Take 10 Minutes to Appreciate October

Fall is here, and it’s beautiful! Have you noticed? I’m trying hard to take it all in.

Here’s something I did this morning that I highly recommend:

Take 5 or 10 minutes. Go outside. Look around. Observe quietly. Pay attention to the way the leaves on the trees are changing color. Look at the vibrant blue sky, and how gorgeously it contrasts with the bright orange and red leaves. Feel the slight crispness in the air, and notice how the brush of cold feels on your skin. Be present in this October day, this moment in your life. Think about the people in your life right now; how old they are, how old you are in this moment. Think what it might be like to come back to this moment from ten or twenty years in the future. Or even three months from the future, when the trees will be bare and snow will cover the ground. What would excite you about being in this moment, if you had just traveled here from January, or 2025?

Let’s Go Fly a Kite: Yesterday was an unseasonably warm day, and as I looked outside at the falling leaves I realized that October was slipping by us. Had I spent enough time doing the important things? I ignored the mess in the kitchen and spent an hour in the backyard swinging and kicking a ball around with the boys. Then we grabbed the kite and went down to the town green for an impromptu kite-flying excursion. It was beautiful, it was amazing, it was exactly what we should have been doing on that fall afternoon.

The dishes were still there when I got back, the legos and marble works still strewn across the living room. But both the boys and I had renewed energy from our time together outside, and Will helped me clean up every last toy and then played quietly while I finished washing dishes. The house was cleaner than it had been in days, and we were in great spirits. It was like we had created time, because we were working peacefully and efficiently and got so much more done after recharging ourselves.

And, since this is my running blog – here’s an update on my running!

My Running: I’m almost there! Sunday will be one week from the Chilly Half Marathon. I’ve been enjoying the scenery on the long runs, and the unpredictability of the weather (yes, it’s kind of fun to have the variety). One of my favorite runs recently was a long run in the early morning last weekend. I had a packed schedule, so the only way to get in the miles was to leave around 6:15 on Saturday morning. It was 30 degrees and still dark. It felt adventurous, epic, and a little crazy; which matches how running 11 miles should feel anyway. I ran and watched as dawn broke. I saw the clouds of early morning give way to breaking sunshine over a lake. I saw the bright orange of leaves being hit with a glint of early morning sun.

It was beautiful. It was a gift from running.

What has running done for you this week? What do you love about October? What excites you about your Halloween plans for tomorrow?