Autumn

I love Autumn. Plain and simple. The sound of the word alone spreads a smile to my face. I talk about it constantly. I count down the days until the pumpkin spice latte comes out (which was September 5, if you were wondering)- and then drink them compulsively. My barista, Tom, at the Starbucks I stop at on the way to practicum has already memorized my order, and greets me with a smile and a simple "Is today a grande or venti day?" I relish the feeling of "just air" that Texas Septembers bring, where you can't tell if it is hot or cold. You could literally wear a Northface and jeans or a tank top and shorts and manage to be equally comfortable. But the, being indecisive like Texas weather most always is, the next day will be 90 degrees and humid, once again, and my scorching pumpkin spice latte will have to be iced which just isn't right.

Autumn brings change. The past month, I've felt a change in my heart. Nothing big...minute actually...just a twinge of change, like the leaves gently fluttering from the twigs of trees. They float down one or two at a time, slowly creeping, blowing circularly in the breeze, to the dirt beneath. They show that there is hope for relief from the blistering heat. That's how the change in my heart feels. The most miniscule of changes in thought coupled with gradual shifts in priorities. New convictions. Noticing different things than I would have a year, or even a month, ago. Is this change big or noticable? I doubt it. But it's movement- leading toward the feeling that something big is on the horizon. Do all of the leaves fall off of the trees at once, while the temperature drops 50 degrees in a day? Not usually. But the seasons don't fail to change; they become something new. Gradually.

One of my favorite quotes in all of literature describes Amory Blaine in F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise, in which Blaine is characterized as "dreaming of the becoming, never the being." I would love for my life to be summed up by that quote. As I seek a life of non-complacency, I want to embrace this new season of life. This season of change in the midst of joyful satisfaction. This season of hope. Autumn- I'm glad you've arrived.