You can feel it in the air right now. The temperature feels different, the mood feels different, the trees are already starting to turn. For me, fall usually brings with it a sense of ease and routine. New school supplies, a few new clothes, some excitement mixed with nerves. There are so many seasons happening all at once right now, that this change in season comes with trepidation and uncertainty. School starts back for many this week (if it hasn’t already), summer is officially coming to a close, there is a sense of ambiguity mixed with a bit of judgment in conversations around back to school, and back to work, and back to a routine. Fumbling out of summer and into fall is typical. We have likely been staying up later, eating a bit freer, spending more time outdoors. Stumbling back into a routine takes time, even when we aren’t in the midst of a pandemic, in the heart of social injustice issues, the wrath of mother nature, and an upcoming American election which will affect the entire world.
This week, I have attempted to hold on to every last day of summer, jam-packed each day with memorable outings and time spent with family. What I have consistently been reminded of is this: even though this season is changing, it will also, always, change again. My own anxiety about this next shift and stage of 2020 is a feeling I am letting come and go as it needs to. I am riding the waves of my thoughts and emotions because, like the seasons, my feelings about all of this will change. Even when it feels long and hard and here to stay, it will pass and become something else. This next month and the remainder of the year are going to come with its own challenges, silver linings, and lessons, and we will get through that too. Time marches on and summer will be here again. My wish for all of us is to not wish it away. To not sit and wait but to stay present and find the goodness that still exists but can feel harder to find. To give ourselves some grace as we figure out what is next and remember that everyone, literally every single person on this globe, is being confronted in some way. Remember that some people around you are doing everything they can to stay afloat, to not completely lose it, to be brave for their kids, to work hard to keep their jobs.
As this next season is upon us, remember we actually are all in this together, even when it feels like we aren’t. Remember to smile with your eyes behind that mask. Remember how far a small act of kindness can go. Remember to check in on your friends and family, even if they don’t check in on you. Remember to keep an open mind and hold on to hope. Seasons change, this too shall pass, and there are always, always, beautiful moments to be found.
It’s a new week ahead. Make it count.
