To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted
A time to kill, and a time to heal
a time to break down, and a time to build up
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing
A time to get, and a time to lose
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak
A time to love, and a time to hate
a time of war, and a time of peace.
—Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
It’s a lot like music. Every time I hear an Elvis Costello song, I think “this is my favorite Elvis song!” Then I hear another one, and that one is my favorite instead.
Whatever song I am listening to right now. Whatever book I am reading right now. That one is my favorite. Right now. I am, I admit, terrible at choosing a favorite anything. I think of myself as a hard hearted cynic, but when it comes to picking favorites I find that in reality I am someone who loves everything. Life, and all the things that are a part of it.
It’s no different with the seasons.
Maybe not the Winter. Don’t get me wrong–I don’t hate it. I love boots and sweaters. I love the few snow days. Winter is an unrelenting, drizzly, gray, dark thing here in the Willamette Valley though. The trees are bare. The grass is soggy and emerald green. The sun doesn’t make an appearance for months. It’s a stay at home and read sort of season. It’s hot tea and warm fires. It’s all good. I can curl up under a blanket with some popcorn and an old movie. It’s kind of awesome. You don’t feel the pressure to be outside doing things. You can huddle in. Even the darkest clouds come with silver linings.
Then after a Winter full of rain, clouds, and cold I am entranced with the green leaves and things growing in the Spring. Every day there is some new change in the plants and the trees. The rain gets warmer. Blue skies start to appear behind the gray. Then, suddenly, the trees have leaves on them! Then-bang-cherry blossoms! Everything makes me smile again, and Spring is my favorite season. Everything is always a miracle, but the miracles bust out at you in the Spring. It’s exuberantly miraculous. It’s enthusiastic renewal. It’s all shiny. It’s all new.
Except that it’s still chilly and wet. And I miss wearing short sleeves and sun dresses, and that warm smell the sun leaves on your skin. Walking in the park and not worrying about bringing a jacket when you go out. Tan legs and sandal feet. Beach trips and the smell of cocoa butter. Gin and tonics in the sand. Laughing on the deck watching to sun go down and it’s almost 10pm. And the warm air feels so wonderful after those long cold wet months!
When Summer sun comes in, I take a book and a drink out onto the patio and listen to music and I always think it is the best time of year. Except that it’s too hot to sleep now. I don’t have anything cute to wear any more and short sleeves make me look fat. I wish I could bake bread and make stew, but it’s too hot to cook.
I look forward to Fall. Sandal days and sweater nights, and look how beautiful the orangeredyellow leaves are. Football, chili, stouts and porters. I remember that I do like to cook, and it’s cool enough to sleep at night again. I am a November girl, even though the month has little to recommend it outside of my birthday, Duck football and Thanksgiving. Pumpkins. And seasonal motherfucking gourds. The sun still makes an occasional appearance, low in the sky, and did I mention it’s almost my birthday? I still love my birthday. Piles of leaves, first the crisp ones that you can crunch through on the sidewalks, then sodden slippery ones that clog the gutters and block the storm drains making mini lakes at the crosswalks and sending rain over clogged gutters in sheets.
I love the Fall. It is my favorite season.
Except for the wind storms that blow my fence down and drive me up the hill to hide out with friends.
Other than that, I am a total November girl. Fall is definitely my favorite season.
And this time, I mean it.