Even though school has started and we have said goodbye to the carefree, lengthy days of summer, the end of this month will finally mark the beginning of fall. Not only does it mark the beginning of the fall season, but it also marks the beginning of the last of our first four seasons in Colorado.
We moved from Pensacola, Florida to Denver, Colorado in November of last year. It was still technically fall, but the last leaves had hit the ground and there had already been several snowfalls. In fact, it snowed the week we moved in to our house.
I haven’t ever really lived anywhere that had four true seasons. We spent one year in Virginia but I don’t really remember much about the seasons there though my mother swears there were four distinct seasons (and a snowfall that I slept through). I have never really experienced a true summer where the outdoor pools open on Memorial Day and close on Labor Day. Although I moved around a lot growing up due to being part of a military family, our posts always included places like southern California, Hawaii and Florida. You don’t see many season changes in those places.
You always hear how time flies. When you are in school, you count down the time by the years you have left before you finish your degree. When you are engaged and preparing to be married, you count down the time by the months you have until you walk down the aisle. When you have children, you count the days, months, and years, by the many different milestones your children hit.
Since moving to Denver, we have been counting down time by the seasons.
Sometimes it feels like we have hardly been here at all. It feels like we just arrived and have so much more exploring to do.
Other times, it feels like we have been here forever making a home in this unfamiliar yet somehow familiar city.
Neither my husband nor I had ever been through a winter filled with snow, skiing, and hot chocolate by the fire each weekend. Our first winter in Denver was exciting and full of many firsts for us to celebrate together as a family.
When the winter began to thaw and the spring tulips popped through the ground, we spent the spring months wandering through the numerous state and national parks that are just a short drive away. We learned how to hike together as a family and enjoyed the time spent together. We bought flower and bird identification books and relished in the dry air. We did not miss the Florida humidity. Nope. Not one bit.
When spring turned into summer, it brought warmer days but nothing that we couldn’t get through with a little time at the pool or board game marathons in the cool basement. We learned that we didn’t miss the beach as much as we thought we would though the unbelievable mountain views and unlimited outdoor activities probably helped. We also discovered that summer is currently our least favorite season though the wildflowers covering the ground made it all worth it. Our feelings about the summer season might have something to do with the practically endless summer that we had been experiencing in Florida for the past twelve years.
Now that summer is turning back to fall, we are anticipating what this last season will be like. I hope that it is filled with visits to real pumpkin patches, hot apple cider on the back porch, and a glimpse of the famed Aspen trees dressed in their brilliant yellow leaves.
Once fall turns to winter, I wonder how we will feel. Will we still love the snow and the winter storms as much as we did during our first winter? Will we be sad that our year of firsts in Colorado is over?
We don’t know how long we will be on this crazy ride here in Colorado so I know one thing is for sure.
We will continue to live life to its fullest and we will explore all that we can so that we have no regrets if and when it finally ends and it is time to move on.
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