I felt the shift of the seasons Saturday. I was sitting here at my desk, taking care of some business, and all of a sudden the world turned. Yes, it was still extremely hot for the area and we’ll probably still have a few hot spells between now and the fall, but I could feel it—autumn calling from the distance, a hint that summer is on its way toward a definite end. And it gave me a burst of energy, a sense of ‘let’s hurry up and get ready for autumn and work and productivity.’
For me, summers have always been lazy—not for want of work, not because I feel lazy, but between vacations and summer sports, it feels like it takes me twice as long to get in touch with people I need to as it does during the rest of the year.
But once September hits, it’s back to business. I suppose that’s what I find comforting about the autumn. I am a creature of routine—I have a mild OCD condition, but it’s strong enough to make me uncomfortable when my schedule is interrupted. I jokingly compare myself to the cats—they don’t like interrupted schedules either and get Very Distressed when it happens. So do I, unless I’ve planned for it ahead of time, and even then I get mildly anxious.
So yes, this week I felt the shift of the year. And it put me in the mood to start planning out my autumn and winter activities—I love flipping through my Day-Timer and jotting down “decorate for autumn” and “Yule party” and “Lughnasadh celebration”…it gives me a sense of continuity, of tradition. Summer is chaotic to me—maybe that’s why I always feel disconcerted during the summer months, even though I love warm weather. But once we’re back to the bare beginnings of autumn, a sense of order and routine return. And with it, traditions and rituals.
I suppose that’s what it comes down to for me: traditions and rituals, even if it’s as simple as putting up a few garlands or holding an annual dinner. For me, these activities mark the milestones of life—they represent the turning of the years, the coming back to touchstones. The faces at the table may change over the years, but some continue on. Circumstances change for the worse or the better, but the comfort of the ritual remains. As I fall into the rhythm of planning the dinner, I remember dinners past, cooking for friends, and I think, “I remember the year when Brad clogged the garbage disposal” and I tell Samwise, “Do you remember the year when we caught Luna hunting through the goodies on the table at the Yule party?”
Memories, rituals, traditions, connection with friends, for some reason they all come to the front for me as autumn begins to peek through the summer haze. I think of heavy wood furniture, good china, leather chairs, cats curled by the heater, my favorite pen and personal journal, and the golden glow of the living room lights against a gusty, rainy night…And I remember why autumn’s always been my favorite season.
What significance does this in-between time have for you? (Here’s in the PNW, our summers are short, so we are definitely on an in-between point as we head toward August). What do you associate with this time of year?
Yasmine
For me, summers have always been lazy—not for want of work, not because I feel lazy, but between vacations and summer sports, it feels like it takes me twice as long to get in touch with people I need to as it does during the rest of the year.
But once September hits, it’s back to business. I suppose that’s what I find comforting about the autumn. I am a creature of routine—I have a mild OCD condition, but it’s strong enough to make me uncomfortable when my schedule is interrupted. I jokingly compare myself to the cats—they don’t like interrupted schedules either and get Very Distressed when it happens. So do I, unless I’ve planned for it ahead of time, and even then I get mildly anxious.
So yes, this week I felt the shift of the year. And it put me in the mood to start planning out my autumn and winter activities—I love flipping through my Day-Timer and jotting down “decorate for autumn” and “Yule party” and “Lughnasadh celebration”…it gives me a sense of continuity, of tradition. Summer is chaotic to me—maybe that’s why I always feel disconcerted during the summer months, even though I love warm weather. But once we’re back to the bare beginnings of autumn, a sense of order and routine return. And with it, traditions and rituals.
I suppose that’s what it comes down to for me: traditions and rituals, even if it’s as simple as putting up a few garlands or holding an annual dinner. For me, these activities mark the milestones of life—they represent the turning of the years, the coming back to touchstones. The faces at the table may change over the years, but some continue on. Circumstances change for the worse or the better, but the comfort of the ritual remains. As I fall into the rhythm of planning the dinner, I remember dinners past, cooking for friends, and I think, “I remember the year when Brad clogged the garbage disposal” and I tell Samwise, “Do you remember the year when we caught Luna hunting through the goodies on the table at the Yule party?”
Memories, rituals, traditions, connection with friends, for some reason they all come to the front for me as autumn begins to peek through the summer haze. I think of heavy wood furniture, good china, leather chairs, cats curled by the heater, my favorite pen and personal journal, and the golden glow of the living room lights against a gusty, rainy night…And I remember why autumn’s always been my favorite season.
What significance does this in-between time have for you? (Here’s in the PNW, our summers are short, so we are definitely on an in-between point as we head toward August). What do you associate with this time of year?
Yasmine
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7 comments:
I used to have very similar reactions to autumn as yours. I was in Colorado and summer was often short. But since I've moved to Texas, the summers seem to never end. If there's any autumn at all, it's in December, when the cold north winds finally curl long fingers south. But it's just not the same, y'know?
Just not the same. Enjoy the first cool winds and think of me--a cold weather person trapped in perpetual summer. :(
We've had a very long, cold, wet spring and it's just barely turning to summer here at an altitude of 7200 feet. By the middle of next month it will be well on its way to autumn. Autumn is my favorite time of year, so I'll be glad, but I really wouldn't mind a little bit of summer first.
I'm a fall person, but here in So. Cal. it's more summer, some fall then winter.
Right now, I still feel summer is very much here even if evenings are chilly.
Linda
I'v always lived in climates where it stays over a hundred degrees for half the year... (Arizona), Now that I live in California, I'm rejoycing in the seasons, the cool weather, and the ability to walk outside withou blistering on impact. :) i've learned to celebrate the turning of the seasons in little things: a few leaves on the ground, the first brisk bite of Autumn wind in the dawn, the first whiff of wood smoke on an evening breeze.
Summer is my least favorite season. The colder the weather, the happier I am. I almost wish I lived where there was snow. My favorite thing in the whole wide world is a good snowball fight, and the cocoa and fire snuggling afterword. :)
My favorite poem is Ode to the West Wind, by Shelley. His description of Autumn is so vivid and perfectly captures it for me.
-Sass
We are far away from Fall here in GA. I wish it was closer to Fall. I love the moment I can start to feel it in the air.
For me summers are busy. I'm a children's librarian and summer means summer reading programs and activities. I keep thinking it is a time to catch up, but that doesn't happen. There is so much I'd like to do, but it is too hot here in Tennessee to do much of anything. I grew up on the Canadian border and we maybe had a week's worth of hot humid days. Here I get 3 to 4 months of them.
Fall is my favorite time of the year. We always take a vacation in September. This year , we will be going to N.Y. for a HS reunion in August and then to Texas in September for an Air Force reunion. The fall trip will be TN to Ohio to Oklahoma to Texas to Georgia to TN. Wish we had more time. I usually don't start my school programs until the second week of Oct. Maybe between trips, I can get the mess in my office and the storeroom straightened up. It sure won't happen this summer.
This is going to be a brand new set of seasons for me, this year. I JUST moved to the PNW from sunny, pleasant Bay Area, CA. There, I could still expect summer weather until nearly Halloween (it's almost always great weather for that holiday, or maybe just sprinkles by then). My birthday is in October, also, and I could always count on a great evening out.
Now, I'm uncertain. I have no idea what to expect. I just planted some seeds - will I run out of time before they are mature enough? So far, the weather has been so much cooler than I'm used to - my friends and family back in CA say it's 100+ - ack! Even at 80-90 here, it's SOOOooo much nicer (I hate hot weather in the 100's!)
Don't get me wrong - I'm excited. I embrace change. It means new surprises, new things to learn, unexpected events. Sure, some surprises may not be to my liking, but I'm feeling pretty good about it - fall is my FAVORITE time of the year, being a fall baby, and from what I hear, it should be exactly what I like. Yesterday, someone told me fall season in PNW is full of beautiful oranges, reds, and golds. And I love cool, gentle winds - I love to watch the dance of fallen leaves along the ground. I love to smell the changes in the air - the slight dampness of coming rain, the drying leaves, the occasional wood smoke - to me, they signal a comfortable time, with hot cocoa and a homemade blanket, curled up with my family. Lots of baked goods, warming the kitchen. Cinnamon and orange spice. Crackling of a log and soft light to read my book with.
I'll just have to wait and see when it comes.
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