You knew it was coming. Because if you know me at all, you know that I am like an old Jewish God follower that celebrates everything. I do mean everything, not just what God has done for me (although that is priority) but everything I love including certain seasons. I do not even know how I became such a person. Because I am not sure that anyone in my family is like this and truth be told, that is not really how we were brought up. But I digress….
People love to talk about the weather. Weather is a universal language. Weather is a conversation starter. People from different cultures or demographics can always find some commonality to strike up a conversation by talking about the weather because its something everyone has to deal with. Rich or poor, sick or well, joyful or depressed, employed or not, working or on vacation we all have an experience and opinion on the weather.
I would like to point out first and foremost that we do not control the weather. None of us can control the weather. Only the Creator has control of the weather and I am not so sure that once He set it in motion He doesn’t just let it develop on its own (Unless of course someone like Elijah prays that it won’t rain for three and a half years and has a very good reason). We get up everyday and the weather is what it is. So don’t get mad at me if its snowing in September just because I happen to like snow. I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. I also happen to love walking through the fallen leaves in September and October and listen to them crunch under my boots as I pull my cozy sweater in closer to my body and breath in the chill air. Again….I did not go shake all those trees so the leaves would fall off and I had nothing to do with them turning color and I did not turn the environments thermostat down either. By the way, I also didnt invent Pumpkin Spice Lattes , but I’m sure glad someone did.
In the same way, I do not get angry at the population that sucks up hot, humid, stifling temperatures like its life giving oxygen (well I guess it actually is) when I have to dress professionally and modestly and go about my business in that kind of heat. It is what it is. I do not like it one little bit, but its not their fault. So live and let live already. If you believe in global warming and that we, as irresponsible human beings are making it happen, and you secretly love this phenomenon, then do more of that stuff that’s allegedly making it happen. I know nothing about global warming except that, by definition, it appears that the entire earth is getting hotter and hotter.
So even though fall and winter are my personal favorite seasons, I can totally appreciate the glorious summer. This past spring (AKA longish winter spilling over into April) I have to admit I was ready for some warm heat to kiss my face and my toes were desperately aching to be free. When the estranged summer finally hit, it hit with a vengeance. And lollygag I did, at outdoor patios drinking my version of coffee and leisurely lunching with whomever I could enlist to take the afternoon off and just enjoy the wonderful sunshine and warm Greek-ish breeze in one of my off the shoulder dresses. I’m hesitant to confess that I found it very refreshing and relaxing to leave the house without a coat and to make use of my wardrobe of sandals. Ahhh….bare feet. I was also longing for water. I wanted to hear the waves crashing against a shore…any shore. I wanted to feast my eyes on azure blue green water. I wanted to paddle out to the middle of a lake and just drift and listen to the loons and herons. Memorize the majesty of the mountains covered with green evergreens and ponder the blue sky with its fluffy white clouds floating magically in place. Summer sounds of lawn mowers and motor boats hypnotize me into believing all is well with the world. Sunglasses, straw hats, beach towels and flip flops become the clutter that take over the house, the cottage, the trailer or tent. Bike rides through the park and late night trips, with the car windows rolled down, to fetch a rootbeer float become wonderful memories. My favorite cool is sticking my leg out of the covers on a hot summer night.
But now fall has descended…like it or not. It IS September and this puts me in a giddy, all things are possible, mood. I’ve read the Farmers Almanac, I know whats coming in a few months and my heart still leaps within me. September had always meant new beginnings to me. Much more so than January. January doesn’t feel like the start of anything new. I was always entranced by the promise that September held. New school year. A chance to become someone new. We moved a lot so very often I was going to a new school and making new friends. September was a chance to turn over a new leaf (pun intended). A chance to start over. A chance to reinvent myself. New pencils and notebooks. New clothes. New activities. If I had blown it last school year I could begin again. The weather is still wonderful so you don’t have that to contend with and you can focus on goals and ambitions. You can walk through the parks and not be uncomfortably hot or uncomfortably cold. Its a ‘just right’ season and its weird how this season of things dying can be so incredibly gorgeous at the same time. I love the amenities of cooler weather. The sweaters and the leggings and the boots. The pumpkins and the Farmers Markets and the harvest. The rolls of hay in the field. The multi colored trees on the hills. The darkness settling in earlier causing you to press into home. Into homemade casseroles and soups. Into evenings by the fire. Reading in your pajamas. I have always been a fan of canning and quilting and getting ready for the winter. And of course, their is Christmas. Don’t even get me started on Christmas.
I know the winter is coming. But seriously…that first snowfall. You know you secretly love it. Snow is a miracle from heaven. I cannot even. I know it means bundling up and white knuckling your way through traffic but …silver lining… we don’t have creepy bugs and hurricanes and tsunamis. I grew up on the prairies and in the frozen north and winter was not something we could wish away. We didn’t have the financial means to flit off to a warmer climate for vacation (especially with a family of 9) so we had to embrace the winter. We didn’t have the luxury of not doing so. So I learned to love winter clothes (stupid bikini weather – I wasn’t one of the 5 girls in the world that looked great in a two pieces of colored dental floss anyway). We learned to skate and to ski. I even learned to make an igloo on a school field trip into the wilderness (and slept in it). I didn’t grow up with a fireplace in our home but I have one now and it is a blessed thing. My favorite warmth is sitting by the fireplace with a hot beverage in hand, wearing my cozy flannels, listening to Bing and reading a novel. Oh yes….and its snowing outside.
Just because I like fall and winter doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. It doesn’t invalidate your hate of these seasons or your love of summer. Its merely my preference and I feel it we are going to have the four seasons anyway then why not embrace the best of each. Its not summer vs. winter. Its life in Canada. And I’m not in control of the seasons….I just like to write about them.
The Red Plaid Apron 