A Chill is in the Air

As I look out the sliding glass door in my condo's living room, I see the bright green leaves of the trees across the street beginning to turn yellow. Last fall, when I was in the process of moving my things in, I didn't see the incremental changes in the leaves. Now that I'm living there full time, I can see the colors change. Mother Nature has once again taken her paintbrush out from the drawer, dusted it off, and is beginning to get creative.

Soon the tank tops and thin tee shirts will get moved to the closet, making way for the sweaters and sweatshirts and long sleeve tees that are a part of the winter wardrobe. School has started and old routines are new once again.

The days are still warm, but the evenings have a definite chill in the air. The sun is setting earlier now making the days a bit shorter and the evenings just a bit cozier curled up at home.

The seasons change and the cycle continues and though I love the spring and summer with their promise of new growth and the delivery of warm, sunny days, I also love fall with its colorful trees and cool, crisp nights. Leave the cold north, some tell me. We don't have snow and ice, they say.

But aren't the worst days of winter the reason we can appreciate those promising spring days? How can we know the beauty of a field full of spring flowers if we have not also known the desolation of a grey winter's day? It's hard to really appreciate things we see every day, even though we might try very hard to make a point of noticing. Do people in year round warm weather climates notice a nice summer day?

I think Mother Nature has given a special gift to those of us who live in a northern climate. She's given us a yardstick, she's given us a way to see how each day stacks up against each other. She's given us a means of appreciating the everyday around us.

So as summer draws to a close and autumn takes its place, I'm not sorry to see the seasons change. I know I will look out on a grey, cloudy, snowy, cold day and remember the warmth of the sun, the brightness of the sky, the freshness in the air. And when that day comes around again, it won't be just another day of the week. It will be special.