The cool has finally dropped over Texas and it has me thinking of gray, hazy days in Paris. Days where sky, rooftop and building facade work their magic to meld into one another. Days where you wrap a jacket around yourself, step out the door and melt into the haze yourself, taking as much time as you wish to peruse market stalls, linger over a coffee on the now heated cafe terraces and enjoy the crunch of leaves under your feet in the Tuileries.

I’ve passed the five month mark for being back in the States and the city now feels so very far away, and yet, still as close as my own heartbeat. This week in particular, I’m missing Paris deeply. And so I hold my memories close and allow myself a dose of exquisite pain as I let my mind wander down Rue Jacob, through the Place Vendome and rest a bit on a  bench in Place des Vosges. I linger at flower stands, watch the Seine part the city from Pont des Arts and catch the rays of golden hour. But I also push myself to look forward, knowing, trusting and hoping with a faith that is beyond me that the best is yet to come.

Paris, my love, here’s to you, today.