Seasons

I'm one of those people who just loves seasons. I love them all. Fall, Summer, Spring, Winter. There's something about each of those seasons that just makes me inherently happy. I look forward to each of them. After I've had my fill, I'm ready for each of them to leave. There are certain smells I associate with each season. Memories. Foods. Activities. Summer = Coppertone, snowcones, sand, salt, and swimming. Spring = Easter, shaking off chills, St. Patty's Day, Easter candy. . . Oh Easter candy! Winter = That bite of cold air that stings your nose and your toes, hot chocolate, CHRISTMAS! I have to admit, though, I do have a favorite.

Fall is on its way and I am as giddy as can be. Pumpkin lattes, gingerbread, Halloween, Thanksgiving, pumpkin patches, cooler air, lighter steps, my birthday, sweaters, hoodies - I just love Fall. Something about Fall just makes me wiggle a little. I'm sure it started when I was a kid. Of course your favorite time of year centers around your birthday, right? Who doesn't love celebrating their birthday??

As the years have gone by, Fall has come to mean a lot more to me than just getting older. To me, it's a new beginning. As a child, it was the beginning of a new school year. As an adult, it's the beginning of a new year of life - a new year of my life and a new year of my marriage. This October, I'll turn 31 and Doug and I will celebrate our sixth year of marriage. I'll eat lots of wonderful Fall foods (er, make that "Fall treats"), I'll make a Christmas list, and I'll Fall clean (which is really much better than Spring cleaning, mostly because it usually coincides with open windows and a loaf of pumpkin bread in the oven). I'll eat birthday cake, do something sweet for my husband for our anniversary, and I'll take more walks. I'll (of course) whine about my allergies, take more Claritin than is probably necessary, and bemoan the shorter days. But in all, I will look forward to each day (until the day after Thanksgiving - which is when I'll start wishing for Winter) and I will take advantage of all of the above with a better attitude than usual.

So come on, Fall! Come play and help me celebrate life in a pair of blue jeans and a hoodie. I've been looking forward to this.