Fall Floating in on the Breeze

Fall is officially on its way. I’m sitting outside on the deck at 7:00 pm and I almost feel the need to go put on a sweatshirt. The sky is completely covered with clouds that vary from white to gray to not quite blue. The trees in our neighbor’s yard across the lane are just starting to think about transforming into their brilliant fall colors, but for the most part everything is still green, green, green.

It’s an odd time of year. The last two days have almost reached 90 degrees, so I’ve been loading up the car with all the swim stuff and taking the boys to the pool in the afternoons. Tomorrow, though, isn’t even supposed to reach 70 degrees, so we’ll be in jeans and sweatshirts for sure. By Wednesday of next week, back in the low 90s. The garden is still producing in abundance, one of my boys is back in school, and while I’ve been trying to stay in summer mode with our food, all I want to do is make soup.

I’ll admit that I used to dislike fall quite a bit. It meant the end of summer, the start of school, a loss of free time, and being cold, which I hate more than anything. But as I’ve been getting older, my fondness for fall is growing exponentially. All the things that I didn’t like about it before, the general slowing down and settling in of life, are things that I greatly appreciate now. I relish the cool breezes after the intense heat; the sun setting earlier and earlier means easier bedtimes for my kids; the consistent schedule and more regular routines make the days easier in a way. I look forward to the first fire we’ll build in our fireplace, remembering the nights curled up by the flames reading after the kids have gone to bed.

The beauty of the changing leaves, the fainting hydrangea blooms, the garden going back to bare bones after a bountiful harvest… there is peace in these things, and, quite literally, a breath of cool fresh air. Tomorrow morning when it’s 50 degrees outside, I’ll walk around the house with my mug of hot chocolate, open the windows, and smile as the cold air sweeps through the house. The kids will complain that it’s cold and I’ll tell them to wrap up in blankets (or at least put some pants on… summer boys love to be sans clothes as often as possible).

The cool weather may only last for this weekend, but it’s a sure sign that summer is on its way out. I appreciate that God designed the seasons to last just long enough that by the time I’m tired of one season, the next is on the way.

Happy Fall!