Secret of Life

It finally feels like fall here in New York City. I got to spend the weekend with small friends and we had to hunt for socks and extra layers before heading out to the playground. Swinging in the breeze it smelled like fall, and on the way home we stopped for warm cocoa and snacked on crunchy apples. This is my favorite time of year. The mysterious puddles in New York begin to disappear, the mosquitoes head South, and I can finally pull my air conditioner from the window and throw all my shorts into storage. For me, this time of year is not bitter sweet. I am an Autumn girl through and through. This is my happy place. Hand me the heavy knits, pass the apple cider, bake me something with pumpkin, and pile the logs onto the fire–I am ready.

The farmers market is bursting with color and boot sightings are taking place on every street corner. It is all I can do to stop people and ask, “Where did you get those!?” Want. Need. Want. These are the days of foggy mornings and crispy leaves. These are the afternoons of long shadows and lantern lit bedrooms. These are the evenings for extra blankets and big coffee mugs. These are the days.

This month has been particularly busy, and I am feeling inspired. I only wish the days got longer and not shorter–more time for painting, more time for reading, more time for calm. I feel like I am lost in a corn maze of work, with no end in sight. Every turning point is another assignment, another task, another challenge. I am hopeful there is a cave for hibernating at the end of this corn maze.

In the meantime:

“This is the real secret of life–to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”

–Alan Wilson Watts

This cup is for Caitlin and Eben–Cheers! And to Nathan, welcome to the world!