I was aware of how eager I was to leave the party, even though that is so uncharacteristic of me.  We were even getting a house tour and I wanted to just go.  Why?  Because if we didn’t leave soon,  we might miss the sunset.  Curious, that wasn’t even on my radar six weeks ago.

You can see we got there on time.  Sunset isn’t a time, though; it’s a series, an expanse, of changes that you miss if you blink too often.  I’ve perhaps seen more sunsets in the last month than in the last several years, and what’s even more pertinent is that I’ve truly looked at them, truly seen them with more than a passing oh-that’s-pretty glance.

My friend said the temperature today in Kansas City was nearly what it was here.  The seasons…I don’t miss them.  The smaller changes…I’m trying to notice them.  I did really like autumn, especially the scents and the feel of the air, perhaps even more than the colors.  The crispness is invigorating.  The sharpness put a spring (pun intended) in my step.  Funny, spring slowed me down.  The expectation of summer’s heavy heat and humidity wasn’t…well, it just wasn’t happily received.  But fall was energizing.  Perhaps because fall meant school and I always loved school.

Maybe the ocean is like autumn all the time.