It’s a beautiful time in the northeast.

Cool mornings, warm days. Flannel and fleece are acceptable articles of clothing…but sandals are also acceptable at times. All-day hikes are less brutal and summits give you hints of color. The colors are growing and expanding. The change of the season is happening right before our eyes. And I’m trying to make the change slow down. I want to appreciate the leaves a little more. And savor the mid-day warmth and evening chill.

As much as I’m trying to hold on to this change, I know that I can’t make time stand still here. We’ll get to the point when the trees are bare and every day chills me to my bone. Snow covers the ground and my drive to work, instead of being an artist’s classic rendition of fall, is going to leave me with a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel with the potential to slip or slide or get stuck.

But in the midst of that season, I’ll be motivated to stay inside and coax Otis (my sourdough starter) back into a happy place. I’ll play with pie dough in more ways than last year. I’ll make soups and soups and soups. I’ll try skiing or snowboarding. And I’ll snowshoe to the top of mountains that I’ve celebrated throughout the summer. I’ll admire the glistening of snow and ice as it clings to tree branches. And I’ll stop – mid hike – to appreciate the depths of the silence that you find in the woods on a snowy day.

This change in seasons reminds me that life works in seasons…and with each beautiful change we also see challenges. Things that worry us or make us sad. There are experiences we miss from the last season and hopes and dreams for the next. But it’s essential, if we’re to continue savoring life, to find ways to enjoy wherever we are in this moment.