see ya summer

"there is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, 

which through the summer is not heard or seen, 

as if it could not be, as if it had not been!"

percy bysshe shelley

fall is my favorite season for a lot of reasons: the colder and wetter weather, the sound of leaves crunching beneath our footsteps, pumpkins, halloween, and, of course, most importantly, the glorious opportunity to wear plaid and flannel shirts endlessly (without getting the same weird looks you get in summer when you try to wear plaid and flannel shirts all the time).

it's a season of family traditions, from carving pumpkins, to making grocery-bag textbook covers, to jumping in freshly raked leaf piles, to turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes. it's the return of football, of hockey, and of the annoying abundance of grown men wearing sports jerseys in public on weekends.

another great part about the return of autumn: the wind not only blows in colder weather, but also new opportunities to reinvent yourself. when i was little, i was always so excited for school to start in the fall because it was a chance to show the other kids how cool my new clothes and lunchbag were. in college, i still treat is as an opportunity to show up to class changed and more grown up than the year before, the horizon brimming with endless possibilities and my closet overflowing with new clothes to help boost my "new me" image. sure, a lot of these clothes end up in the giveaway pile and the once brimming horizon sometimes pretty quickly dims as people sink back into routines, but the possibility of change and reinvention is always still there.

oh and another reason why fall is great, even more awesome than plaid and flannel. two words: PUMPKIN PIE.

so, see ya, summer, and welcome back fall. and...i'm not even going to think about what season comes after fall, because the thought of shoveling heavy snow just to be able to get out of the garage makes me want to jump off a short building right now. (and land safely of course.) so fall is the focus. don't forget to stop and look at the leaves, buy more plaid and flannel, and just enjoy the fall air and all the opportunities it blows in with it.

on an unrelated but completely important note, taylor swift has a new song. take that as you will. happy monday!