end of the year chills

There's a few days at the beginning-of-the-end of autumn when the air suddenly turns ice cold and the chilly breeze consumes you from the tip of your nose all the way into your lungs with every inhaling breath you take.  Walking around the city, there is just no better, cleaner, more refreshing feeling.  The chill is enough to make you dig your hands a little deeper into your pockets, and scrunch your shoulders up just a little higher than normal.  Suddenly I find myself picking up the pace trying to make it to the next warm building.  It's one of my favorite feelings, to step out and feel that coldness brush my face (especially the still coldness when there's no wind factor).  It is also one of my saddest feelings, because suddenly on one of these chilly days I realize the year is almost over.  With less than 2 months to go, the year is suddenly about to become part of history.  2008 has been a tumultuous year, to say the least.  We've been plagued with depression, economic downfalls, stress and everything else on the list.  But with the end of the year, comes the promise of the next.  It's sad to dwell on what has been, what could have been, and what never was in the last 10 months, but its also a great time to look forward to what may be in the year to come.  To think, this lengthy thought process was brought on by mother nature's cold kiss to my cheek...