November Blues...

I remember a time when November was my favorite month of the year… a time that’s near year end but not yet the end of the year… the anticipation of the upcoming holidays… the crispness of the autumnal air slowly taking on an icy edge… leaves turning wine-red and whisky-gold, carpeting the ground… the skies an endless blue…

The year is nearing an end… allowing one to look back at the fruits of the past year, nostalgic and satisfied… A new year is starting but with a month of allowance… so one has the sense of anticipation of the brand new start without the stress of preparation… it’s that perfect moment of in between-ness that allows one to relax, a breathing time to lay back, take stock and just … be.

I loved November… until this year.

Drew up my schedule for the next 8 weeks the Sunday before in a fit of pique. One look at the finished product and I wanted to find a hole to hide in for the next 8 weeks…back-to-back appointments, days of marking and nights of classes, piled work that doesn’t appear clearable in any near future, exams and deadlines in a blood red reminiscent of the burgundy I used to think of when I thought of the fall foliage of November…. Can I just hide in my little cave and crawl out on D-day itself?

I miss the Novembers of the past….