I walked outside the other morning to walk the dog. It was so crisp and cool out, I went back inside to grab a sweatshirt. As we walked around the complex, I thought how easy it is to forget what the heat felt like. Just like that, it was fall.
We accept seasonal transitions, the great weather changes, every year. We expect them. We hope for them. We anticipate the noticeable difference. We can count on it. Every year, fall will come. The weather will cool. We’ll retire our shorts, trading them out for leggings and sweaters. Everything slows down in the fall. You grab your partner, cozy up in the living room, trading wild summer nights for hot chocolate and spiced candles.
For me, fall means more than just the return of the beloved pumpkin spice latte (which I don’t really care for, if I’m honest). It means a new beginning. Starting fresh. Most of the world starts anew in January, but not me. No. My biological clock syncs with freshly sharpened pencils and the first coin toss.
It made sense when we were in school. New clothes, new friends, new faces. And once J and I were married, our lives started over each fall. A new team. New drills. New traditions.
Fall is about transition. But this year, our transition feels different. There’s a constant comfort in knowing what to expect within the new. It might be a new school, but you know what to do when the bell rings. It might be a new team, but you know how the game is played.
But what now? Fall always brought a change we could trust. The promise of a future we understood. It was hard but worth it. School, football, all of it. Every year brought new challenges. New lessons to learn.
Today, I’m not defined by a label placed by someone else. I am not a student. I am not a football wife. I’m just Joey. When a labeled is ripped off, it can make you feel exposed. Lost. Confused.
We’re transitioning, label-less. We don’t know what comes next. A new season of life is harder to accept and not so easy to identify, define.
But I know this, the weather will always change. Summer always cools off, giving way to fall. Every challenge offers a lesson, a chance to grow, the opportunity to transition.
I always think of Fall the same way and I never realized why until you mentioned school!
totally agree about how you feel when a label is ripped off. i hope whatever comes next is great girl 🙂
I agree with you, fall is sort of a transitional time in the year for me. It is by far my favorite season and it opens the door to the holidays and all of that jazz too! Cheers to a wonderful fall!
I completely agree with this! So true.
I love fall because fall means my birthday is right around the corner. Although I haven't been in school for two years, I wont miss the days of waking up early to go to class, now it's just waking up and going to work. Fall is a perfect transition for many, but it can be different when the staple of starting classes is suddenly gone. Here's to a new start of adventures!
liz jo @ sundays with sophie
I so get this feeling. A couple of years ago when we closed our shop and closed the page on that chapter, we were left kind of wondering what we were going to be now. We still kind of wonder and feel like we're in transition. But I'm learning to be ok with it and go with the flow. It can be scary but also exciting to step into a new chapter of the unknown!
You're not a PSL freak either? I feel like I'm the only one in the world who doesn't obsess over pumpkin everything for 3 or 4 months! Prayers for a successful and fun fall for you two!
Hopefully it will really start to cool down in Charlotte soon! I feel like I can't break out my boots until then… and boots are my favorite thing aboutFall!
Yaaaaaaaas!!! My new season is fall, too! Love this post. You are just so eloquent with words! xo
I love the way fall signals changes, plus it's definitely my favorite type of weather! Ask Brian, once fall comes I am in such a better mood!