Seasonal Change

It is dark now when I wake up in the morning.  It has been several weeks since we've needed to draw the black out curtain in our bedroom.  The restaurants are pulling in their outdoor seating areas and the boat is out of the water.  These are all signs of the change from "summer time" to "winter time" (the manner in which Swedes refer to daylight saving time and daylight standard time).  The official time change in Europe is October 26th, while the US waits another week until Nov. 1.  No matter what you call it, winter time here in Sweden is definitely daylight losing time and it's always a bit tough to brace oneself for the ensuing darkness.
That said, we've had 5 of most remarkable months of weather in my 15 year memory of living in Sweden.  The summer was warm and sunny day after day.  We spent many days on the water, swimming and tanning, and soaking in all of the vitamin D that we could stand!  Autumn has been spectacularly beautiful, the color on the trees vibrantly displayed across the city.  We've had consistently warm temperatures and very little rain so the leaves have all stayed on longer than usual.  I have barely had to wear a sweater let alone a coat and yesterday I was able to wear capri pants, shoes without socks and don no sweater or jacket.  While I'm not a fan of climate change and the negative affects it is having on our globe, I can't deny that I'm happy for a lengthy season of gorgeous, warmer weather.
I do not look forward to having to dress in layers, putting on gloves, a hat, a scarf, and a coat every day, and managing the precarious sidewalks once they are strewn with ice and snow.  But seasonal changes are inevitable and I suppose for this I can be thankful.  Down the road winter will turn into spring again, the world will turn on its axis, Sweden will once again be flooded with daylight, and winter time will once again be changed to summer time.