Summer is quietly leaning into autumn in Northwest Ohio. Night falls quickly, no more lingering sunsets and light until 10 p.m. No more sitting on the front porch in shorts and t-shirts. The air is getting cooler and the sun is farther away. The grass is fading and the leaves are wilting. We can count on these things, can’t we?
My thoughts turn to planning. Planning for the rush of weeks until the holidays arrive. In my family, our holiday season begins with Hallowe’en and ends with the feast day of the Three Kings, January 6th. In between, we celebrate in ways that grow in meaning as the years pass. Sometimes, that means watching an old movie together, like Beetlejuice, or a new movie, like Coco. It means cooking and baking and looking forward to friends and family gathering. It means making music and making gifts. It means feeling grateful for all of the blessings that have come our way.
My writing changes, too. I plan for the dark, cold evenings that make dinnertime feel like we are eating at 9 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. I’m looking forward to NaNoWriMo this year, my second, during which I will be revising for the umpteenth time a coming of age manuscript that’s been floating around in my head for about 15 years. I am looking forward to Picture Book Summit for the first time this year, getting inspired, and meeting new aspiring pb writers. I think this autumn will be a good season!
margaret.r.zotkiewicz 