A License to Slow Down

"The Old Soul" wrote briefly today about the imminent arrival of fall (I think it's 10 o'clock tonight if the announcement on the radio was accurate at all), and it's gotten me thinking a bit about my own perceptions of the season. She seemed to take notice of the bleakness of the season. I, with respect, think I'm going to have to disagree.

Maybe it's my west coast upbringing and my inherent duck-like qualities, but my immediate perception of fall/winter is not that they are bleak. Perhaps a little less kick-up-your-heels and carefree, perhaps a little more serious. Granted, there's a little more rain, and a few more grey skies; I will freely admit that you do not see the sun for the months of November and February in Vancouver, for example. Of course I've also been known to say that you are truly a west coaster when you stop thinking that the rain is dismal and start thinking that it's cozy...but moving on...

I love the smell...Fall has a smell. If memory serves me correct, it is much more distinctive on the West Coast than in Montreal, for example. But it's still there. And it reminds me of all things cozy: crackling fires and steaming cups of freshly made chai, Thanksgiving and Christmas, skiing and the silence of snow. The silence of snow...I could write pages on that topic alone. When I was little my dad used to pack up the camping stove and take us on snow walks into the University Endowment Lands to the pond at the foot of the Clinton Hill. And we used to make hot chocolate in the snow. It's funny thinking back on it because I always remember thinking that it was this great trek we were going on. Then one day, walking the dog in the woods, I realized that we were walking past the very place of the hot chocolate cook outs. It's only about a 20 minute walk from my house. Not such a trek after all...but it's funny the perceptions we have as children.

I digress...Don't get me wrong...I love the summer. The summer is so go-go-go, and I love that about it. It's as if you want to suck every drop of sunshine and carefree laughter and childlike joy. It's like a license to be capricious and impulsive. I get the urge to have flings and fly off on spontaneous road trips. But it is almost exhausting...and I feel like sometimes you don't have a chance to catch your breath.

On the contrary, fall and winter are slower months...you're justified to stay indoors, dust off that book you meant to read all summer, brew a cup of earl gray or - even better - a cup of fresh chai, put on some Duke Ellington, pull up a footstool and a cat and just revel in the sheer delight of warmth and comfort. It's like a license to slow down. Maybe the bears have it right...maybe what we do is a sort of hibernation.

Oh...and then things like skiing and the feel of a brisk wind and a cold nose. The warmth and softness of a scarf and overcoat...oh...I could go on forever.

I'm looking forward to it...bring on the fall.