Seasons Change

This is a post that I've been meaning to write every time the season changes for about the past year and a half, but I just never sat down to do it.

I love the change in seasons. This may be contradictory to my life because I've never been a huge fan of change in general, but I love when the seasons change.

One of the questions that I ask my students, in an effort to spark conversation, is "What is your favorite season (winter, spring, summer or fall). I'd have to say that my favorite season is the time when they change. I feel like it's a starting over. Just when you get tired of the heat of summer, fall comes along and changes it up, brings cool breezes and pretty colors. When you get tired of the drab brown of fall after the leaves have blown away, along comes the cleansing white of winter snow and brightens up those dreary days. When you are so tired of being cold and seeing brown slush everywhere, along comes the smell of warming soil and new blooms of spring. When you get tired of the April showers, along comes the warm, sunny days of summer. And when you get tired of the heat and brown, dried out grass, the cycle starts again.

I really like all of the seasons. I don't think that I could live in a place that didn't have all four seasons. In addition to the refreshment that each change in season brings me, I hold a special place in my heart for each season. Fall brings back to school and pumpkins and fall fests. I grew to love fall in college when a friend of mine and I were in charge of the fall fest that our student activities office held. Seeing it all come together and seeing so many people enjoy it was amazing! Fall also brings Thanksgiving, which has many memories itself. I remember the smell of turkey in the oven. I remember gettting up and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I remember packing up the car with turkey, gravy and pies and heading to Grandma's house. I remember sitting on the stairs at my Grandma's house watching the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and watching the bustle of the women in my family in the kitchen.

Winter brings snow! I love snow! It's because it makes everything clean and calm. Have you ever been outside when it is snowing? Everything becomes quite. It insulates. And when the sun, or moon, hits snow, it's brilliant! My favorite part in "Twas the Night Before Christmas" is "And the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow, gave the luster of midday to objects below." And Winter brings Christmas and New Years and family and more memories. Memories of sled riding, of opening presents, of going back to Grandma's house and being with aunts and uncles and cousins. And winter brings a sense of hibernation. Of resting.

Spring brings the smell of baseball! Yes, I said the smell of baseball. I can smell baseball. It has to do with the smell of warm dirt and the smell of the breeze. Each year I wait and wait and finally, one morning, I'll take a deep breath and I can smell it! And then I start hoping and beliving that the Pirates will pull off a miracle season! And spring brings the smell of flowers. Of lilacs and hyacynths. And spring brings Easter and more memories of Grandma's house. Easter dinner with cousins and aunts and uncles. And eating boston cream pie and ham and scalloped potatoes. It brings memories of fishing in the pond at my Grandma's farm...and of "catching" my cousins finger with my fishing hook.

Summer brings no school! And when I was a kid, it brought my friends from Oklahoma! It brings memories of fireflies and being at the Big House. It brings bon fires and talks long into the night. It brings mowing the grass and rides on the John Deere. It brings family reunions. It brings memories of staying at Grandma's house, even though I was scared and didn't want to be away from my mommy! It brings memories of being stung by a bee at Grandma's and Grandma taking care of me and putting a paste of baking soda and something on it. It brings memories of Grandma reading "Little Brown Cocoa" and saying our prayers before bed.

So, as you can see, I love all of the seasons, I love the change in seasons. Maybe I just love weather? They say songs and smells can bring memories to a persons mind. Maybe seasons have the same effect?