I love everything about fall — the colors, scents, weather and activities. This time of year everyone seems to talk slower, walk slower and make more time for friends and family. F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” Doesn’t that just make you smile … how a change in the season can give you that sense of starting over? Fall is also the season of gratitude, of counting your blessings. As we connect more with those around us, our hearts naturally fill with gratitude for the blessings, big and small, that surround us every day. Fall gives us the gift of connection.
An example of that would be my newest adventure: I recently started rowing lessons through the Arkansas Boathouse Club. Talk about gaining a sense of gratitude for all that surrounds us in The Rocks, as I so affectionately call Little Rock and North Little Rock. It’s breathtaking to row on the Arkansas River. My lessons started just as fall began to break open down here. It’s perfect timing all the way around — the trees are changing colors, the air is crisp and there is a light fog most mornings on the river. After two years of 5 a.m. wake-up calls, it’s difficult to motivate me out of bed that early, but a sunrise over the Arkansas River, the vast number of gorgeous bridges and downtown city views … well, it only takes one time to create a morning person out of the most die-hard night owl. Just one row on the river was all it took, and I was hooked. A simple change of perspective has made me grateful for the early mornings, the chance to watch the cities wake up, the workers that rise before the sun to make baked goods, deliver papers or just start their shifts at work. I also get to see the early-morning cyclists, runners and walkers on the River Trail.
Simply put, I’ve been blessed with a new view of The Rocks, the cities I love. I’m also grateful this new activity has brought out the kid in me while giving me some street cred with my 15-year-old nephew, who now thinks I’m just a teeny bit cool.
I would have never imagined myself rowing on the Arkansas River, but then fall is the perfect season for discovering something new in the cities you call home. On any given day, there are festivals from Hillcrest to Argenta and Park Hill to SoMa. The nights are filled with football games at every stadium in every city from peewee to college. Local restaurants open their patios so you can enjoy drinks and dinner with family and friends. In fact, the patio is so integral, restaurants invest in fans and heaters to extend patio season no matter what the unpredictable Arkansas weather throws our way. Outdoor activities explode, from biking along the numerous trails, to hiking up Pinnacle Mountain, to my new love — rowing on the river. All of these activities allow you to get in some great exercise while giving you incredible views you can’t get from your cubicle. Take the time to unlock something new that reminds you what an amazing place you call home. I am continuously surprised by how Arkansas gives me butterflies, teaches me new things and tells me great new stories … about it and me. Maybe that is the true gift of fall, as it gives us the canvas with which to fall in love with our surroundings — our cities and the people in those cities — all over again.