(Blog Entry #20) - Autumn Is Here

The fog rolled in early tonight, swallowing the oak trees at the edge of patio. I sat by the window with my tea, watching the lights blink awake through the gray haze. Fall is fully here now. Everyone is buying pumpkins, hanging plastic skeletons, and stringing up orange lights.

But lately, the phrase "Happy Halloween" has started to feel different to me. Less like a cheerful holiday greeting, and more like an ominous warning.

When you think about it, we are wishing each other joy on the one night of the year when the veil between worlds thin. We say it with a smile, but October is a month of dying leaves, lengthening shadows, and cold winds that rattle the windowpanes. Whispering "Happy Halloween" into the dark feels like chanting a spell. It is an acknowledgment that the shadows are creeping closer, and that we are willingly inviting the unknown inside.

Maybe that is why I love this season so much. It forces us to lean into the chill.