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Fall Fantasy

Barbara Mosser

Fall Fantasy

I live in a tropical paradise. Balmy breezes, white sand beaches and palm trees offer an enviable landscape. Every winter “snowbirds” flee their bone chilling climates to soak up the perpetual sunshine in my aptly named sunshine state.

And every year, starting in September, I become increasingly irritable. There is a definite link between the approaching autumn season and my feelings of discontent. My grumpiness is at an all time high this year as I endure recording breaking October temperatures in the 90s!

A magazine arrives in the mail tempting me with warm soup recipes for those chilly days ahead. Yeah, right. Sweaters and coats start populating the department stores. Uh, I don’t think so. Then there are the pumpkins everywhere, sans frost and surrounded by fake colored leaves. At the risk of appearing ungrateful, to that I say, GET ME OUT OF HERE!!

I revel in George Eliot’s words. “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” It just doesn’t seem natural for summer to go on and on…and on.

Autumn is invigorating! And who can’t use more vigor? It is a season of transition as evidenced by the shorter days and falling leaves. Autumn gives us the opportunity to reflect on our more leisurely summer and contemplate the approaching holiday season. The rituals of autumn can delight even the most cynical of us. Whether we are sipping hot chocolate in front of a cozy fire or crunching leaves under our feet during an evening stroll, we feel a new energy not realized by hot, oppressive days.

So, what’s a girl to do? It appears the only solution to my annual doldrums is to become a “Fallbird.” Leave the October 90+ degree temperatures and head north. Sounds great in theory, but not always practical.

“The grass may be greener on the other side, but it still has to be mowed,” is a phrase that comes to mind when I find myself lamenting about something I want and don’t have. I want fall weather and I want it now! But I know if I can just hold on a little longer, the most beautiful weather of the year is on its way. Florida winters bring clear, crisp days, cool nights and endless sunny skies; a well deserved gift after hot, humid summers. Not unlike the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

Thankfully, a lot of life is like that. We hold on through challenges and adversity, believing that something better will come from our perseverance – and it usually does. Look! A rainbow!

Bio: Yippee! I am free to be me! I retired from a nursing career (and other various pursuits) last year and am now exploring and developing my previously dormant, creative self. I love writing, acting, and acting like I’m writing. I live in Tampa, Fl with Prince Charming and within sniffing distance of five delicious grandchildren.

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Comments

Submitted by Jen (not verified) on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 13:44

I grew up in St.Petersburg, for 25 years lived there. I now live just north of Atlanta just because I always loved the change in seasons, espically fall. I love knowing that just when I am done with being hot all the time, there is some relief in site with the cooler weather. My parents loved fall also and many of times would make fall trips north to NC to see the foliage and I loved it. People ask me ALL the time if I miss FL and I always tell them NO. I still have family down there so I can get my beach time in on visits. But, honestly I wouldn't give up the change in seasons for anything.
Submitted by Brenda (not verified) on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 08:30

Oh how I miss the fall foliage. New England States was home for most of our lives. Maine, CT, MA, and my hubby & I married in October and always managed to get away to savor the beauty of the foliage..New Hampshire Labor Day week-end when the leaves were at it's peek. No State can compare to it's vivid bright colors! This year, 45 years later, we savored the beach, Sarasota & Fort Myers. No it was not the same, but we are beach bums at heart and NO MORE SNOW! No more gloom dark days with no sign of any green anywhere. Would we ever go back to N.E.? Not in a million years! I love putting up the fall and Christmas decorations with the doors open...with NO boots, scarves, hats, mittens, scaping the car from the snow and ice, shoveling for hours for the plow to go by minutes before finishing, only to start over again so we can get out to the road...to go "shopping." Cabin fever after a series of snow and after it barely began to melt, froze over. Then, your car turns the street corner via right but your car slides into the left lane and the driver whom you almost hit yells out, "women driver!" YUK! Do I miss that? Life is a trade off, so I forfit the 3-4 weeks of splender of the fall. I love the fact going out anywhere, free of the "getting ready" with oodles of "baggage," just simply leaving. Free, free at last! he he It's like being on vacation year round! Florida is for me....and my beloved too!

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