Season of change

Autumn has always been my favorite season. October in particular holds a lot of my best memories: hayrides and Halloween, crisp autumn days under bright blue skies, and the panoply of color as the leaves turn and tumble toward winter. Especially growing up in Ohio, autumn felt like a deep breath of cool air after the stifling heat of summer, a lull between the bustling activity of summer and the arrival of the holidays. It always seemed to me like a contemplative time, one that put me in a pensive mood, and still does, I suppose, even today.

It's also been, more often than not, a time of changes. Maybe that tradition sets in during the first years of school, when each autumn brings new classes and new friends. Whatever the reason, a disproportionate number of the big changes in my life have happened around this time of year, which just adds to the natural air of nostalgia. It's become a time for taking stock, looking back and thinking about the future. And, of course, a time for making overly-introspective blog posts.

Now that I'm living in Spain there aren't as many autumn leaves, and wiener roasts and pumpkin pies are hard to come by, but my own internal calendar still marks off each autumn. You can keep your spring flowers and winter wonderlands...October and I will always have our memories.