Winter has come to northern Virginia. We’ve fought it for weeks, one unseasonably warm day after another. But today the clouds are dark and low, and the trees are almost bare. When I look out the window I hear the words and the melody in my head: “All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray. California Dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.”

Why does it come as something of a relief, these clouds, this low sky? As if warmth has outworn its welcome. I love warm days. But there comes a point when they seem outdated. It’s time for days like this, days that invite staying home and being still.

Not an option for me today or for the next few weeks, but the great pause will soon be here, the holidays and year’s end. I don’t want to speed up my life too much — there are exciting moments in between — but I’m looking forward to a little rest.