In the month of November, there are many changes. All of the summer shorts and swimming suits are packed in the back of the closet. Sweaters, mittens, and scarfs come to the front and are worn every day. Layers, layers, layers is the theme. Sweater, jackets, and winter coats are all worn on the same day. Winter boots with the fuzzy insides are now preferred over comfortable sneakers.

There is no more color outside. All of the leaves have fallen off the trees. All we see is brown wood around every corner. There is no more shade. The trees look lifeless, but they are actually hibernating.

The weather is now cold. This means warming up the cars early, heavy coats, and staying inside with warm blankets. The first snow may have already fallen, but now the snow will not melt.

Instead, Jack Frost comes out to play and covers the outside with a white blanket. He keeps the temperature low, makes the snow fluffy for snowball fights, and covers the roads with so much ice that people could ice-skate down their street. It is not even Thanksgiving yet, but the stores are full of Christmas décor.

Peppermint is now the candy of choice, red and green are everyone's favorite colors, hot chocolate is made every night, pine tree scents fill the stores, and we even start to hear All I Want for Christmas is You on the radio.

Is it too early to start getting ready for Christmas? Maybe, depending how often you sing Christmas carols out loud before a pumpkin pie is made.

There is a time change. We gain an extra hour. That means an extra hour of sleep which is needed for the college students who are now in the middle of the semester. It becomes dark outside earlier than usual. It is not a haunting dark, but a welcoming dark. It makes us want to stay in with our friends, drink hot chocolate, and stay in bed.

Snow falls every day. Sometimes it is like small darts striking your face making you want to stare at the ground, but at other times if is like soft, fluffy cotton that sticks to your eyelashes. Swimming is no longer an option. Skiing, ice-skating, and sledding are now the chosen weekend activities.

The season for thanks is in the air. We are reminded of all the blessing that we have. Family and friends are around more because of the holidays, and we don't mind it at all. We are thankful for all of the opportunities that we have in our lives which got us to the place that we are at that moment.

In the month of November, changes come about, but we welcome them with open arms.