I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day this past week.

I had a mini-freak out this morning when I realized that since Labor Day has now passed, my favorite summer breakfast – fresh berries, yogurt and granola – wouldn’t be possible for much longer.

Attempting to eat only seasonally fresh produce means you have to change what you eat a few times a year. But I love my summer breakfast! And I love summer! And long days! And since I’m not relocating to Southern California anytime soon, I will attempt to transition into fall gracefully.

Here are some things that I look forward to in the upcoming, chilly season:

• Sleep: Follow the sun, people, and embrace your circadian rhythms. More dark = more sleep.
• Comfort food: I will miss my fresh berries, but I also love my cool-weather, go-to breakfast: steel cut oats with apples, walnuts, cinnamon and a bit of agave nectar. So warm and hearty on those cool mornings. If you throw it in the crockpot at night, you will wake up to the most delicious smell.
• Hot yoga: You know I love me some yoga, but the idea of hot yoga on a hot summer day does not make me happy. But on a bone-chilling, fall or winter day? It’s blissful.
• Fireplaces: There’s nothing like reading or snuggling in front of a fire.
• Skiing: I get a little wiggy if I don’t get outside enough, and not much can beat being on top of a mountain on a crisp day.
• New boots!: Shallow, I know, but come on….

If you can’t beat it, you may as well join it, right? Enjoy your last bits of summer in the upcoming weeks!

This post is being awkwardly written, as my left hand has been in a cast, and then a splint for the last eight weeks.  

Eight. Long. Weeks.

Flash back to an amazing summer morning on the water. The paddleboard yoga class I was taking was nearing its end, and I decided to get fancy and do a “behind the head” bind. It’s tough enough to do on land, but I’d worked on it for the better part of a year and felt pretty confident about it. That is, until I lost my balance, rolled off my board, and damn near tore my thumb off. One semi-emergent surgery later, and my exercise regime came grinding to a halt. Hence my rude wake-up call.

————————————- Oh, shit. ——————————————

Exercise keeps me feeling and looking healthy, but much more importantly, it keeps me from being a raving bitch/lunatic. So I knew I had to get on top of things, and quickly.

Yoga and weightlifting, my two go-to activities of choice, were an obvious NO.

Running didn’t work either, as the cast made me majorly lop-sided, and once I was splinted, the fear of catching or bumping my  thumb made me cringe.

I walked a lot, and took the opportunity to get back in the pool, awkward though it was.

Still, I felt a bit like a caged lion.

And then, I exhaled. Maybe, just maybe, the universe gave me exactly what I needed. A little more time and space to stop and smell the roses. Our oldest just left for college, and the ‘baby’ is now a junior in high school. We had some pretty magical moments this summer, many of which probably wouldn’t have happened if Mama was at the gym all morning.

So though I’m still pissed that I’m not firing on all cylinders, and likely won’t be for a few more months, I can see that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. And therein lies the silver lining, my friends.

What’s not going well for you that you could find some silver lining in? Please do share!