Fall

Last night I left the office and shivered from the fall chill I felt through my fleece jacket. When I felt that fall chill in the air, as is my habit, I tipped my face toward the sky and smiled. I love fall.

There are two kinds of fall days in Colorado: days that make you long to stay in and days that make you long to go out. Yesterday was a day that would have been better spent curled under a blanket on the couch at home. A cozy grey sky always reminds me of a blanket and makes me yearn to shut off my alarm clock and burrow deeper into my bed. Every sound is muted, even the rustle of dry, yellowing leaves as the wind caresses the trees. The office even seems quieter on a day like that.

Most fall days here make me nostalgic for my college freedom—I can barely stand to be cooped up in the office when the sunshine is so golden and clear. The mountains look close enough to touch and the breeze is just pure calming energy. Days like that give me boundless hope for the future. It is those days I want to spend outside—whether that is sitting under a tree reading or walking through downtown with a friend.

Today R emailed me from Florida and mentioned she was going to try and make it to the beach this weekend. Coastal residents might have the beach, but I have warm sunlight stroking my face and neck when I run errands in the middle of day under a sun so bright that everything seems touched with gold. I love fall in Colorado.