Tuesday NOT in Texas - My Favorite Season

Favorite Season....hmmm...

by Tracey G.

For me, like Kris, I don't even have to think about my answer, it's immediately Fall/Autumn! In my brain, the word for favorite season is Fall, so it's an automatic response.

I don't remember when my love of Fall kicked in, likely when I was in school. I loved going back to school - because yes, I did like school, lol, but I also loved the fashions of Fall and getting new school clothes! And I'm also with Kris in the fact I love the foods, the shift to comfort foods and so forth. It's usually January though that I am craving the "fresh" flavors of Summer, lol. Which is a drag because there's really not a whole lot of good "fresh" stuff out there in my neck of the woods here in Michigan, lol. Well, aside from "fresh" snow, lol.

But mostly for me, Fall is emotional. So much good has happened to me in the Fall, in the past and it continues to do so. Some of my favorite memories are tied to this season, good times and good feelings. One of my favorites is riding all the trails with my high school boyfriend on his ATV when I was a teenager - we had so much fun, just getting lost on purpose for hours, riding around and enjoying the local woods and trails. Another is with my first fiancé (again I was a youngster, lol), and him teaching me how to use his bow. I only wanted to target shoot mind you, I left the actual deer hunting to him, lol, but I have that day in my head as vivid as if it were yesterday - right down to what I was wearing. When I see trees of a certain color and the sun is shining, plus the unique quality of fall light,and I am in that day. It was just a happy fun day and that's what I remember of it. They are just memories that have happy attached to them, and that's what shines on through. Yes the people involved factor in, lol, but mostly what I feel when I see the pretty leaves, is happy, so whoever created those feelings it matters not, only that they were created and now associated. :-) (although it does make me laugh that for some reason my "love life" has always been tied to the Fall, for good or ill, weird, but, honest and true) So, Fall, for the most part, to me, equals happy and good times.

It's my favorite time of year to head outdoors - find the trails in the woods, go for walks and just enjoy the pretty that's out there. I love living where I do, all the woods, lakes, trails - it's a beautiful place to be this time of year. I have happy memories of packing Harry up in his stroller and heading out for walks down by the cottage, that was regular thing to do, walk the loop between the cottage and lighthouse - and it's a pretty one too, half on the beach, half on the dirt road. ;-)

But, as with the good, there is also the bad, the bitter with the sweet. I've had a lot of loss in the Fall as well... My mom passed away November 1st, her stroke came on the 29th of October I believe (it's all still a blur). I've lost loves in the fall as well, not to physical death of course, but it's a loss all the same. Seems like most of my pets that have passed away, have passed away in the Fall.

So, there's a fine balance some days between the good happy, and, sadness of loss in the Fall, it can leave some days very bittersweet. But even that doesn't stop me from loving the season. I some days think of it as "My Time". ;-) I feel my best, I feel my strongest and I feel my most at home with me this time of year, so yep, it's definitely My Time!!!