Feelings Subject to Change Come January

Coffee? Check. Afghan to wrap up in? Check. Seat near window? Check. Now relax, sip, and smile.

I think I may have already missed the first official frost in my area of Wisconsin but today, I'm actually witnessing it for myself. As I stumbled out of bed in the dark and made my way, half blind, to the coffee maker, I glimpsed out the window to see the grass looking a bit more muted than usual. For the first time in my life, the sight of that first blanket of frost actually resulted in a little squeal.

I know. Crazy, right?

Maybe it's due to the plague of bugs (mosquitoes to flies to some sort of exotic looking beetles) we've had for a steady three months or maybe it's because I love wearing tights with skirts but something tells me that my excitement is more about the fact that I'm ringing in a new season back home.

But let me be clear: I do detest winter in Wisconsin. It's actually part of the reason I left three years ago. I felt like I was turning into some cranky 80-year-old who regularly cursed that nature need not be so cruel. But yet here I am, back in the very state that will soon make me scrape, shovel, and fall on my keister an ungodly amount of times And I'm looking forward to this?

In some crazy way, yes.

I guess it's because this year, I get to finally see my niece dress up for Halloween, in a Care Bear costume no less! Also, after six or seven years away, I will spend Thanksgiving with my family again. And Christmas this year means not relying on a plane that is likely to either sit at JFK for hours on end or get rescheduled altogether, leading me to panic about whether I will enjoy any part of Christmas with the fam at all.

Plus, it's just so darn pretty and still outside right now.

Of course, there are other sacrifices I will have to make. No Christmas tree at Rockefeller plaza. No joining in on the hustle and bustle of shopping on Broadway. No meeting up with my awesome Brooklyn posse at some cozy little French bistro for wine and laughter.

But to me, new seasons mean being grateful for the last and embracing what's ahead, no matter how challenging it may be. And like the frost, there always seems to be some beauty along the way.