Five for Friday: Welcome, Autumn! Edition

Last weekend, we said goodbye to September (and summer)–so this weekend, it’s only fair that we offer an official welcome to autumn. Otherwise known as the best of all seasons.

I’m not sure why I love autumn so much. All I know for sure is that October has been my favorite month for as long as I’ve had a favorite. In high school, I’m sure that had something to do with football weather. And Friday night football games. (And, okay, football players.) But I have long since ceased to have any interest in anything football-related, and still my love affair with autumn persists.

In no particular order, then, here are five things I’m happy to welcome back with the return of autumn.

Pumpkins

When I was a younger woman, not sure if I’d ever end up with a home and a family of my own, having a front porch on which I could place a decorative pumpkin in October felt like a life goal. So every year now, I make sure to grace my front porch with a pumpkin or two. That always reminds me how grateful I am to have that porch and that family–and, yes, that pumpkin of my dreams.

Hot drinks

I drink coffee year-round, even though that means sweating through summer mornings. (Iced coffee just doesn’t do it for me. I don’t know why.) During the autumn and winter months, though, I branch out into the universe of hot drinks: chai latte, hot chocolate, Mexican hot chocolate, chestnut praline latte, white chocolate mocha . . . Suffice it to say that I’m very unlikely to turn down the offer of a hot beverage from October to February, and I’m very likely to be experimenting with hot drink recipes at home.

Autumn light

There’s an Emily Dickinson poem in which she writes about the oppressive slant of light that comes with winter afternoons, but I have to say that the low light of autumn is one of my favorite parts of the season. Especially in the mornings–when I’m driving to work and the sun is still low in the sky, and the morning mist still hangs over the fields–there’s something very gently melancholy about the light at that hour. Like it’s okay to feel a little sad that another year is rounding the final bend, in spite of the fact that it’s a beautiful morning and you’re glad to be here to see it. Autumn gets that life is like that, sometimes.

Early Evenings

Some people get sad when we come to that part of the year when it’s dark by 6:00, but not me. There are few things I love more than being snug in my house, with my family, when the day winds down. The early darkness of autumn lets me get to that place all the more quickly.

Cozy socks, sweaters, blankets, etc.

I hate wearing shoes, but I also hate having cold feet. In fact, I hate being cold at all. In an air conditioned house, that’s often unavoidable–but it’s just absurd to cover up with a blanket while you’re paying for cold air. (And, truth be told, that cozy blanket would be too hot in about ten seconds. I’ve learned to just move myself slightly off to the side of a fan or a vent.) But autumn ushers in the season of cozy socks, which provide the perfect barefoot/warm foot balance, and sweaters that fight back the chill when it finally settles in. And really, is there anything better than snuggling up for a nap with a cozy blanket on an autumn afternoon?

South Texas will never be a place for gazing in awe at the autumn color, and when the color does get here–in December–it will be short-lived. (As I once told a friend, the leaves don’t turn so much as they just give up.) But that just makes it all the more important to celebrate the other bits of autumn that do make their way into my life every year. I’m ready to celebrate the season every single way I know how.

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2 Comments

  • Reply TheSeanaMethod October 7, 2016 at 11:43 am

    I enjoy the color as the trees turn and shed their leaves. The crisp air is invigorating, and I always get a thrill when we light our first fire in the fireplace!

  • Reply mamarabia October 7, 2016 at 11:10 am

    My favorite season is still summer, but Fall is growing on me for many of the reasons you mentioned here. I love being cozy in a warm blanket!

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