I have friends who swear that summer is the greatest – hot weather, days at the beach, tank tops and flip flops. I have friends who swear that winter is the greatest – snow, skiing, Christmas, mugs of hot chocolate. But, I’ve always been more of a middle-of-the-roader, myself. Spring and fall are the seasons I truly enjoy, and fall is my favorite by far.
This year, as we tiptoe into fall, already we’ve had over a week of what I like to call “cheap weather”. Cheap weather means it’s not so hot that I have to turn on the air conditioning, not so cold I have to turn my heat on. I can just open the windows and feel the breezes blowing through the house. The weather cooling also means I can take a break from wearing shorts (and shaving my legs daily!), and start wearing longer pants – and so I am revisiting my closet and finding clothes I had forgotten about in the past few months.
Fall happens to be when my birthday occurs (a month from yesterday! I am now less than a month from the big 3-0). I am thrilled and giddy about my upcoming birthday – I am not worried about growing older, nor am I afraid of the number. My mother, who turned 55 this summer, is still childlike in her anticipation of her birthday – so I suspect I come by it honestly.
College football is in full swing now, as well – and my beloved Wolverines are now ranked sixth after trouncing Notre Dame yesterday. While I’m not an ESPN hound like Hubby, having spent a few years in Ann Arbor, I still bleed maize and blue. Looking forward to taking in a game this season, and seeing the campus again (“Hail to the Victors!”).
Fall also brings the return of some of my classic television shows from the summer hiatus. I know, I’m such a couch potato, I should be 300 pounds – but I’ll be darned if I am not just counting the days until Thursday so I can see what happens next for Meredith and McDreamy (that would be Grey’s Anatomy, for the few people who aren’t yet watching this show!). Not only that, but in a few weeks, the winner will be chosen on Project Runway. Yes, that’s exciting stuff.
In the fall, I can begin to start my days with a mug of cocoa. My daily walks are more brisk and the chill in the air makes me move faster, and leaves my cheeks tingling with the cold. In the fall, I start making my list of what to buy for Christmas (yes – I’ve started my list – and I already know EVERYTHING The Princess is getting this year). I can cook some of my favorite comfort foods that I refuse to make in the hot weather (beef stews, chicken and dumplings).
The leaves will turn and the days will shorten. It will get easier to put the girls to bed, as the sunlight isn’t shining in their windows at bedtime at this time of year. What is not to like about that?
The pace of daily life seems to slow down – with the shorter days, it doesn’t feel as much like we’re cramming so much into each span of daylight. I spent a good chunk of my day today curled up on the couch with a book (“Happiness Sold Separately” by Lolly Winston, in case you were looking for a good read). In the heat of summer, something about slowing down to a crawl seems wasteful – but in the fall? The days demand it.
Sigh. Only a few short months of it, but I love it.
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