Letters to October Announcement!

Hello Everyone! Sorry I've been gone for a little while. Luckily you'll be hearing from me a lot more frequently in the next few weeks, because it's that time of year again: time for Letters to October. For those of you new to this little tradition of mine, it was inspired by Emily Diana Ruth's Letters to July and Carrie Hope Fletcher's Dear Autumn series. Each day I write a letter to the month of October, and pair it with a picture I took that day and a song I've been listening to. It's a little project that helps me take stock of how my life has changed, and helps me notice more, instead of letting the days slip past without a second glance.

I don't want to get too sentimental too soon, but a lot has changed since my last Letters to October in 2015. I've graduated college, moved back home, and started a job at my favorite independent bookstore. In the past my Octobers were filled with mounting stress as the semester's work load got more intense. Now, I'm working full time and my days, while stressful at times, are more structured than they were at school. I was also in Iowa, where the transition to fall was obvious - blustery days, changing leaves, a biting chill to the air. Now I'm back in Texas, where we're lucky to get a handful of cooler days, and we don't get true fall colors until December.

Needless to say, I'm excited to see where this year's Letters will take me. I hope you'll join me, and I'd love it if you made your own! If you're so inclined, you can read past letters in the Letters to October tab.

Until tomorrow!

And, just for fun, here's a song of the day: Die Young by Sylvan Esso

Letter to October #1

Dear October,
       I'm trying to fall back in love with you, with Autumn. To be quite honest, I just don't feel like watching the world slip slowly into rust-colored decay this year. Summer still looms large in my memory. I'm haunted by luxuriously long evenings and blistering afternoons. I'm not ready to give up iced coffee mornings and orange sherbet clouds and the way the sun turns newly mowed lawns into a sea of impossible green. Life at school is a lot quieter this year, mainly because my friends are a bit more scattered, and while I feel more in control of my studies, I feel less in control of my social life. Isn't that so like life? As soon as one peice falls into place, another unravels. That's not to say I'm unhappy, October. Restless is a better word.

At times like these, I do two things. First, I turn towards the things that always bring me comfort. I just put a bunch of books on hold at the library. They're mostly middle grade books, full of childlike wonder and magic. One is the sequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, a book that is the equivalent of being dropped in an autumn-themed Alice in Wonderland. The next thing I do is take a few, tiny steps out of my comfort zone. September kept whispering adventure in my ear, and most of the time I ignored her. I don't know what you have in store for me October, but don't worry. I'm not going to do the same to you.

Laura

Song of the Day: A Proper Polish Welcome by Torres (Couldn't pass up this beautiful, nighttime, outdoor serenade)