Autumn has long been a favorite season of mine. We have our last bits of sunshine before the snow and clouds take over, the golden and red leaves making a comeback before they finally drop, leaving the trees naked and confused, and lastly, the start of the school year. My life still works September to September and until I leave the educational world it will continue to do so.

Autumn makes me realize that we never stop growing despite the quieting of the world here in Wisconsin. I have watched so much change, so quickly. We are starting to hunker down and prepare for the dazzling shock of a Midwestern winter, and the blinding snow and ice that comes with it, but we don’t stop growing as we do that. We can’t stop.

I have watched my starry eyed summer romance turn into fierce, committed love. I watched my sister, my best companion, move away, not just across the state or even the country, but to Africa. I said goodbye to a dear friend for the last time. I am finishing up school, something I’ve worked at for the last four and a half years.

My grasp on the world is no longer the same. All these changes are piling up and all of the sudden the world looks different. And that’s not a bad thing.

Sometimes we have to wake up and look at the world with new eyes. I can think of no better time to do that than Autumn.