s-l-o-w down for autumn

It's September, did anyone notice where August went? Many of the blogs I follow seem like they too took a hiatus for the month. Is it because it is too hot to think? Too many things going on to slow down for a moment and collect thoughts cohesively? (which this is clearly not). The mentality that summer is coming to a close and we need to squeeze every last drop of sunshine out of it before remembering to buy another ice scraper and mittens.
As I got into my car this morning in my usual attire of a skirt and sandals, I shivered. Not just a twitch or momentary chill, oh no, this was enough to warrant turning on my heater in the car for a few minutes. Granted this was at 4a, but still. I was not ready to turn my thermostat from cold to hot. My body unwilling to make the opposite transition from hot to cold. Just part of the season I suppose.
I thought it cool (Jew-nerd alert) that this September and this Elul have the same days. So today is the fourth of Sept and it's also the fourth of Elul. The new moon happened on the first. I don't know how often that happens and I'm having difficulty finding out. I'm sure there is a mathematical formula which will give me the answer easily; it's finding that formula which is the fun challenge (math-nerd alert).
And ah, yes, Elul. What a month. The time to begin thinking about Rosh HaShanah before you open the Machzor. When the white is everywhere in the shul. Where people start to come back from all over, or from just down the street.
Interesting how the time for reflection is the same time of year that we change from summer to autumn. I say this because it feels natural to contemplate at this time. When the leaves start to change, slowly; when the days get shorter, slowly; when the air starts to chill; slowly.
For me, autumn is quiet transition, a slow, careful, thoughtful, one. We remember to slow down too. Either our memories or our children bring up that sense of wonder with the starting of school. We stop rushing from camp to camp or from one trip to another, from one summer adventure to the next. We begin to comfortably settle into a routine.
I was just thinking about food too. Many of the autumn foods take a while to cook. Squash is best eaten cooked, not raw, and they take quite some time in the oven if patience is given to them. Autumn pies, like apple or pumpkin or pecan, take a while. Ginger cookies and molasses ones too take time.
Correlating this to Elul, I am able to find parallels. Just like food takes patience, so too do we. In a time for reflection and repentance, remembering to be patient with each other, and ourselves. Just as the leaves don't change overnight, neither do we. Just as pies take a little more thoughtfulness, so too do relationships. Just as the air doesn't snap on the cold, neither should we.
In this time of slow transition, take those moments to reflect and contemplate and let the air around us be the guide to the space within us.