Yesterday was the first crisp fall morning of the year. I love the fall. It could be that being from south Texas, ours is a rather mild one and followed by a similarly mild winter. (The sort of winters, where you might run turn the A/C down really low on Christmas day, so that you could run the fireplace for ambiance). In this area of the country, you don’t actually NEED a jacket. They are helpful, particularly during the one week of the year that it is REALLY cold. But for the rest of the winter, one could get by with a windbreaker or a good hooded sweatshirt.

I live in a small country cottage with a wraparound deck. In the mornings, I usually sit outside with a cup of coffee and write. Not the sort of corporate writing that pays the bills. (Although I thank Jesus every day that I have that sort of writing available to me). But, my morning writing is more the whimsical sort that reminds me why I became a writer in the first place. In that place, the fall speaks to me.

I haven’t been a student in ten years, but I still think in semesters. I would probably make a terrific graduate student. “Fall,” to me, means that four month stretch between the first day of school and Christmas break. So, this crisp early fall morning reminds me of school. Those sleepy mornings, waiting for the school bus…or sitting on the steps of the high school with old and new friends….Or those wondrous days as a college freshman, wondering how I was lucky enough to be there and wondering where the hell my life was taking me….

The fall always reconnects me with those feelings. I guess it has to do with a feeling of new. Starting something new. January has never really felt that way to me, as much I as I have tried. But late August and September seem to carry that expectant charm for me.

So, yesterday morning, I sat on the veranda and wondered where this was all going. In a week I will get on a plane for California. I’ll be staying in something of an artist’s commune for about six weeks. Not quite sure where all this will lead. But, I know right now, I need something fresh. New.

And the fall winds of change blow and invigorate me with new energy.