The Sudden Onset of Autumn

I love the fall. I love the cool breezes. I love feeling just a bit chilly. I love wrapping up in fleece jackets or in soft, old sweatshirts. I love eating chili and drinking hot chocolate.

Coupled with loving the weather of fall, I love the new beginnings that autumn so often brings. For most of my life, September meant the beginning of a new school year. New friends and new classes and a whole new structure to my life. The last few years have been without school, but 2005 brought the birth of L--, 2006 brought the end of pregnancy with S--, 2007 brought a move to Shanghai and this year we've moved across town. The cool breezes of fall have still blown in a new lifestyle.

As my new lifestyle started, it began to feel strange that the weather still felt warm and sticky. September in Shanghai is no longer the super-hot, super-sticky summer akin to that of a hot mid-western day. September in Shanghai feels more tropical, as the humidity stays around 90% with infrequent storms to drain the water from the air. The temps stay just high enough for the humidity to make clothes stick to your skin.

Yesterday, our ayi Wendy told me that the forecast was for 31 degrees as a high. That is nearly 88 degrees Fahrenheit. Yesterday, we still had our tropical September and the vestiges of summer heat. *Just checked - actual high yesterday, 91F.*

Today, we awoke to a light rain and a cool breeze. Weather.com tells me that right now, the temperature is 72F. Its been a long September in coming, but this is the weather that I like to settle into.