Yesterday was the official first day of autumn, and the weather is trying its hardest to act appropriately. Currently my window is open to a lovely 77°F, with a little breeze. This is far better than our usual 100+ temperatures, but it is still not sufficient for autumn, in my opinion, and so I am still not quite satisfied. There is time yet, but I thought an encouraging little post might help things along.
Perhaps, autumn, you are feeling hesitant because of those sweet summer children, the ones who bitterly lament summer’s passing and long for their heat-soaked, hazy holiday at the first hint of a chill in the air. The ones who find their bliss in beaches and waves and the sweet, aching kind of nostalgia that seems particular to the hotter months. Perhaps you do not wish the birds to take flight for warmer places. Or perhaps you are only sleeping, tucked away wherever seasons go when it is no longer their turn to shine.
But there are those of us who love you with all the depth our souls possess, who spend the entire year anticipating the perfection of October. Those of us who would trade sunscreen for scarves in an instant. Those of us who find our bliss in pumpkins and crunchy leaves and woodsmoke, who thrill to the feel of frozen fingers and cold-stung lungs.
We miss you desperately. Our hands are outstretched and we are begging you to cover them with thick gloves and fill them with hot drinks and Halloween candy and pumpkin-flavored treats. Give us marshmallow roasts and ghost stories, brisk mornings and long, lingering evenings. Wrap us in quilts and tingle our spines.
And then, hit us with winter.
This is what we live for.
PS. New site design! At long last. I am delighted and hopeful that this means things will start to pick up.
PPS. In case you didn’t notice, I have dropped the ‘In which’ style of post titles. This may or may not be temporary, I have not yet decided. I had a thought that more concise titles might be better, so this is an experiment to find out. No one really cares, I know.
I care. I think not confining yourself to “In which…” titles will be one less pressure when writing. At least, that’s how it would be for me. I adore the new design with its earthy and elegant touches.
Though I’m undoubtedly one of those summer children, your writing almost makes me eager, if not for the passing of summer, at least for the coming of autumn (can I both dread the one and await the other?). Maybe I would have been an autumn daughter if the long nights and loss of green didn’t make me so inexplicably sad. Autumn is so short where I live, and winter so seemingly interminable, the first golden leaves make me want to find a hollow tree and sleep till spring.
So if you must encourage her, encourage her to linger, to delay winter and draw out her aureate colors and creeping frosts languidly. <3
Yes, this was my thought too, that it would be less limiting. It was often a bit difficult to make the titles work but not be too long, and I didn’t want to worry about that anymore. I think I will keep the change. I am pleased that you like the new design! I wanted it to be simple but also to be an accurate reflection of myself, so it is nice that it is being well-received.
I understand. When the sunshine flees, spirits often do plummet. This is not a problem I have ever personally faced, but perhaps that is because I came into the world in March, usually still a wintry time. I adore winter, but I think I would be perfectly content to trade it for an extended autumn. I, too, feel like hibernating when it is upon me. By the time it ends, I feel sluggish and useless and am ready for growing green things again, at least for a while.
I will amend my encouragements to include this. We may hope that she will be kinder to you, this year. <3