farewell to summer

So now it`s officially autumn. I do like autumn, especially September, when the trees still have leaves and they start to turn yellow and red and orange. There`s so much of autumn to like, like evenings getting gradually darker, candles, woollen socks, the quiet comfiness of sitting home at night and reading or maybe listening to a good cd. And then there are those crisp, cool, sunny days which feel like a gift since you expected it to be rainy and you feel blessed to have those days of sun before winter.

At the moment I`m a bit perplexed by the fact that summer is over - the weather here has changed and it`s been clear for the past week that this is it, autumn`s really here. Maybe it`s because summers fly by so fast when you`re working (one of the few things I hate about adulthood: time goes so much faster than when you were a kid, or a teenager even). Or maybe it`s just me having a hard time adjusting to the changes in my life. I don`t think I`ve really realized I`m moving, even now the d-day`s only a few days away (on Friday this week, to be excact). I`m not having second thoughts, really, since I`ve known for a long time that I need change, and I do feel excited about studying something new. But the excitement is somewhat dimmed by the thought of leaving Helsinki, my home and friends. I`ve noticed how much I really like Helsinki, and though I`ll visit often I can`t help but miss living here already. Another thing is that I realized all the plans with friends will be put on hold until my next visit and, wonder of wonders, their lives go on here even though I`m not a daily or weekly part of it all.

(I do know all this is silly since it`ll take me only two hours on train to visit Helsinki, and despite I`ll be living in a strange town where I know only a couple of people everything will surely be fine. I don`t need to be assured of that. I just need a couple more days to wallow in my moving-away -anxiety, then I´ll be fine and dandy and ready to face new challenges. Really.)

I`ll be heading to Tampere tomorrow to take part in some beginning of the academic year -stuff, then back to Helsinki by Wednesday and packing and moving and organizing a going away party (would somebody do that for me? please?) so probably won`t have much time for blogging, or many coherent thoughts to write down. Will try to post the feet week photos every day though - that`s partly why I joined, to keep something happening here even though I`ll be busy. Have a good week, all!


The photo is from the year 1963, probably taken by my grandfather. My mum, then 15, and my two cousins, aged 6 and 4, at the summer place my grandparents used to have.