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Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Changing Leaves of Fall

This is, without question, my least favorite time of year.  Living in Michigan means fall can begin anytime from the middle of August or as late as the end of October. Doesn't matter to me when it starts, I dislike every single minute of it.  First it makes the trees all turn fiery bright beautiful colors which most people love to photograph and make long drives just to admire this natural splendor. 


I find it heart-wrenching to look at the fall colors.  

They are the signal that the leaves are dying and the trees are about to hibernate.  All of the beautiful flowers of summer, except my giant marigolds, are dying slow daily deaths.  Some will be back in the Spring and others are at the end of their life span.  

Everything dies in the fall.  



The pool has to be closed soon and I will be looking at the pool cover outside my kitchen window for the next 5 months.  No pretty blue water...no vacuum swimming around freely...no Jake jumping in to fetch his toy.  He will, however be running across the cover because he apparently likes the sound it makes.  I do not.


The air is cooler.  The sun shines less.  The grass stops growing. 


While I embrace change in general in my life, I do not embrace the changing seasons. I am a summer girl.  Solar powered. Energized by the heat and humidity.  Reaffirmed by floating or swimming around the pool.  Creatively inspired by the grilling on the deck and watching my carefully tended flowers bloom and grow.  Motivated by the morning cotd ritual (coffee on the deck).  

Fall leads to the cold dead winter. The holidays and birthdays of October, November and December keep me going and then we  hit January, February and March.  UGH   I begin to perk up as March ends because mid-April I will open the pool again. Spring isn't my favorite, but at least from there I can see the birthing of summer.  


So to all the football fans, all the cool weather fans...I say, "Please enjoy YOUR season.  Just don't ask me to enjoy it with you!  I'll be hibernating until the holidays."


That's it.  Fall sucks.


Jo



13 comments:

  1. I'm sure we were meant to be twins. Velda

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  2. Velda...I know! Every time I write something about loving summer or not loving the other seasons so much, I think of you. We'll just get each other through it. <3 Thanks for reading.

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  3. I think I told you that I have a cousin who feels the same way. She moved to Florida almost 20 years ago and all of our sunshine turned her depression around. Me? I like grey days. I don't know why. But, I understand from watching my cousin that the lack of sunshine is a very real problem for many, many people. I think you should just move to Florida. Move to Orlando and I'll show you around. ;-)

    Great blog!

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  4. Darlene...I think you are right, but I am more interested in Arizona as my home. Someday, I will live there. Mom doesn't want to go there and I cannot go without her so I live in Michigan!
    I love Momma more than I hate fall, winter and spring, so......

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  5. I totally agree with you. I find the fall to be stressful with the new school year and the end of summer. I live in the south, so we don't even get to enjoy the pretty trees right now. We might see a few dull changes in a month or two. Also, this time of year reminds me of my father who died in early October, so I really HATE it. Halloween is fun and once we get there, my attitude picks up and I don't mind so much, but I live for the summer.

    Joyce
    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2011/09/writers-post-painted-leaf.html

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  6. Joyce...I lost my Dad in October also. That is part of my dislike for the season as well. Thanks so much for sharing with me; you know I appreciate your thoughts.

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  7. Jo--I'm from Michigan originally and I never appreciated the seasons--then I lived in Florida for about 10 years--and I got tired of not having the variety and really hated the hot summers. I'm in Ohio now--and I enjoy each season. I do get a bit moody if the sun doesn't peak out for awhile in the winter or spring, in which case I buy a SouthWest ticket to Florida for a weekend to see my Grandma. Usually does me wonders!

    Cheers, Jenn.

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  8. I like the fall colours but the season as a whole depresses me because it means winter is coming again (which I hate!)

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  9. Jenn...I don't think I would ever miss the changing seasons, but I have never had the opportunity to miss them, so who knows? I do like to escape to warmer and sun filled places sometime during the winter season, but this year it isn't looking good for one of those trips. Maybe...

    Paula...I am right there with ya!

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  10. I think it depends on where you live. The summers are so miserably hot here in SC that fall can't get here quick enough. And there's something about the melancholy of fall that appeals to me.

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  11. Yes, ma'am I agree! Where you live makes all the difference.

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  12. So many people feel as you do and that must be really, really difficult. I love fall. I even like winter a lot, although by the time it's almost over, I'm very ready to say goodbye to it. ;O)

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  13. Beth...I have tried and still try every year to concentrate on something, anything that will make me happy in the fall. It works for a short time, but the heaviness is always behind whatever is making me temporarily smile. It isn't a psychological thing, I'm convinced, it's physical. I really am powered by the sun.
    I will survive, I always do. And life is good, so onward and upward we go.

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