The Feeling of Fall

Cliff and I woke up early this morning to a (very) cool morning, put on our running shoes, and cut through the fog for about an hour (we didn't run the whole time). I actually had to put on a long sleeve shirt and I was still cold - it was awesome.

And then later I hopped in my car and headed to work. I put on my sunglasses, cracked my windows, and put Death Cab on my iPod and suddenly I was transported back to as many Falls as I can remember.

I don't know what it is, but this weather always awakens something in me, something more than just nostalgia. It's like I can literally feel the emotions of all the memories I have of September-ish through early December-ish.

I think of Thanksgivings, pumpkin carvings, and trick-or-treat outtings with the family - the joys of choosing the costume of the year, bobbing for apples, and lining up with my cousins for group pictures (where else can you get a cowboy, Minnie Mouse, a witch, and tiny human pumpkin all in one place?)

I think of Camp Willow Run in October with the Salem youth group and how that was probably the highlight of both my personal and spiritual life every year. The saturday night bonfire, sleeping in a cabin that was literally a renovated boxcar, climbing up to the top of the engine car for our annual group picture, playing flag football on the huge main lawn, and crunching through the leaves to find my "quiet spot" by the creek.

I think of going to Seattle in October - first the wide-eyed journey I took with the Towering Traditions Orientation Council when I fell in love with the city and then the necessary pilgrimage back the next fall. Molly, Alexis, and I spent countless weeks before the trip sitting on Molly's bed going over our agenda for the week (because of course I had to have one). There was the day trip to San Juan and the enchanting ferry rides, meeting with friends in Vancouver, find our way to Portland and then the Pacific Ocean, and crashing in the apartments of friends in Queen Anne and Downtown. That final morning walk into the city for coffee and donuts at Top Pot was wonderfully bittersweet.

Weeks after that last trip to Seattle, I was off to Chicago for the first time on another trip with the Towering Traditions Orientation Council. I remember looking out over the river from the lobby and feeling the sense that everything was about to change, as I made steps further away from a life built around music to student development and education. Little did I know, then, how much exactly would change (even the very evening after our return!) but the briskness of the October winds in Chicago seemed to whisper something.

And then, there was November 2004 and November 2005 and November 2006. All I can say, is that I never expected to meet someone like Cliff - never ever. But there he was, in all of his oppositeness of most guys I had ever been interested in... and we were hooked. Of course, at first, it was puppy love but we wouldn't have known it then, but we made a commitment to growing together and it stuck. The next year it was an anniversary marked by crowns and Homecoming titles that seemed so out of character and such a dream for two relatively normal and un-"popular" people. In November 2005, Cliff also took me to my first UT football game and while I may have moonlighted at a Georgetown game or two and a trip to UVA, there was nothing like that experience and it's kept me coming back every Fall.

Last fall seems like just yesterday, and the most crazy of all. I started grad school and a semi-professional life at Vanderbilt. Cliff was gone in Africa, and then I myself ventured there for a brief but impactful period for my own experiences, and then within weeks he was back. After months, he was back and it was like nothing had changed and everything was a thousand times better and we celebrated two years and went to two UT football games.

And now, it's almost fall again and who knows what's in store.

But I'm excited and hopeful, even if it's just because of the coolness in the air. I love this time of year, and I'm looking forward to making more memories to remember on crisp invigorating days like today for years to come.

-Kristine