“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”
William Cullen Bryant
By: Gabriela Yareliz
It has been a strange season where tension and thick trauma linger in the air like a dense fog. But don’t worry– I am not here to dwell on that, today.
We are approaching the season that makes one feel like one is at Stars Hallow at Luke’s (Gilmore Girls), sitting in the diner with Seinfeld on the Upper West Side (Seinfeld), out by the fence with Wilson in Michigan (Home Improvement)– all these TV shows bring the autumn vibes. This season also inspires me to gravitate toward classic literature. I think I will finally crack open Little Women or restart the Little House on the Prairie series. It’s time to chuck our phones and let people leave a message (90s style), get outside and bring an umbrella and a jacket…
Last Sunday, it was drizzling, and the air was cool. I wore a jacket and drank my first hot Pumpkin Spice tea of the latter half of 2021. There is a strange excitement that sweeps over me when I feel something in the air– anticipation. Nature whispers to us, “It’s coming.”
What have I been up to in these last days of summer? I built a new bookshelf. I surpassed my Goodreads challenge of 50 books for the year, and I am currently deciding which one is next. I am preparing for some bomb author interviews with some cool people on ModernWitnesses.com. (Stay tuned). My ’23 and Me’ app alerts me every day that they have found 30 new relatives for me. I am starting to believe we are all truly, and quite literally, family.
I am measuring my pillow. Apparently, according to my chiropractor, our pillows are supposed to be thin, and not these fluffy hotel nonsense pillows. I am re-learning how to sleep in a way that doesn’t kill my neck. The same chiro will crack every bone in my neck and tell me to walk around, and he asks me, “How do you feel?” Meanwhile, I can still feel his handprint pulsing on the side of my jaw. What does one say? I am always like, “Give me a minute,” while I try to find a way to block out the jaw handprint and my shoulder which was up against a metal clasp of the folding table.
I am helping younger and more inexperienced attorneys hone their craft. This has been a really fun experience, so far. The only downsides to this type of leadership so far are you can’t be anti-social and be like, “leave me alone” and more meetings. #lovingit
Fragile Target deliveries arrive shattered and in pieces, no matter how many times you try. #Targetshipfails should be a trending hashtag.
When I go out for walks, I scan the nature to try to find signs of autumn. I want to make my home cozier… enter AutumnCozy’s YouTube channel, which gives you an autumn soundtrack (I have followed her for years on Tumblr– since journalism school and starting this blog).
As I have always said, this season always represents new beginnings for me. I remember my ecstatic joy of receiving my new school planner– sometimes they had those scratchy covers. School mascot ablazin’ on there. I would fill in the fun front sections.
I am surrounded by many teachers in my family and friends, and as a kid, I always took this time so seriously, that even in my adulthood, I can’t shake it off. The excitement remains. Something I am grateful for is the fact that learning never ends. And believe it or not, the world is still magical. It’s a season that reminds me of all that can’t be taken away, even in the weird times we live in. There is still so much joy to be found in the moments that interrupt our monotony and in change.
I am bubbling with anticipation.
How do you prepare for the shift in seasons? (I will be cleaning and lighting candles). Are you over this heat wave, yet?
“Life starts over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
GABRIELA YARELIZ 