Monday, October 25, 2010

The Storm

Today is a new day. This is the first day. I’m so over this swinging pendulum of summery exuberance and fiery dismay. I’m trying something new.

Today is something new. There is a big ol’ storm on the way. The autumn colors have been absolutely magnificent this year. Now, at the end of autumn color season, this heavy wind is kicking all the leaves loose into a glittery panic. Swirls of them choke out the light in the intersections and exits where, between gusts, they bundle together and obscure the curbs in giant, jewel-toned heaps.

There was a rainbow in the west this morning. The clouds boiled up behind the mountains and are slowly creeping over them like Thrym the frostgiant leaning back in a bathtub. The giant leans ever farther back sending waves of wind sloshing in our direction and the cloud bank continues to foam and bubble and creep ever closer.

What was a blazing golden sunrise has become a tempered, gloomy morning. The plates of clouds are reaching well over us now, sliding to the east and buoyed by winds strong enough to send the smallest cars inadvertently into the wrong lanes.

A storm is coming. It’s so close. I, too, am buoyed by these winds. The clouds cover the sky and I finally feel insulated again. The jubilant, glittery panic of leaves at my feet feels like a celebration. The confetti of autumn rattles endlessly around me as if to say “you made it”, “we’re here”, “things are about to get so much better now”. Whispers of winter run their fingers through my hair and for the first time in months, I feel… relaxed. In an excited, anticipatory kind of way.

This summer was so grand and easy. It had its share of wonderful news, parties, hillarity and food. It also had its share of ugliness, stress, grief... but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Dark traps awaited me during this past summer and I managed to steer clear of nearly all of them.

Autumn is here now. The pressure and heat have broken. The plants and animals of this tiny pocket of the world are going to sleep. It’s time to grab a hot cocoa or something cidery, a pair of fluffy socks, and enjoy the hell out of it.

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