I realized something this, as the temperatures finally started to descend: I think fall my have replaced winter as my favorite season. When I was a kid, I had pretty awful seasonal allergies, and since pollen is a non-issue in a Minnesota December, and since I really do find snow pretty and peaceful, and since I tend to overheat easily, I was always a big fan of winter over any other season.

Now, I don’t mind winter, but I can’t deny the general inconvenience of it. Waiting for the bus in a snowdrift is no fun. Trekking to work over unshoveled, icy sidewalks is no picnic, either. And now that the arrival of fall doesn’t automatically mean sniffles for me, I’m coming to enjoy it more and more. Sweater weather, and apple cider, and leaves changing color…it’s a really beautiful time of year.

I’m glad that I’m going to be recovering from surgery at a time of year where I don’t need to be running the air conditioner to be comfortable, but can have the windows open and enjoy the crisp fall air.

And speaking of surgery, this week has brought with it the most exciting news I could have received: insurance has agreed to cover the procedure. This is still a pretty unbelievable thing: most of the people I know who have undergone this surgery have had to save up and pay it all out of pocket.  I really wasn’t sure how I was going to make it work without insurance. I got the news at exactly two weeks until the big day…waiting was awful. But now it looks like it really is going to happen, and things really are going to work out the way I’ve been almost afraid to hope they would. So happy thoughts all around.