I wake to the sound of my alarm at 6am. Opening the floral shades, I find the sky is still dark, the world is still asleep. But why sleep in in a place like Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey when I can sleep in anytime I want at home. Tiptoeing down the stairs, the floorboards creak beneath me. The house is old, used, weathered. It's nothing like my newly built, modern house in Chicago, but something about that makes it feel more homely. The smell of coffee wafts through the air. I pour a cup, take a sip and embrace the fact that this coffee is for taste, not necessity. Then, I dress in the warmest clothes I've brought, it's not like the cold is unusual for me, I live in Chicago, it's the crispness of fall that is felt here more than anywhere.
