myself, “Self, this feels like FALL!”

I love Fall. Winter is wonderful, Spring is fine, I tolerate Summer, but Fall is my kind of season. There’s something about the cool bite in the air contrasted with the warmth of sun. Something about the colors of the trees, the dry rustle of leaves underfoot. Something about the smells in the wind. You can smell apples and sage even when there aren’t any apples or sage around. At least I can.

In that backwards way I have, I come alive again in fall. All summer long I’ve been in a hot, wet, pressure cooker (especially this year). For various reasons I have to be careful how much time I’m outside in the summer, so I’m trapped in air conditioning most of the time. Then fall comes, and I am released.

But it’s more than just a physical release. There’s something about the season that releases my creativity as well. I want to write. I want to paint. I want to run naked through the fields…

Okay, not that last one.

Well, if I DID want to run naked through the fields, I wouldn’t post it on my blog.

Except I just did.

I think I love the bittersweetness of fall, the urgency. The world around me prepares to go to sleep for the long hibernation of winter with a beauty that is both stunning and fleeting. It is a reminder of the reality that all beauty, all life, goes through its cycles. As we watch it, we are connected to it and by it.

Maybe I love fall more now because I am in the (EARLY!) fall of my own life. Seeing the seasons change reminds me of the beauty I own within myself, and the importance of loving every moment I am given.

That’s important to remember. Especially after one of THOSE weeks.