fall, falls, falling

Thanksgiving break to me is always a gamble. Last year I can say that, around this time I did not want to be home. The stark contrast between my independence at school and falling into old grooves at home did not settle well with me. Of course, the feelings would dissipate when I surrounded by family and awesome food; I was overwhelmed with gratitude. But I remember wishing I had only a few days off, less time to be increasingly aware of the stark contrasts between my two homes. 

This year feels completely different. 

Sure, there are moments when all I want is to be elsewhere, back at school, out of  the familiarity that brings along with it a stinging bittersweet pain. But this time around, these moments have been remedied with those of extreme serenity, joy, and peace.

Just this Monday I tried to run for the first time in weeks [I basically used leaving my running shoes at home as my reasoning for not hitting the grind for weeks on end at school. Heh. 😇] and ended up taking a total detour and getting caught in the woods. My phone does this cute thing of late where it will say it has no battery even though I just charged it, dying at 87% on the regular. 

But I was glad to be off the grid, alone in a yellow woods in the crisp air of the morning. I strayed from the blue paint marks on the trees one two many times and found myself atop of  a forested hill where trees had not quite shed their leaves yet, casting this ridiculously yellow glow all around me. It's emblazoned in my mind, a camera wouldn't have done it justice anyway. I can't really convey how truly awesome it is to lose yourself in the colors of fall. It's my favorite season for this reason.  

When I'd had enough stumbling around, I found my way out [I have a sense of direction that doesn't involve Google maps?! What?!] and headed home in order to prep for a daytime excursion to Great Falls with a newfangled Josh [ever have those people who just pop into your life in the strangest of wonderful ways...?]. 

We got there, and this was what we found:

 

Looks like Van Gogh painted this rock.

life on the edge, lol

It's crazy how just a few hours of moving around in the trees, by the water, over the rocks can absolutely liberate the mind and allow it to aimlessly wander and tidy up. 

I can always tell when I've been inside for too long, when I need to get out and go back to a mental state I can relax in. A couple hours, even a few minutes, in the right conditions just flips my worries off, shuts down my ever-buzzing mental "to-do" list, and lets me breathe. 

It's a wonderful thing.