breathing air again

i am sure none of you care, but fall is my favorite time of year. maybe it is because some of my best childhood memories seem to be related to fall. i remember very vividly, for instance, playing in the leaves while my dad was trying to rake them up at our old house on ponderosa dr. there are even songs that i relate back specifically to fall. try out toad the wet sprocket's "all i want," and see what you think!

any way, there is something about this time of year. there is something about how the cold weather kisses your face and exposed skin, leaving your ears and nose with this strange burning sensation. it makes it even better when the rest of your body is layered in warm clothing. there is something about knowing it is cold outside and being able to be cuddled up in a warm home. all the clothing seems softer and more cushy (fleece and down anyone?) beginning in the fall. there is something about the cold air filling up your lungs that makes you feel like you are breathing for the first time in your life. i have never felt so alive as i do during first few days of fall. actually, i find it sort of ironic since we usually associate death with this time of year. any way, you can ask elizabeth about the feeling alive part. she was going wild yesterday! it was like someone had given her tons of sugar and caffeine. when i asked her why she was bouncing off the walls last night, she simply said, "it is something about this cool air." there is a scent in the air, too, (maybe from all the dying leaves) that smells so clean and pure. it is like nature wishes to give life a peaceful, clean send off into death. there is no other time of the year that smells like fall.

visually, i would take the changing colors of leaves in fall to the blooming flowers of spring any day. maybe that is a little wierd, but i stand firm in this opinion. it might just be the magnitude of it all - trees for as far as the eye can see in brilliant reds, golds, oranges... the glory of it all is overwhelming!

even on the palate, fall brings welcomed change. the foods and drinks associated with this time of year are second to none. who would disagree? when else can you drink warmed liquid chocolate or warm caramel apple cider? when else does it feel better to get up in the morning to a hot cup of coffee? what other times of the year do you get excited about hot soups or chili? what other times of the year are the foods that are pumpkin spice flavored? fall is delicious! everything seems to be comfort food.

any way, i just felt like sharing. i should probably be stressed right now with two exams in the next few days, but i am having trouble getting myself worked up about them in this feeling of sheer delight.

long live the fall,
jw <><