Fall has come to steal the show

It happened suddenly - but I guess that is what you get for living in Virginia. One day I was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and sweating in my tank top and shorts as we explored Assetague Island. And next thing I knew,  I had a scarf around my neck, a wool sweater, boots and jeans on as I drove to to the Mountains for a day in Harrisonburg. The leaves are changing, I'm remembering what cold feet means (plus the benefit of extra food rubs from Matt that comes with them), and feeling like tea in the mornings.

Its rather sudden - I sometimes like my seasonal changes a little more gradually.

But it feels right.

Summer this year has been amazing, a time of sun and water and reading silly, powerful, feminist or simply indulgent fantasy. A time for planning and evaluating, for weddings and dreams. For putting many, many miles on my two door red car. For living in the moment and indulging my free time. For lots of BEing.

But fall is here now - and I am ready to buckle down to being productive. To making some check lists and turning those summer dreams into future experiences. To reading some nonfiction. To writing those statements of intent and paying those application fees. To buying plan tickets and scheduling hostels. To making the next 81 days count.

Work is also picking up steam as I prepare for Open Enrollment season and all the work that will go into helping people get enrolled in health coverage for 2016. My days are filling up with presentations, flyers, newsletters, trainings, etc. I am enjoying being busy.

*****
And I couldn't have asked for a better transition week. 
The UCI bike race coming to Richmond meant 10 days in which downtown (aka the part of town that houses my office) was fairly inaccessible to non-peddlers or pedestrians. So last week my office gave us the go ahead to work from home - a task which I undertook with vigor. The beginning of the week was spent working from the Eastern Shore, where Matt and I were escaping the race with my roommates' dogs. It included coffee shop work time, winery tours, a beach day, plenty of dog walks, and lots of cuddles. I was back in Richmond and did work some from home in the middle of the week before heading up to Harrisonburg for a day of memory seeking and mentor meetings, not to mention wonderful tea, cuddles, and company. And then a weekend full of all day long events to convince me that summer was in fact over and it was time to get to work again. 
*******


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