Fall

I know it’s not official until Saturday, and school started several weeks ago, but I think summer officially came to an end this weekend. Even if we technically have a couple days left of summer, fall has definitely arrived in my life.

At work, the fall session starts tomorrow and the office will once again be filled with energetic middle and high school students. The office has been completely sans youth for the last month. I don’t think I could have gone much longer without them around. The crew leaders were back two weeks ago, which also helped a tremendous amount. I never thought I would actually be glad to have temporary officemates who sing along to Pussycat Dolls using highlighters as microphones, hold dance-offs or play the same ‘chero song over and over again. Things are back to normal and not a moment too soon!

I think (and I know I run the risk of completely jinxing it by saying this) the heat wave is over. There is a certain feel in the air, a crisp coolness that hangs around longer than just the early morning hours. This morning, after a cool weekend and even cooler nights, the final sign of fall happened: the heat was turned on in my apartment building. The building is heated by steam radiators; as I was making my bed this morning, there was a subtle smell in the apartment I couldn’t quite place, but definitely recognized. Walking past the heat register, I quickly figured it out. The smell of metal slowly heating up was soon followed by a quiet hissing, and I realized I’ve never been so happy to know fall was here.

Living, sometimes working, and often driving, with no air conditioning this summer has never made me more eager to pull the sweaters from the top shelf of my closet or curl up in my slippers and polar fleece pants after actually cooking (!) dinner. I have also vowed to myself that as long as the days stay long enough, I will be walking to work unless it is absolutely necessary. A nice long walk on a brisk fall day is so wonderfully refreshing, I can’t believe how cliché it makes me sound.

Now if only I could skip the whole Ice-Planet-of-Hoth, bad road conditions with crazy drivers aspect of winter, I would be in stellar shape.

Also, everyone should head over to World O’ Trout to welcome him back to the blogosphere. A month and half without internet, I’m not sure how he did it. I would have gone crazy.