October

On Monday I set my alarm an hour early so I could exercise before going to work. I do this occasionally because apparently I like waking up to the smell of fresh failure. Time and time again I prove that Morning Ally is anywhere between 10-175 times less motivated to workout than Nighttime Ally, and so the only calories I burned on Monday morning were the ones that came from my swift response to the alarm while I aggressively pressed snooze. Please note that the only reason I haven't totally destroyed my alarm clock is because it is also my phone.

I'm blaming this on September. After the 8th of May, the rest of the days up until now resemble absolute hell, with all the gnashing of the teeth. It's summer in Texas and there is not a more stupid place to spend this season. As Texans, we all just sit under the oppression, sweating, and wait for our untimely heatstroke provoked deaths. We don't go outside unless we hate ourselves or unless there's water to submerge ourselves into, but usually not even the water is good enough because it feels like a warm bathtub. Don't get me wrong, I love popsicles and baseball and lying by the pool but enough is enough.

Let’s not forget that we have already done all the summer things. Lived it to the full. We went to the lake and drank the margaritas and sent our boyfriends off to summer camp. We watched the fireworks and peeled the sunburned skin off of our noses. We had all the fun, you say! Yes that, but then we are done now. Back me up here, Texans. Summer is too freaking long. Four months of this is unreasonable. What does summer think we are? Machines? I've never done anything well for four straight months in my life.

So now it has been nothing but sweltering heat for all of the minutes of all of the days for infinity days now, but you guys, IT'S OCTOBER NOW. Blessed, wonderful, magical October autumn has swooped in to save us. We survived the summer. We did it.

October is the month of redemption. It offers a shameless appeal for celebration. And it's here. Finally. Bringing with it a long awaited summer reprieve. October is my favorite month of all of the months. (An argument could be made for the month of May, but truly I can only speak for the first week of May and then it kind of goes downhill from there.) October brings everything good for me: the crisp autumn air and colorful leaves, the pumpkins, the scarves! It’s magical.

We can really do anything we want in October. ALL OF THE THINGS. We can wake up early and workout if we want to, or we can sleep in. We can drink hot coffee without wanting to die. We can straighten our hair without sweating profusely. We can organize stuff, like our friend’s freezer! (I am looking at you, Sydney.) We can sleep with our windows open. We can be productive. We can plan trips to the Arboretum. We can watch college football and all of our shows again like New Girl and Modern Family and Scandal. We can be JUST LIKE OLIVIA POPE, all badass and everything. We can dress up, and tell all of our insecurities to hush. We can pick up a new hobby like yoga or something and ooze our yogi zen all over everyone and smile calmly at them, you know, because of all the zen. Most importantly you guys, WE CAN ORDER PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE and eat it unashamedly. Why, you might ask? Because OCTOBER.

This is cause for celebration. October always has the potential to return me to my best self, to deliver me back to the woman that God created me to be after being so awful and pouty all summer. October changes, inspires and enables me to once again see the intricacies of a holy God. It reminds me that He does, in fact, exist. In October, the world is alive for me, exploding with energy and power and detail and dimension and everything is going to be awesome.

We made it you guys. Let's drink our pumpkin spice lattes in all the most #basic ways and play-like it will never EVER be November.


(PS. It's 85 degrees outside right now. Cue nervous manic laughter.)