Summer will always be the number one season in my heart. Always.

I get to visit the beach, I get to celebrate my birthday, I get to soak up some sun, I get to take walks later in the evening since the daylight lasts longer, I get to eat good barbecue,  I get to try all the new rosé that has debuted for the season... Summer has historically been the personal start of a 'new year' for me - partly because it's when I turn another year older, but also because I always enter fall feeling refreshed and changed in some way.

Change is in the air
This past month I've been feeling so grateful - more than usual - for everything in my life, good and bad, the struggles and the victories (there have been much of both). I got into my car to drive to work last week and thought thank you, God, for this life of mine. It's not necessarily a new feeling, but it's been more frequent than usual which makes it feel like a change. 

Another recent change? This one is big for me: I've been waking up for work, consistently, without an alarm clock. It started when I deliberately decided to test my internal clock and trust my body's natural sleep/wake rhythm. I was fed up with being jolted awake by the sound of my alarm, and no matter how many times I changed the alarm sound, no matter how loud or soft I adjusted the volume, I'd always wake up so irritable and frustrated, even if I'd had a full night's sleep. My relationship with the snooze button was getting deeper and deeper, and I relied on it more heavily than I should have. As hard as I would try, I couldn't quit the just 10 more minutes lifestyle (because it always turned into 30) (60, on my worst mornings). So instead, I decided to quit the alarm clock all together. 

The first day I woke up at my normal time, and I did it again the next day. And the next! And again on the weekend (albeit, I let myself go back to sleep on Saturday, because I'm not old enough to be getting up and moving at 6am on a Saturday) (catch me again in another 10 years). For some reason, it's easier to make that mental decision to get out of bed when I don't have an alarm clock to fall back on. I wake up feeling more refreshed and genuinely ready to start my day, which usually leads to leaving a few minutes earlier, which means I beat the school bus traffic.

Sweet victory.

Almost Autumn
Hopefully I keep it up and it becomes my new permanent routine this fall, a season for which I am impatiently waiting. Once August hits, I'm basically ready to skip to September, because September marks the start of Hocus Pocus season, and I love Hocus Pocus season almost as much as I love summer. And tacos. Almost.

To be clear, Hocus Pocus season for me is what most other people consider Halloween season. I watch the movie over and over again from from late September through October and force J to watch with me. When he's not around, I make Raven watch it with me. 

To-do
This season I've composed a to-do list of sorts, one that's short and simple - leaving little room for failure.
  1. Netherworld - I've been trying to participate in this hype for years. Years! The crowds are always too big and my patience is always too thin. This year we're going at the very start of the season. It's one of those things you do just to say you've done it, at least once.
  2. The Beltline - There were a couple times this summer I thought about grabbing our bikes and driving to the closest trail for a full day of exploring, but the idea of biking all around Atlanta, in the Atlanta summer heat, made me change my mind. Once the temps drop, it's on.
  3. The North GA Fair - I go almost every year and always walk away with the fondest memories. This year should be no exception
  4. Apple picking - the last couple years I've missed apple picking season, which starts late August and goes through September. The U-pick at B.J. Reece Orchards (which Beth raves about here), starts on Saturday, and I already have it on my calendar for next weekend. Gotta get there before all the honeycrisps are gone!
  5. Air Show - this is something I've wanted to do since I was in school, and I've always thought it'd be the best "date day" activity. Wings Over North GA is mid-October this year, and I plan to be there. *fingers crossed*

This post was much longer than I planned when I clicked "new post" this morning, so I've sectioned it up to appease the type A deep within me. Hopefully next week I'll be back to finish the handful of posts in my drafts folder.

;]





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