The Book of Me, Written by You: Favorite Season

Photo By: Mark Shaw 2010

Each season has its good spots and its bad spots.  Things you can do during it that you really can’t do any other time of year.  That is why picking a favorite is very, very hard.  However, since I am supposed to tell you my favorite season, I guess I should pick one.  For me it is fall.

I look forward to fall every year.  Seeing the bursts of colors on the trees in yellows, reds, and oranges hanging above your head, falling around your knees and carpeting the ground is glorious.  Some of my favorite memories are walking to my various classes on the Indiana University Campus during a fall rain shower. (See this page for what I am talking about)  The smell of the leaves, the crispness of the air, with the trunks of the trees black from rain, and the leaves glittering in their fall colors made me late for class on more than one occasion. 

Clothes are the next reason I love this season the most.  There will be Indian Summer days that require shorts and T-shirts, but the fall colors really start to appear in fashion choices by the first of October.  The warm colors, and earth tones which are my favorite colors anyway, warm up those chilly days.  The fabrics and textures just add to the feeling of warmth and coziness.  You are reminded that winter is just around the corner but right now you relish the thought that you don’t have to wear a jacket, gloves, and hat.

Of course, how could you forget that this is the official start of boot season?  There is knee high, ankle high and everywhere in between high.  Yes, I know you can wear boots in other times of the year, but there is something about that first brisk fall day, breaking out the boots and wearing them with jeans or skirts.

Then there is the food.  Pumpkin pies, apple everything, yams with marshmallows, soups, baking; oh my I could go on and on.  Going to a pumpkin patch with my kids, or a fall festival, and being able to sip hot apple cider with a toasty snack is heaven on earth.  It is also the number one reason I put on 10 pounds this time of year I am sure.

Finally, school starts back up.  Yes, I am a bad mom; I count down the days my kids go back to school.  The start of fall signals that mommy time is back.  Fall cleaning begins (aka recovering the house from 2 boys home for 3 months), I get to catch up on all the things that I can’t concentrate on with my kids around, oh and quiet.  Getting to sit with the doors and windows open, catching a fall breeze, no music or TV on, and just being one with my thoughts for several hours a day.

My memories of the harvest season also make this one of my favorite times.  I am not sure why, but watching the crops grow all spring and summer and then seeing the combines in the fields always gave me good feelings.  It could be because I know there was a successful harvest and friends and family will now have money.  It could be because it is the sign that yes, fall has arrived and winter is just around the corner.  Maybe even because I have awesome memories from when I was a kid going on a night time harvest with my aunt and uncle.  I really don’t know.

What I do know is that I have broken out my sweaters, boots, and fall clothes.  I have been lucky enough to wear them already, the leaves are turning and falling, and I can’t wait to get some fall foods in my tummy.