All wound up

(Courtesy of my sister)

The White

There are the moments
before snow, whole weeks before.
The rehearsals of milky November,
cloud constructions
when a warm day
lowers a drift of light
through the leafless angles
of the trees lining the streets.
Green is gone,
gold is gone.
The blue sky is
the clairvoyance of snow.
There is night
and a moon
but these facts
force the hand of the season:
from that black sky
the real and cold white
will begin to emerge.

by Patricia Hampl, from Resort

*  *  *  *  *

The leaves are nearly all on the ground here in Boston, and it feels like everything is shutting down, getting ready for a long sleep. I feel all wound up, though, and I know most of us are gearing up for the busiest time of the year.

I've seen a lot of good material on priorities and balance lately. Here are a few of my favorites, for your reading pleasure: 

• How to Spend Your Time the Way You Want To, Whole Living
  
• Narrowing the Priorities (a.k.a., choose two things!), Pink of Perfection
  
• Thinking Ahead for the Holiday Season, Small Notebook
  
• Why Millennial Women are Burning Out at Work, Forbes