205. Fall

Fall in the US is a favorite season of mine. The thing that makes it different from other places in the world is how we elevate it in stature. All the seasons here are wonderful and when you live in the northern part of the country there are four very distinct seasons, but fall is set aside differently here even in name. Every other country calls it autumn, but we call it either.

Here we get very excited about the change from summer to fall with all of our back to school things that mainly go with our consumer tendencies, most of which I have found very annoying (mostly because I was a teacher and not at all ready for school, let alone clothing and school supply sales). But plenty of other things that I relish come up with the autumnal equinox. Rain and/or snow usually come some time with the equinox to moisten the parched western lands of the US putting out wild fires and clearing the air. You can buy all things pumpkin spice in the stores and coffee shops. The leaves begin to turn into the brilliant golds and reds. The nights get longer and people start to get excited about the unknown spiritual world by promoting Halloween and the Day of the Dead celebrations. And I’m no different. I love all of that.

As a gardener, I begin the final harvest. I decorate my yard and patio with corn stalks and leaves gathered in pumpkin bags. I bake more cakes and cookies with pumpkin, carrots, and squash. I mull cider. I celebrate the hunt that I don’t partake in, but so many of my friends and family do.

Fall is the season of cross country when I coach teen athletes to run their best. It’s when I get in my best shape as a runner and often run my own races. We typically have beautiful Indian Summers here at the end of September and beginning of October when the nights are crisp and cold and the days are sunny and warm. Those sorts of days are made more intensely beautiful by the deep blue skies and the rich autumn foliage. That perfect weather with the fullness of harvest and the hunt makes you want to run and celebrate life.

And celebrating life against the contrast of death is really what an American fall is all about. We recognize the brevity of life in the rituals of Halloween and our Hispanic heritage of Deo de los Muertos, yet we enjoy its fullness in our Thanksgiving celebrations when we roast a turkey and create a gathering of families thankful for the harvest, for food, for each other, for life.

Those are the reasons I love fall. It’s the apex of life and death contrasted deeply by the colors all around and the cold nights and warm days. The contrast brings about a rich celebration that makes me want to get up with the sunrise and stay up into the cold night around a blazing fire with a cup of mulled cider. And American fall just seems like an extended celebration of everything we have with a deep recognition of its brevity. I think it’s the beauty of all of those deep contrasts and the way we recognize them in America that makes me love fall.