Motivation Monday Spokane: Appreciating the Season We’re In

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
L. M. Montgomery

There is something about this quote that feels especially appropriate right now.

October in Spokane does not last very long. One week the trees are just beginning to change, and before long the leaves are coming down and we are already thinking about winter.

That is probably part of what makes the season so good.

You have to notice it while it is here.

I have been thinking about that this week because I know I can spend a lot of time looking ahead. There is always something coming next. Another project, another goal, another season, another thing I want to get done.

Planning ahead is useful, but it is also possible to spend so much time thinking about what is next that we miss what is good about where we already are.

This week, I am trying to do a little less of that.

October Has a Way of Slowing Things Down

One of the things I appreciate about October is that the change is obvious.

You do not have to look very hard to notice it.

The mornings feel different. The light changes. Trees that looked the same for months suddenly become impossible to ignore.

Here in Spokane and throughout the Inland Northwest, fall has a distinct personality. The weather cools down, neighborhoods look completely different, and there is a brief window where the trees seem determined to put on a show before winter arrives.

That is what I like about L. M. Montgomery’s line.

She is not describing a goal.

She is not talking about getting ahead.

She is simply grateful that October exists.

I think there is something healthy about that.

Appreciating the Season We’re In

It is easy to appreciate a season after it is gone.

We do that with a lot of things.

Sometimes we recognize how good a period of life was only after we have moved beyond it. Looking back gives us perspective that can be hard to find while we are living through something.

That is why I am trying to ask myself a different question this week.

What is good about right now that I might miss later?

For me, that means trying to notice the ordinary things a little more.

It does not require pretending everything is perfect.

There are always unfinished things. There are always areas of life that could be better.

But gratitude does not require perfection.

Sometimes it simply requires paying attention.

A Similar Perspective in Real Estate

I see a version of this in real estate too.

People naturally think ahead when they are considering a move.

A homeowner may be wondering whether a different house would fit the next chapter better. A buyer may be thinking about what life could look like in North Spokane or across the state line in Coeur d’Alene.

Those are good conversations to have.

But homes also carry seasons of life.

The house that feels too small today may be the same place where some of our favorite family memories were created. The home someone is preparing to sell may represent years of ordinary mornings, birthdays, projects, dinners, and conversations.

That does not mean we should never move forward.

It simply means it is worth appreciating what a place has been before deciding what comes next.

That perspective is something I try to keep in mind when working with home buyers and home sellers through Josiah Boone Real Estate and Windermere Real Estate.

Real estate is about property, but it is also about seasons of life.

Spokane in October

October is also one of my favorite times to simply drive through Spokane neighborhoods.

Mature trees become part of the architecture.

North Spokane and many of the established neighborhoods around the city take on a completely different look once the leaves turn. Even newer suburban areas begin to feel more settled as landscaping matures and the season changes.

Across the Inland Northwest, the combination of evergreens, fall color, mountains, and cooler weather gives this part of the country a character that is hard to duplicate elsewhere.

It is easy to take that for granted when we see it every year.

Maybe that is another reason I like this quote.

Sometimes the things that happen regularly are exactly the things we stop noticing.

A Good Reminder for the Week

So this week, I am trying not to rush October.

I am trying not to treat it as the month between summer and winter.

I want to notice it.

And beyond the season itself, I want to pay a little more attention to the good things that are already part of life right now.

There will always be something next.

But this week, I am reminding myself that today does not need to be merely preparation for tomorrow.

Sometimes it is worth appreciating simply because it is here.

And I am pretty glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.