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Fall is Fun

If you asked me when I was a child about my favorite season, I would have answered Fall because of school and my birthday. I was a nerd.

I continued to like fall when we moved from California to Wyoming because I thought snowy winters were really neat. You could build forts, go for snowmobile rides, sled. You could gather icicles. My biggest winter challenge was not slipping on the sidewalk as I walked to the seminary building from the high school.

I graduated from high school in Wyoming and then spent a couple of years in Siberia (i.e., Rexburg, Idaho) and then Utah. The cold became less glamorous to this California girl. Our move to Washington state brought a different kind of winter weather--not freezing, but gray and rainy with early sunsets. Still, it was alright. And, of course, I still had my birthday.

The big change from love to hate happened during our nine years in Iowa. My fond fall feelings declined to disgust and dread. It's not actually pretty in Eastern Iowa in the fall. Sure, trees lose leaves, but there aren't so many there that bust out with the bright reds and oranges. They mostly turn brown and drop. And if you want to know what puts hair on your chest--consider winter in the Midwest. School (which I still love) would sometimes be canceled because the below-zero temperatures became too dangerous for children to wait at bus stops. Diesel-fueled buses couldn't run. Trying to explain this kind of cold to somebody who hasn't yet experienced it is as difficult as removing frozen Christmas lights from a frozen gutter (see this post, which documents the last time I EVER put Christmas lights up on a house: https://mergenthalers.blogspot.com/2009/01/not-brightest.html). Fall became the season before winter, and that's it. Goodbye warmth, hello torture.

When we moved to Arizona, I thought my love of fall would resurface. Who knows why it didn't. Maybe because fall in Arizona looks like summer, and winter is a cooler summer. Trees don't change color and drop their leave, but the many mesquite trees do drop giant seed pods. Desert toads, tarantulas, and snakes are more active after the monsoon season, so everybody needs to be more aware of where they are stepping. Other than that--meh. Nothing special.

Then we moved to Pennsylvania--a land of four distinct seasons. Fall brought out its best and brightest colors for me that first year, but neither Rick nor I remember seeing it. We were fully engaged in keeping our heads above water--trekking across the country with six of our seven kids, moving from rental to rental to unfinished remodeled house, starting new jobs and new schools, and dealing with a series of unexpected setbacks. Winter was another hurdle on the horizon, and I didn't think I could handle it. How could I survive Iowa-cold again? I wanted to crawl in under my heated blanket and not come out until the home remodel was complete and I could sit out in the sunshine in our nicely manicured yard (which, at that point was a tangled mess). I didn't even give fall a chance. Looking back, though, I couldn't. I had nothing left to give.

After four years here, we have upgraded from survival mode to maintenance mode. We don't have huge house projects. We have fewer kids living at home. I have been able to plant some flowers in the yard. It's not like I don't have a ton to do anymore, but I'm not reacting to constant chaos. I'm not pushed around by contractor schedules or family demands to the same extent. And maybe, all of the pain and stress of the last few years has transformed me a bit. I'm more resilient and less emotionally fatigued. I don't have to white-knuckle life because I can let things go and choose not to involve myself in pursuits that might press me down rather than lift me up.

Now, the bright maple leaves delight me. The cool breeze sweeping down from the hills carrying the smell of woodburning stoves being lit for the first time does not fill me with dread. I'm not scared of winter. I know now winter here is not nearly as intense or long as those Iowa winters. It's true that the early dusk before 5 p.m. sunsets can feel kind of gloomy, but I feel okay about it now. Since the dread has fled, I can experience more joy at the novelty of the changing seasons.

I took Gavin and Brooklyn on a little hike yesterday. We enjoyed the beauty of the wildflower meadow, the woods, and the brown stalked corn field in the distance. We could run without getting sweaty. It was delightful even if I did end up physically wiped out (still working on that anemia thing).

Here are some fun pictures of our adventure:









Pretty views, eh? The leaves are not even at the color peak yet. I'll try to catch more pics in the coming weeks. See? Fall is fun.

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