Loving The Colder Half of the Year

The grass crunched under my feet as I walked across the front yard to my car this morning.

I keep meaning to start using our back door, since it's both closer to the coffee maker that I use before I leave the house and closer to my car, but I used the front door for the first few months we lived in our house while our kitchen was still under construction and the back door inaccessible, and old habits die hard.

I stopped under our big tree with the golden leaves, and stood in the brilliant sunshine and breathed in the clear, cold air that was left behind in the wake of our first real frost of the season.

And for a minute I wished that you could take a picture of a feeling.

While the entire tri-state area is busy bemoaning this first, quick brush with the winter season that is just over the horizon, I love everything about it.

I love that the cold air is coming in while the brightly-hued fall leaves are still on the trees.

I love the way that a few snowflakes look as they settle on my favorite coat. The one I only get to wear during those brief fall days where it is too cold for a trench coat but not quite cold enough to go full down.

I love waking up in the morning to the hiss of my furnace as it heats our bedroom to a perfect 65 degrees.

I love the first shock of cold when I walk outside to run, and seeing my breath puff out as the chilly wind hits my face and my muscles warm.

And I love the temperature clock on 6th avenue, telling me that the time for gloves, scarves and cozy sweaters is here.

In a few months when the temperature is in the single digits, I might find myself dreaming of the balmy days of summer, but for today, I love this cooler half of the year; fall and these few brushes of cold, reminding me that winter is on its way.