The classic love of fall.

This week I received two packages from both my Mom and best friend. One contained Apple Cider K-cups and a deliciously scented, Pumpkin Spice candle, while the other contained Cinnamon Spice coffee and a Yankee candle smelling of autumn wreath.

From this one can draw two assumptions: one, my loved ones know me very well, and two, fall is an incredible season to be celebrated. I used to disregard fall altogether, deeming snowy winters and swimming filled summers more exciting than leaves falling—I found it depressing and it seemed that only “old people” appreciated it. Well, I must have gotten old this year because I found myself craving the crispy chill of fall.

There is something inspiring about this season, it thrills me to enjoy the unique characteristics that fall brings and the fact that it leads to Thanksgiving and Christmas (my two favorite holidays).  In fact, the surprise gifts inspired me to take a break from the books and spend some moments enjoying this season of life; after all, this is the only fall that I will spend as a newlywed, at Northland, and probably in WI. Beyond the candles and fall drinks, I have been appreciating certain aspects of this particular fall in our little apartment. So I have decided to journal a paragraph in summary of my fall thus far: 

A note on Chex Mix.

As I write this, I am contentedly sitting with my new, thrifted find of a cozy, white blanket, a cup of apple cider, and before you think, “aw, what a dreamy situation” I will add that I am also nursing my abused lip back to health. You may ask how my lip came to be abused—was I in a fight? Or perhaps mishandled the curling iron this morning? That would be a no to both statements. I doubt that you will believe the truth, but here it is: my lip suffers from Chex Mix brush burns. I did not know that this was at all possible until today, and as a result, I highly warn against taking late lunches.

Renewed creativity.

I am happy to say that this week has been looking up. For reality sake, as I write this, I have been at work for two hours and wishing that they could have been spent with my pillow instead. However, my exhaustion cannot snuff the spurt of creativity that I have been on. 

What a happy day when I discovered my work to be enjoyable rather than stressful. It was another early morning, just like this, but my mind was craving a moment to create and lo, and behold, a bit of inspiration hit me over the head. One hour later a brand new design of my very own, stared back at me from my computer. That was the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the 9 hours seemed to fly by as I concocted and tweaked design after design. Not only did I finish my project, I continued to check others off my list, and had some personal fun with Photoshop. Needless to say, it was a great feeling.

Upon arriving home later in the day, my husband and I went through our usual routine of dinner, cleaning up, and homework. But instead of the gross, “I feel like doing absolutely nothing” mood that usually occurs after long days, my creative juices were flowing with no intention of stopping any time soon. I couldn’t sit still, I HAD to do something. By the time we were saying, “goodnight”—I had re-arranged all of the home décor, doodled some ideas for designing the next day, researched how to seal DIY wood coasters, and began a fall wreath for our door. The living room floor remains littered with my hot glue gun, fabric cutter, and little scraps of paper that I struggle to put away because then I have to wait to continue things later. 

Parched creativity.

Today is Friday, the end of another “first week of classes”, and I have found myself saying, “Finally!” After a year of anticipating my return to Northland, I thought I would be saying, “Finally—I am learning again!” or “Finally—it’s so good to be back!” And though both of these statements are very true, I find myself saying, after only one week, “Finally—the week is over!” I thought I would make it to at least week six. Looking at this week in retrospect, I think of two words that describe the week that have led me to this point: humbling and overwhelming.

It’s funny, when one thinks of being humbled, they automatically think of a prideful person with a bursting ego that needs brought down, at least, one notch. Though I have gone through my share of ego-busting humility cases, this scenario is different.