"Shall We All Meet in the Autumn?"

It seems like we've skipped right through Autumn as usual, and winter is setting in here in wet, cold Washington State. Rain begins to pour down, stirring up the mud and dusty grime caused by summer, and wind begins to blow the leaves of the trees, tossing them this way and that - causing the leaves to fall to the ground, creating flat, soggy piles over street drains and in hard to rake corners. (Washingtonians always got gypped as kids - leaf piles were more of a hazard than a pastime)



It's during this yearly occurrence that the memories of my childhood begin to come back to me. My neural pathways are excited by the scent of burning candles, the smell of heat radiating from a fire or even the coils of a heater. The aroma of soup bubbling from a pot on the stove top and the feel of gloves on my hands and a scarf around my neck.



In the spirit of the cold seasons, I dig my thicker socks from the back of my dresser, pull my boots out of their hiding place in the back of my closet, and I pull my winter coats in front of my sun dresses.



I love Autumn here. It's mostly rain and cold wetness that rips right through your clothes, drenches your hair, soaks your shoes AND socks, and it's completely pointless to attempt to use an umbrella, since it will just invert, be torn into smithereens, and wind up in the nearest trash can. Plus, you get used to it. I don't even get seasonal depression. In fact, I'm invigorated by the rainy season.They say we're amphibious, which is why we dry out in the summer.



Funny how what can drive some mad - Literally, mad - is so loved by others.