Dear Fall,

Oh, how I have missed you and all that you bring when you return. The cool brisk air that

settles over the land is a welcome reprieve from the stifling heat of summer. I was beginning to think your cousin wasn’t going to leave, they just kept lingering and wouldn’t get the hint that they should pack up and head further south. Don’t get me wrong, I do like your cousin, and it’s nice to have them around, but like all good things, their time was up. Maybe next year you can be a little pushy and send them on their way sooner? Just a suggestion, or a wish of mine. Now that they have left, I happily welcome you back and am ready to enjoy everything about you. First, being the opportunity to sort through my winter clothes and retrieving my scarves, hats, and favorite sweaters in order to bundle myself up in their warmth and take long walks through the neighborhood. I do so enjoy shuffling through the fallen leaves, while sipping a warm cinnamon apple cider. I also get to drape my favorite fall blanket, (Is that a term or did I just make it up?), over the back of the couch to wrap myself up and settle in for a night of comfy relaxation and movies. It’d be better if I could cuddle up with an attractive bear of a guy, but we know that’s wishful thinking. Maybe Santa will bring me one this year? I can hope! Your arrival also brings about one of the most colorful times of the year, for mother nature turns the land into a symphony of red, yellow, orange, gold, crimson, and shades of purple as the leaves fall to the ground leaving the branches they once called home naked and stretching towards the sky, till spring when new, greener leaves will take their place. Your return also brings about a complete change in people’s dietary habits for it seems the onset of your return is when food automatically changes to all things pumpkin spice; lattes, muffins, pies, cheesecakes or anything the pumpkin spice related. Why is this? Is it because the sweet aroma of the spices reminds people of a comfy cozy time? Or is it because they can enjoy a pumpkin spice latte without all the calories of a pumpkin pie? (Even though I’m not sure that’s a possibility, everything is heavy calories this time of year.) Or does it bring up images of sitting by a fire, sipping hot coco, while the house is filled with the aroma of a baking pumpkin pie? All this talk about lattes and pumpkin spice has ignited my cravings for one! One moment please while I take a break to retrieve one to satisfy my thirst. I’ll be right back . . . Now that I’ve been satiated, I can continue. Your return also seems to summon those individuals who refuse to acknowledge your existence: the short wearers. These unique and allusive creatures will, despite the decreasing temperatures, only adventure out wearing shorts and flip flops. They can easily be spotted amongst the sea of people dressed in pants, sweaters, and hats as their pale skin glows against the backdrop of everyone around them, and the shatter of their teeth (I can only presume this is because they are cold.) can be heard miles away. They are indeed a puzzle as I can’t figure out if they have no sensation in their bodies and can’t feel the temperature change, or if they long for the warmer days of the past? Or are they just immune to the cold? Or yet, do they refuse to wear pants because they want to annoy those who think they should and be like the rest of us? I do so worry about them! Your arrival also shepherds in the beginning holiday season, as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas soon follow. Unfortunately, due to what can only be assumed to be the greed of retail shop owners, the holidays always begin a few months earlier each year, Halloween decorations appear in August, Christmas goes up in September, and poor Thanksgiving is sidelined all together because, well, it doesn’t represent anything fun. Grocery stores are the only ones who benefit from this Jane Brady of holidays as they supply the food necessary to celebrate. Now, if only they would offer such deep discounts as other retailers, we might all be able to enjoy the holiday a little more as we sit at our dinner tables and enjoy our holiday meals. Of which, your arrival is also usher in the season of comfort food; the food we eat to nourish our souls and keep us warm on the chilly fall nights. It’s soups, stews, and roast beef dinners. This is the food that brings everyone to the dining room table so we can once again come together as a family and catch up with each other as the warm busy summer months scattered everyone about visiting others, hiking, camping and taking long road trips. (Not me of course, those activities just sound way too, much!) And probably one of the greatest benefits of your return, my dear fall, besides pumpkin spice, apple cider, warm clothes, holiday decorations, and fall colors, is the return of the gray sweatpants and the hidden treasures they outline. Thank you Fall, for this is truly one of the greatest benefits of your return.

Yours sincerely,

Gray Sweatpants lover!