Make Time To Fall In Love With Fall

A week ago, we were all saying:

A week later... I'm still having a little bit of a hard time with that.

Don't get me wrong.  I do love fall.  

It's gorgeous, the colors--at their height--are amazing. 

The beauty seems to transform each and every day.  

The crispness and coolness are delightful, and it's like we can breathe after the summer (and then again in Indian Summer) days of swampy, sweaty mess.

But, autumn means shorter days... and it means saying goodbye to my pool.  

This is the arrow in my heart!

The pool makes summer's heat endurable, and it brings me as close to meditation as I get.  (Clearly I need to work on this.)  The canopy of backyard greenery and leaves almost makes breathing easier.  You can't sweat in a pool.  And the backyard commute is the perfect length of time.  

It's my place to play with my kids, my crazy dog, and my own thoughts while chillaxing as only teachers can in the summer.  Major decompression!  Ahhh!

Now, we're clearly back to school, and it won't be long until the pool gets closed up.  The water temperature has already dramatically shifted, 

and it's lost its solar magic.  I miss it terribly, already.  

But that's when we need I need to embrace the season-specific outdoor activities that you can only do in October & November.  And I need to make sure to carve time out for more than pumpkins... but rather for all of those things as 

I'm knee-deep in the back-to-school busy!  

Note to self: Make time to fall in love with fall!

What types of things do you like 

to make sure to sit & take the time for 

while the leaves are turning?

Fall photos from http://profilerehab.com/theme/facebook/first_day_of_autumn_%20pictures, http://www.first-day-of-fall.com/first-day-of-autumn-quotes/, http://www.first-day-of-fall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/First-Day-of-Fall-Quotes-7.jpg, http://quotesgram.com/fall-fashion-quotes-and-sayings/, Pool photo from my camera stream