Lately I have been consumed with all things FALL!! I usually don't look forward to fall, but for some reason, this year I welcome it with open arms. Maybe its the nerd in me, who always enjoyed that "back to school" time or the cheerleader in me that loves nothing more than the roar of a crowd coming from a football field on friday night and whistles on the practice field on weekday afternoons. So, in honor of this being the first full weekend of football and the retiring of all things "white" until next spring.... I thought I would pull one of the old blogs out of retirement..... enjoy!
xoxo, KWS
Just like any other day I rose early to take my shower, get dressed, and head off to work. As I stepped out onto my porch I noticed the air had changed. School had been in session for several weeks bringing the thoughts of fall to come, but this morning I could smell fall in the air. It wasn't such a pain as it often is in the summer to wake up on a beautiful sunny day and cope with having to go to work while everyone else is laying on the beach. I knew that everywhere around me there were students preparing for class, parents preparing for the workday, and a recent grad longing for the weekend to approach due to the game day rivalry on a football field close by. As I took a deep breath I was consumed with the smell of fall.
When you grow up in the south you learn to appreciate that smell. Its different for everyone, it might be the smell of an old book you were assigned to read in class, or driving down a back road and tobacco burning in the barn, or the smell of a backyard bar-b-que, testing out the recipe for saturdays game, or the crisp morning air as the dew lifts from the grass, whatever it may be, for most it brings a smile to their face as a million memories rush into your brain. Its a precious time, right after summer, which you swear tops all summers you have had in the past, and right before winter and the quickly approaching, time consuming holiday season. You feel determined. You pack your schedule full of road trips and short flights to your favorite cities to catch up with old friends, catch a game, and take advantage of the back-to-school sales. You welcome the evenings when you can sit on the back porch, in your favorite sweatshirt you just recently pulled out of storage with a glass of wine and enjoy the cool, quiet evening without the interference of those summertime bugs. You remember your first hay ride, your high school crush, your first college tailgate... fall is a time for first, and an awakening to the fact that the year-end is quickly approaching so squeeze it all in, before the new year is here. Tonight when you go bed, turn off the air, raise the windows, and let that fall air seep into the room.
Curl up, take a deep breath, and let those fall memories rise to meet you.
