What Autumn Knows

A Walk in the Woods

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

I’m anticipating cooler weather later this week. I believe fall is in the air.

Autumn is never a sure thing in Colorado. Some years it seems we go directly from summer to winter, and I’m always a little sad when we miss it. Autumn provides that slow, lazy slide into the harsher days of winter—a chance to linger before the cold settles in.

I anticipate listening to Autumn Leaves by Nat King Cole on the record player, sipping Orange Spice tea and sitting in front of the fireplace with a favorite book. Rosamunde Pilcher’s September is my go-to reading at this time of year. I bought it when it was first published in 1990, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve read it. Pilcher’s intuitive portrayal of women of a certain age is refreshing. She really does get us. Her writing is honest, perceptive and wonderfully relatable.

Finding myself in the autumn of my own life, I feel a certain kinship with the season.

Autumn is a time of endings and new beginnings. There is sadness for what is over, but also hope for what is still to come. Perhaps that is why it invites introspection. We begin to look more closely at where we’ve been, what we’ve learned and what still matters to us.

At this point in life, there is also an awareness that time is finite. That doesn’t necessarily make life smaller. In some ways, it makes it more precious. We become more selective about where we spend our time and with whom. Things once postponed for “someday” begin to ask for our attention. The luxury of endless waiting may be gone, but in its place comes something equally valuable: the freedom to recognize what matters now.

Autumn asks us to look a little deeper—to acknowledge what has passed without allowing it to overshadow what remains. Perhaps this season of life isn’t simply about endings after all. There is still warmth to be found, beauty to notice, books to read, music to play and new experiences waiting for us.

So, for now, I’ll put Nat King Cole on the record player, pour a cup of Orange Spice tea and settle in with September.

If autumn is willing to linger in Colorado this year, I intend to linger with it.

Peace be with you.

If you’re new here, welcome. I write about aging with grace, finding beauty in everyday life, and the quiet moments that remind us what matters most. I’m so glad you’ve stopped by.