As many of you might have noticed from the fine print at the bottom of today’s allotted box on your planner (or from the plethora of Instagram posts about pumpkin spiced everything and cozy sweaters, let’s be honest here!), today is the first day of autumn! Today is an annual day of the year when we all ask ourselves the question “where did the time go?”. While summer has become synonymous with freedom and fun by modern definition, fall is all too often thought of as an unwanted snap back to reality. That being said, even amongst first quizzes and piles of papers, there’s something about the familiar crispness of the mornings and the vivid mosaics of fallen leaves on the sidewalk that resounds with comforting change to me. Every year we express surprise that fall “snuck up on us so quickly”, as if it’s not something we should be used to by now. This fall, I propose that instead of viewing the changing times as a loss, we should take the time to reflect on all the good times we’ve had, as well as looking forward to those that have yet to come. Every Monday we get so caught up in anticipating Friday, that we are determined to not have any fun in the meantime; identical to how we look forward to spring or summer in fall even though each of us probably cursed the heat and the mosquitos, wishing for cooler weather only a short few weeks ago. The point is, enjoy where you are in your life right now, because you will never be in exactly the same place again. Feel excitement for the fact that time is in constant motion and every day is different.  Take time to really enjoy the feeling of your favorite sweatshirt and the smell of freshly cut corn fields. Then, when all the leaves have decayed and lost their vitality, and the first snow falls, don’t be sad but instead celebrate what you’re experiencing and find solace that the time will come again for you to break out that hoodie and stroll through the pumpkin patch. And, if you’re doing it right, you’ll be a different, better version of yourself when that time comes around again. Oh, and if there wasn’t already enough to love about Autumn, word on the pumpkin vine is that Jeanne’s Gingers go great with spiced apple cider!

~S

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