I remember in grade school how we would always be asked our favorites. I guess they were trying to help us shape our identity or something, but it really wasn't very helpful to me. I'm terrible at picking favorites. I guess my heart is just too full of love! I really couldn't tell you my favorite food, my favorite memory, my favorite ice cream flavor, my favorite shirt, my favorite school subject, my favorite Bible verse... I have lots of favorites, which I guess negates the label "favorite." But in the last few weeks, I have learned that I FINALLY have a true favorite!
I have a favorite season. My favorite season is fall!
I didn't know it till it came this year. I always look forward to it, but I never realized I looked forward to it a little more than the other seasons. I guess I have Tulsa to thank for that! If it wasn't so unearthly hot in the summer, the cooling off of fall wouldn't mean as much to me. But this year I realized just how much I love all the perks of fall. Here's what's the bees knees about fall in my life:
1) It smells good. I was walking out of Walmart several weeks ago, and though it was still in the 90s, I could smell fall. It's a sweeter smell, and it becomes more poignant as the air cools down. It smells cleaner, and I love that!
2) The leaves change to brilliant colors and it's an artistic party in the treetops. And then they fall and make a beautiful blanket over the dying grass. It's spectacular!
3) Football. I lovelovelove football. I know not everyone is a football kinda person, and I respect that, but I love watching football, and playing football (not well, mind you), and cheering like crazy over football. While I love watching any football, my favorite team is by far the Bengals. I'm from Cincinnati, what do you expect! I know they're not the best team in the NFL, but they're the best in my book!
4) Hot chocolate/hot coffee. I drink hot tea year-round, but I really don't enjoy hot chocolate or hot coffee unless it's chilly outside. I suppose that's because I'm not really a social coffee drinker; I drink it when I need the caffeine, and I enjoy it. But in the hot temperatures, I want the frozen coffee. And it'd just be weird to drink hot chocolate in any other season. My mom makes the best homemade hot chocolate in the world.
5) Sweaters and long sleeves. I usually don't look very good in sweaters, but I still love how they feel. Oh, and there's nothing better than snuggling down into a giant hoodie! While watching football and drinking hot chocolate...
6) Thanksgiving! The best holiday in the world. I won't go into that, because I pretty much covered it in this other blog post...
7) Fall is the slow-down period before the wintertime nap. Summer is always crazy busy, full of fun and exciting stuff. But it's also hard to be outside in the summer and enjoy it because of the heat. Usually we run from air-conditioned car to air-conditioned home/building. Fall is the time to slow down, take nice walks in the beautiful weather, have some quality time with your family, and just enjoy the simple pleasures before disappearing into your heated home for the winter months. I enjoy that.
8) I'm not really into the pumpkin drink craze, and I'd take apple pie over pumpkin, but I adore pumpkin cookies. With cream cheese frosting. Oh my... The best things ever. Totally bad for you, but oh so delicious.
9) Fall decorations. They're great! Cute little turkeys and pilgrim children in their Protestant clothing. How adorable! And I really love the pumpkin-pine cone-burlap-acorn-fall leaf stuff I see a lot. I haven't done any decorating (we're trying to move so it'd just be more stuff to pack), but I dream of the day when I can pull out my own little pumpkins and turkeys to tell everyone "We do fall right in this house!"
10) It's the only season I can rake a big pile of leaves and jump in it. The best part is, no one thinks any less of you for playing in leaves no matter how old you are! There's a video floating around on Facebook right now of a Husky playing in leaves. It reminds me so much of my dog Ethel in Ohio. She would get just as crazy about leaves! I miss that girl. Fall is her favorite season, too.
So. That's why fall is the best! I fully intend on making the most of these few weeks of chilly weather before the Oklahoma ice storms roll in. Happy fall to all of you!
Love,
Elizabeth
