You know that time during late autumn/pre-winter when it’s cold outside, but not so cold that you turn on your heater or furnace?

Yep — it’s one of those nights.

No thoughts of loved ones, friends, or others can warm me — it’s legitimately chilly outside. And I love it.

My house flag is flapping in the wind. Note: not a breeze, but a wind. Clouds overhead are speeding by at breakneck speed, only to be met by mountains about thirty to forty miles north which put a damper on their plans. Flowerbeds are damp from yesterday’s rain, and the backyard birdbath has been renewed by Mother Nature.

The change of seasons — once it moves past its hemming and hawing where summer thinks about moving into fall, despite its hesitancy to commit — has me hopeful for the future. Change isn’t always top of mind, but once it gets under our skin, it can take hold like no other. We might try to deny it, but ultimately I think we see the benefit of an embrace.

Tonight I am thankful for the change of seasons, the seasons’ effect on our lives, the power of others and their influence that knows know bounds.