The Leaves Are Falling. My Joints Are Filing Complaints

Fall has a funny way of announcing itself.

The air gets crisper. The leaves start changing. Pumpkin everything suddenly appears. And my joints apparently receive their own personal weather alert:

“Attention: temperatures are dropping. Commence dramatic overreaction immediately.” 😂

Living with cerebral palsy means I experience the changing seasons a little differently. Cooler weather can bring more stiffness, tight muscles, and days when my joints feel like they might actually explode. My body seems to know fall is coming before the first leaf hits the ground.

But I refuse to let discomfort become the only thing I notice.

Because every season brings different moments worth capturing.

Fall brings little hands reaching for pumpkins. Leaves crunching beneath our feet. Sweatshirts, cider, football games, Halloween costumes, family pictures, and those ordinary afternoons that don't seem particularly important until years later when you would give anything to experience them one more time.

Cerebral palsy might change how I move through those moments. I may walk a little stiffer when it's cold. I may hurt more. I may need to slow down, sit down, warm up, stretch, or find a completely different way to participate.

But I'm still there.

And I've learned that being fully present in a moment doesn't require my body to be comfortable in it.

Maybe that's one of the greatest lessons CP continues to teach me: life doesn't have to feel perfect to still be beautiful.

Every season asks something different of my body.

But every season gives me something different to remember, too.

So bring on the changing leaves, pumpkin patches, ridiculous amounts of cider—and joints that apparently think 55 degrees is a personal attack.

I'll keep adapting.

I'll keep showing up.

And I'll keep capturing the moments.

Because someday, I won't remember how stiff my legs felt.

I'll remember who was standing beside me when the leaves fell. ❤️🍂