Unpopular opinion: it’s not fall yet.
Despite the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte commercials, the overflowing Halloween candy aisles in the grocery stores, and the endless photos of steaming pots of soup on social media, fall has not arrived. Labor Day may have come and gone, but the first 3 weeks of September are still summer. Fall doesn’t arrive until the Autumnal Equinox, which occurs on September 22 this year. The temperatures have been hovering around 80 in Austin for the past 2 weeks. These temperatures are expected to last through this coming week, too. This is above normal for us, but even our normal temperatures (low 70s) are still far from fall expectations.
Summers are lovely and fleeting in Minnesota. The cold associated with winter seems to come too fast and stay far too long. There is no reason to wish summer away when this is the season we all yearn for come January and February. Summer is not done with us yet, so why are we pushing her aside so we can rush to don our sweaters and carve pumpkins?
Most people believe fall has begun because somewhere in history, we artificially shifted the summer season forward one month, aligning its beginning with Memorial Day weekend and its ending with Labor Day. In doing so, we have created a false sense of when our seasons begin and end.
I think part of this is because of money. The Memorial Day to Labor Day summer season is great for the vacation and tourism industry. Additionally, there is more money to be made pushing us forward to the next season than to let us enjoy the one we are in. This is why it’s hard to find a good coat in January, why Halloween decor fills the store shelves by September 1, and why you must order a swimsuit for your July vacation in March. There is no money to be made in being content with what you have and where you are. Focusing people on The Next rather than The Now is more profitable.
This seasonal shift is partly why I see so many people frustrated that March is gloomy, cold, and generally miserable. These people are expecting spring when winter still has three weeks to go. This sets us up for disappointment when we feel we should be wearing Keen sandals, not Sorel snow boots. Our expectations don’t align with our perceived reality.
While everyone has been talking about fall for the past 2 weeks, I have enjoyed the time not as the start of fall but as the very end of summer. I have spent the warm, windy days reading in my hammock and the cool nights sleeping with my windows open. I walk to school, listening to the rustle of the leaves and savoring the streaks of gold and red emerging in some of the trees. Lingering in summer a little longer fills me with gratitude for the warmth and sun that will eventually fade into the colors and cool of autumn.
Fall is coming, but it’s not here yet. Pumpkin Spice everything and corn mazes can wait. I am still in summer mode.
Talk to me about the fall on September 23.