coming our way

Fall is in the air.

I can feel it when I step outside - the crisp feeling in the air.
Do you feel it too?
I feel it in the way I suddenly got one of those winter colds.
Outside the window, our pumpkin vines now have spots of orange.

The sunflowers are dying.
The flip flops are going back in the closet.
I can't stay up late anymore due to school.

BUT.

The leaves will be turning soon.
I get to pull out my darling jackets and coats.
And school is actually fun.
Friday night football games.
Sadie Hawkins.
Homecoming.

I love seasons. After living in Arizona for much of my life, I can't tell you how nice it is to live in a state where the weather changes with the passing months. It's no longer hot, hot, a little less hot, perfect, and then hot again. In Utah I get hot, perfect, windy, cold, brisk, freezing, snowy, warming up, perfect, light breezes, and then the cycle starts over again. I get beautiful flowers and bright green grass. Majestic mountains that are splashed with oranges, reds, and yellows. Snow-capped peaks in the winter. The way the snow looks after a storm when it lands on each branch of every tree. Beautiful sunsets and brilliant thunderstorms.

I realized I don't like it when people start getting sick of a season. I did it for a while: "Eww. More snow? When will it ever end?!" But I realized last year that I'm really grateful for the snow. I'm really grateful for the fact that I get to appreciate these seasons again and again. So what if it snows in May? That just makes my life more exciting.

And that's why I'm alright with saying goodbye to summer.

Yeah, it was unbelievable. The best summer I've ever had. Full of friends and pools and camps and family and late nights and movies and adventures like never before.

...But I think this fall has things in store for me too.