Fall Longing

picture via google images

For some reason I have a strange hankering for fall. It's not because of July heat, this year has been surprisingly mild considering I live in an area legendary for it's humidity. And by mild I mean it's just wow-it's-hot-outside, not it's-so-hot-if-i-don't-get-to-air-conditioning-soon-i-will-die. (aside: i think the latter phrase is in passive voice, but somehow i made it through 16 years of schooling without fully grasping the concept of passive voice).

I digress. The point is I am longing for fall. I am longing for that first snap of cold in the air, for changing leaves, for the vague smell of burning wood. I crave football games, halloween, perfectly ripe apples and fat pumpkins.

Fall has always meant new beginnings for me more than January 1. Fall means school starts. Fall means new clothes, new school supplies, new transitions like going to high school for the first time and college for the first time. It also constitutes the very best time of the school year, a time when I have fallen in love with my classes but not had any real assignments due yet.

Some of my best memories land in fall. Meeting new friends and teachers, witnessing the end of another hot summer, celebrating harvest holidays and attending football games. Oh, the football games. My otherwise mediocre high school experience was punctuated by the white-hot thrill of football games. While most of my friends were wondering aloud if we could go home at halftime, I was over the moon about the crowds and the game and the fact boys look so darn cute in uniforms. My heart still flutters just thinking about those games.

I was lucky to have a semi-rural upbringing. There were always plenty of hayrides and corn mazes, and the deep forests that surrounded my town were doused in the prettiest oranges and yellows.

Maybe what I love about fall is the predictability. Fall always meant the same thing: another school year. Aside from minor details, they largely played out the same. This upcoming fall will be the first fall where I do not have any more school. And my heart hurts. I don't long for fall as much as I long for the predictability. They say children thrive on routine, and I cannot agree more. Even though I am far from childhood, I still wish for routine. But don't we all, no matter how old or young we are?

I'm sure I will feel the same when I get to January and don't have to start another semester, and May when I don't have the deliciously lazy summer laid out in front of me.

But there is beauty in longing. In not knowing what comes next. Because for better or worse, I get to create my routines from here on out. Life is a blank canvas. Our only real jobs is to live this beautiful god-given life to the fullest. It may be endlessly scary, but oh, it is beautiful.

Or maybe there is no deeper psychological meaning. Maybe I just like fall. And maybe I am just another person knee-deep in summer wishing for a little cold and a little color.

For now, I wait, and feel lucky for the memories I have collected in the first quarter of this little life.