Coffee Dharma

Autumn Jitters

Posted on 13. Sep, 2007 by Rob in All, Musings, Older

I’m not sure what it is about Autumn that excites me so. Maybe it’s the fact that my birthday falls within the season (yes, I still look forward to birthdays). Maybe it’s the break from summer heat and dryness. Maybe it’s the flood of memories of leaf piles, Halloween treats, and crisp apple cider from my youth.

Fall has always been my favorite season for multiple reasons. I will forever be a child mystified by the sound of crunching leaves and the smell of cold and wet to come. Living out here in Oregon has shifted my perception of Autumn a bit. Living on the East Coast (Pennsylvania) you are offered a stereotypical view of Fall. It is a land of apple cider, hay stacks, vast pumpkin patches, kids in costume, and natures parade of brilliant plumage. In Oregon the look is very similar with the addition of regular soaking rains. Halloween seems to have been muted over the years with fears of razor apples and a mutual distrust of people though. I will never get used to seeing kids trick or treating in broad daylight instead of slipping through the night as we did. I realize times have changed for good every time I see more safety advertisements than actual scare movies during the season. No amount of local seasonal paranoia will take away the essential features of Autumn for me. I will still dream of hot donuts with warm cider. No matter your age or preference you must take time this season to jump in the leaves and for just a minute truly believe you are ten again and the world is giving you it’s own personal finale to summer before the long sleep of winter. Take the time to give great treats to the kids as the come knocking on your door this year. That candy bar may rot their teeth, contribute to childhood obesity, aid terrorists, and generally harm the planet… but who cares when it brings so much joy to a person who doesn’t harbor our ridiculous fears and only sees it as the greatest time of the year!

Now off to the couch for football and pumpkin coffee for me. I will ignore the last heat of summer and simply dream of crisp and silent days of Autumn.

Tags: Holiday, Life, Musings