Spiced Tea and Scarves

It's almost August. To me, that means it's almost autumn.

Almost time for school to start.
Almost time for scarves and hats.
Almost time for candles that smell like cinnamon and sugar cookies.
Almost time for blustery days.
Almost time for apple picking and pumpkin patches.
Almost time for spiced tea.

I always feel so refreshed and invigorated when fall comes. Something about the combination of it all makes September feel like a much more appropriate time for new beginnings than January. Autumn gives me a fresh start. I suppose it all comes from so many years of starting school in the fall. New teachers, new books, new classes, new clothes. Fall was the season of beginnings. This year, more than any other, I've been longing for fall. I'm pretty sure I started wishing for autumn in February. It's been a long and weird year so far in many ways, and I'm so ready for the coziness of fall. I finally feel like I'm in a good rhythm with the job that I started in December. Josh and I celebrate our 3 year anniversary next week. I'm pretty sure that I'm happier now than I've ever been in my marriage. I've also started working out again on a regular basis (which always makes me feel better about life). I know I've let a lot of things slide, though.

I don't want to waste time and energy bemoaning all of the balls that I've dropped in recent months, but I do want to publicly remind myself to step it up. My schedule doesn't always make it easy, but my slacker attitude certainly isn't helping either.
So here's to autumn. I'm so ready for this.