I love Autumn. I’m one of those girls. And owing to that fact, and the one where I live in Kentucky, means I love October the most.
how can you not?
It’s the month when the leaves are fully transformed into their vibrant hues, the weather is cool and crisp, and apple cider is the name of the game. Cardigans come out of hiding, along with tights and sweaters and those boots you couldn’t quite force yourself to wear in the dripping heat of summer. Scarves come out of hiding, along with knit hats. Knitting Season begins! Football games are in full swing, along with fall-weather cookouts, pig roasts, and last-minute get-togethers before the dregs of winter create introverts out of us all. Fall is the best time for outdoor running, and it’s also the second-best time to visit Starbucks. The sun is always in the right place in the sky to stream through the windows and flood the café with warmth and coziness.
all kinds of great options
My very favorite colors (to wear, to look at, to knit with…) are all autumnal: olive green, mustard yellow, burnt orange, crimson, plum (or eggplant, depending on what mood I’m in), and chocolate brown.
Everything great that has ever happened to me happened in the fall. Every World Championship I competed in was held during this season. When I won the World Championships in Switzerland, it was fall. I found out I was going on the World Race in late August, and training camp was that October. Every dating relationship I had began in the fall. The new seasons of my dance company and theatre company always started in August. The first time I choreographed for my dance company started in September. Most of the starring roles I had in shows at school were in the fall semester (most of them playing in October). The only cross-country road trip I’ve ever taken (outside of sitting in the car while my mom drove us from home on the west coast to family on the east coast when I was itty) happened in the fall. Then there are the retreats with campus ministries, the launch of new classes (I like school, all right?), and the start of a new year of small groups at my church. Everyone knows that bonfires are best enjoyed on a cool night during this season, and let’s be honest- Halloween. Thanksgiving. ‘Nuff said.
long walks, holding hands, looking at things like this
And did you know? I met all three of my best friends (and my mentor) in Autumn.
When I think of October, in particular, I think of the golden sunsets, the cool breeze that finally lifts the haze ad humidity from Kentucky’s summer, and the beauty of the land preparing to die to itself, so it can begin anew. It’s a really beautiful metaphor, in actuality, of the ebb and flow of all life. We cannot train for the Olympics all year long; we must take time off to rest and recuperate. We cannot race around the clock all the time; our bodies cannot handle it. We can’t hold on forever, not to grudges or jobs or things; the natural flow of life is expelling the things not useful to us, in order to make room for the things necessary.
just look how crunchy those leaves are! they're just asking to be stepped on
But that’s getting a little deep for this.
I’ll be in China for this year’s October. I don’t yet know where, specifically, my team will be, or what the climate will be like. But I know it will be a month of joy and challenge, treasure and hard work, and beauty unlike any October before. I’m anxious to experience this new October through new eyes, to see the sights, hear the sounds, and make new favorite October memories.
and don't even get me started on the chai lattes
I’m sad that I’ll be missing Kentucky’s October, but I think China’s October will be bringing it’s own heat.
I’m ready for you, Autumn!
believe it or not, this is a REAL PLACE
