Pumpkin Spice, Peppermint, and the Handoff
Honestly,
It’s that glorious moment when a latte counts as a personality trait, the sweaters come out and suddenly self-care is just how much cinnamon can I sprinkle before it looks like a craft project?
Then come the mini door-knockers, goblins, superheroes, tiny dinosaurs demanding chocolate protection fees, and all of that is your reminder.
Seasons knock, you answer.
You take what each brings.
Candy bowls, snow shovels, sun that stays out past 4 p.m. again.
None of it erases the last part.
It's just the next track on the album.
And you're proving, season after season, that you can roll with it.
Here's the deal.
Every season tags out the last one.
If you're head over boots for pumpkin season, blink and it's peppermint.
But with peppermint comes mosquito parole.
In mosquito season, no shoveling.
Each time something fades, something else shows up with its own kind of grace.
The trick's not to cling so tight you miss the handoff.
Appreciate the cozy, wave at the melt, and keep room in your cup for what's next.
And honestly, here's what I keep thinking about.
The beautiful thing about life, and sometimes the absolutely horrible thing about life, is that nothing stays exactly the same.
The season you desperately want to end eventually does.
Unfortunately, so does the one you wish you could keep forever.
Maybe that's why noticing matters.
What would you miss if it changed tomorrow?
What are you ready to set down?
The leaves don't cling.
They let go because making room is part of how new things happen.
So if you're surrounded by pumpkins right now, enjoy it.
If you can't stand pumpkin spice, peppermint's on deck.
Reflections
- What's one thing about right now that you'd miss if it changed tomorrow?
- What's one thing you're ready to set down?
- What isn't happening that you can be grateful for?
Toolbox
- Keep one little thing. A photo, a sentence, a familiar recipe. You can keep a piece of this season without asking the whole season to stay.
- Find the mosquito. If this season feels like mostly shoveling, notice what you aren't swatting away. That counts, too.
- Name what is next. You don't have to love pumpkin spice to look forward to peppermint. Give yourself one small thing to anticipate.
- Leave room in your cup. When something changes, you don't have to decide immediately whether the new season is your favorite. You can just try a sip.
- Notice before the handoff. Tell someone what you appreciate about right now while you're still in it. The ordinary stuff is allowed to matter.
Either way, you're not stuck. You're just in it.
And now for the fine print… I bring the HR experience. You bring your own coffee. This content is for general information, reflection, and entertainment—not personalized HR, legal, or employment advice. The views expressed are my own and do not represent those of any past or current employer. They have their own meetings. Let’s leave them out of this one.