It’s officially fall! I can change my sign from this…
…to this!
Would it surprise you to know that I didn’t always like fall? Growing up in the midwest, I hated it. One year, a friend was urging me to appreciate the colorful leaves, and I said I couldn’t because I was dreading winter so much. He said “Can’t you just enjoy this beautiful day and not worry about what’s coming up?’ I responded, “If you knew you were going to prison in two months, would you be able to ‘just enjoy’ yourself until then?”
That was truly how I felt. I suffered through so many winters, and that was before SAD lamps were a thing. Finally, I decided life was too short to be that unhappy for so much of the year, and moved to Opposite Land, aka Florida.
Now I suffer through the summers. The weather is horrible and we don’t want to be outside. But… it’s coming. Sometime soon, probably next month, we’ll wake up and find that cold, dry air has blown through. It’s like the first beautiful spring day up north. We’ll be able to OPEN THE WINDOWS! We’ll be able to be outside without feeling like the sun is trying to kill us. I can go for a run and actually feel invigorated instead of depleted afterwards.
Let’s list all the things I love about fall…
And most of all… fall is the season of hope and anticipation. At least, down here. Happy fall from Opposite Land!
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What are you excited for this fall?
Top photo by Greg Shield on Unsplash
11 Responses
It’s true, hot summers are the worst! In winter, you can at least bundle up and go outside, but in summer, you’re trapped. We have to keep our shutters down so the sun doesn’t heat up the windows, which means we basically live in the dark on summer afternoons. Prison is the right word! 😂
But now it’s autumn and everything feels better. I swear even the people on the street seem to be in a better mood, ha!
Enjoy autumn, Jenny!
I so relate to your experiences of winters, and your statement about going to prison is spot on, because that’s exactly how I felt about the winter in Sweden. Here it’s much better, the weather is just shitty most of the time but you can still go out most of the time.
I suffer less from hot weather, but I also know it can be hard (experiences from Italian summers), you can only be outside in short bursts, and it certainly can get tedious especially when it drags on and on without relief. I’m glad your season is finally here! I hope the fresh air comes soon.
My autumn plans just went down the drain but I can still go out to do my regular things close to home so everything isn’t bad.
I LOVE fall. It is my absolute favourite time of the year. The comforting flavours: spices, soup, stew, coffee. Warm blankets. Sunshine in the afternoons. Beautiful colours from the changing leaves. Crisp air.
That said, I DO dread winter and fall is such a short season where I live. When I say I love fall, I mostly like from September 1- October 15th or so, and then it’s winter (in my mind) until… May. Blergh.
I hear you on dreading winter! I used to LOVE winter because it meant we might get snow, but now I dread winter because it means my fingers will be icicles for months. However, I try to embrace fall and not dread what’s coming next. Here’s my approach these days: fall means that Thanksgiving and then Christmas are coming. Once Christmas is over I know we’ll be heading to warm Florida for a couple of weeks, and then once that’s behind us I know we’ll start having a few warm spring-like days as we await spring in Virginia! 🙂
Let’s keep a positive approach, though… Happy Fall!
Obviously I have a different opinion. Fall means winter is coming. I dread winter.
I love fall colors decorations and food. Not sweating in a run.
But not the early darkness and clothing dilemmas. What do I wear. By the time I figure it out it’s winter. I’m either too hot or too cold.
Living in Calgary for so long, I never appreciated fall because “fall” was two weeks of pretty leaves and sunny afternoons in September, and then a big windstorm would blow all the leaves off, leaving naked trees until May. Then the snow would start in October. So I never really got Fall Appeal until I moved here and I feel like I’m in a fall-themed movie. Apples and pumpkin patches! Leaves that change gradually for three months! Wearing boots, scarves, and sweaters – WITHOUT PARKAS OR FREEZING TO DEATH. I do love summer though.
Truth time: you are my inspo for being able to appreciate fall. I used to hate it because of the “going to jail in two months thing”, and back in my running era I dreaded it because the later sunrise meant that I had to run on the treadmill on weekday mornings. Now I appreciate the beautiful fall colors and the perfect dog walking weather. Er, actually now that I think about it, I think that I’ve come to love fall and kind of hate summer since the hotter weather that we’ve had for the past few years means more time inside. But also now that I’m traveling that’s cutting down on my winter time so…I guess overall it’s a win? Yes, let’s call it a win!
Anyway, Happy Official Start of Fall!!! I hope that your plans include a long weekend leaf peeping trip! Because just because you don’t have it at home doesn’t mean that you can’t come up north to see the goodies.
As a midwest girlie, I feel you SO MUCH on the fall/winter dread. I think fall in itself is lovely, but I am always sad to see it arrive because it means that winter is right around the corner. Thankfully, I’ve found a few ways to make my winters better these past two or so years. But I still don’t love them, and don’t think I ever will. Anyways, I guess I need to go ahead and embrace and enjoy fall, too!
I grew up in Colorado, and as a kid I loved winter because it meant sledding and snow days, but once I got to college I hated it because I had to walk to class in snow and cold or take the bus once I moved off campus because I didn’t feel safe driving on icy roads. So I was excited to move to Arizona and leave that all behind!
I don’t totally dread summers here but they do make it hard to run! I’m lucky to have mountains nearby to escape to for my long runs but during the week I’m stuck slogging it out in the heat. This summer actually hasn’t been too bad since we’ve gotten a lot of much-needed rain, but it’s made it more humid than usual which I don’t love! Probably nothing compared to FL humidity but still. I’m ready for AZ fall weather, aka 70s and 80s haha!
I’m a Midwesterner that loathes winter but I can still appreciate fall. It ties with summer as my favorite season. It’s so pretty here and I love the cool, crisp temps and the sounds of crunchy leaves! I do dread what is coming but I go into a state of denial about what comes next (winter is the Voldemort of seasons – let’s not say the W word out loud too much so as not to wake up the weather gods). The boys love fall, too, since they love Halloween and going to the pumpkin event at the zoo and the Fall Festival at school. It is a really great time of year. I just wish we could have 6 months of fall!
Enjoy leaning into this season! I know you have to sort of make fall happen indoors as a person that lives in a warm part of the country. When my sister lived in Arizona, she would transition to fall meals even though it was like 100 degrees outside.
I love fall! I also love spring! There is just something about the transitions that is like a new beginning. Of course, I also love summer (aka hiking season) and I don’t even mind winter. I know, just choose a lane already! I know that in Florida, winter is key. I played soccer in the summer and it was brutal, plus all my stuff stunk so bad, as it never dries! I did not love summer as much then. I also did not love summer in Louisiana, but Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb are great! Here’s to football, nachos and cool(er) morning runs!