My Fall Fangs

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the cool air, the colorful earthly changes, the anticipation of snow, Halloween, football and the fact that it gets dark by six o’clock so I can light candles all over the house.  I love putting on warm sweaters, snuggling by a fire, and the smell of pumpkin pie.  I love everything about autumn. It makes me feel re-energized which is why my “spring cleaning” always takes place in the fall.

Some have said I’m “bass-ackwards” in this regard, as spring denotes renewal and regrowth, where one cleans out the old and makes room for the new; where we “spring forward” into a new year, blah, blah, blah.  I’ve never felt that way about spring.  In fact, spring depresses me.  I don’t care much for flowers, except giant sunflowers and white daisies. I can’t stand the smell of most flowers and don’t appreciate the fact that they draw bees and other bugs.  I don’t like that the days are getting longer or that summer and hot weather is looming.  Suffice to say, if I could hibernate through spring and summer, I would.

Fall is when I pull on my yellow, rubber, scrubbing gloves and attack the base boards, showers, toilets and windows.  It’s when I clean out the pantry, the fridge and re-organize the freezer.  It’s when the Goodwill donation truck visits my house on a weekly basis, as I sort through all the un-necessary items we’ve accumulated and the outgrown clothing.  

Yes, fall is when I am at my best, emotionally and creatively.  I feel motivated to write and generally more peaceful.  It is when I stop, take in a deep breath and appreciate the blessings in my life.

Isn’t it strange how a season can change your mood?

Statistically, more people suffer from depression in the fall and winter months and this has, in part, been attributed to the lack of sunlight during those seasons.  I am the opposite.  I thrive in the dark, colder months and barely get by during the spring and summer.  In fact, the sunlight of summer irritates me.  I am rarely seen without a dark pair of sunglasses and am not one to just sit outside and enjoy nature.  (Unless I’m in the mountains, where it’s cooler, and where the beauty surrounding me is indescribably surreal.)

It has been said I would make a great vampire, frolicking beneath the moonlight in the cool evening air.

See, I don’t have a green thumb and I find growing plants that I cannot later eat, quite unfulfilling.  I also don’t like to sweat, unless it’s during a good work-out; and I can’t stand bugs, mosquitos and June bugs in particular.  Thus, from a nature perspective, spring and summer offer me very little pleasure. 

Today, as I adorn my yellow, rubber, scrubbing gloves and attack my house, it is with a light heart and a big smile; for fall is here and I am aglow, ready to sink my fangs into life.  J