Addressing the Seasons

NOOOOOO!!  Summer, don't go.  We miss you when you're not here.  Yes, we bitch when it's too hot and complain when it's not hot enough.  We curse and shake our fists when it rains on the day we planned the big BBQ, then turn around and bemoan the lack of rain means no campfires.  But we love ya, Summer.  Maybe because you never overstay your welcome.

And now your cousin Autumn has arrived. She's a wet old thing, isn't she?  Wet and dreary.  No, not every day.  Some days, Summer, I even like her better than you. On a really perfect Autumn day, she's actually my favourite season.  The colours.  The bite in her crisp air.  The sunshine that warms you but doesn't make you sweat.  Sweater weather. 

But you hung on to the end, Summer.  Yesterday, on your last full day with us, you gave me sunshine.  So I spent the day putting you away.  Pulled the flowers and took down the umbrella on the deck.  Stored the patio furniture and stowed the planters.  Picked the last of the tomatoes and cucumbers and shut off the fountain.  Then I sent the gnomes into the shed to begin their long period of hibernation, knowing they'll emerge when cousin Spring shows up, as jolly and plump as when they went in.  Sure, their paint may be a little more faded and chipped when they emerge but that's okay. 

And I have something to say to you too, Autumn.  Here you are, your first day here, and you're raining.  I mean, really, really raining.  A little over the top, don't you think?  But I'm all right with that. For the first time in forever I have nothing on my calendar.  Zero, zip, nada.  No appointments, no commitments, no errands.  So rain all you want and get it out of your system.  I'm happy to curl up with a book, cut some glass, clean a cupboard.  Just don't make it a habit.

'Cause Autumn should smell like apples, not wet dog.