Not a 'Fall' fan

We are pretty deep into fall now, no turning back, no Indian Summer just around the corner.

I know that this is a favorite time of year for a lot of people. Yes the leaves become pretty, yes the air feels crisper, etc.... But, let's look at the negative side:

- The days are shorter. I find it really hard to motivate myself to get out of bed when it's still dark outside! I'm also not a big fan of needing a lamp turned on at 4:30 if I want to peruse a magazine while watching Oprah.
- So, you like fall because you get to pull you favorite jeans and sweaters out of storage. Well to me it seems that you wear these favs for 2 months, and the next time you catch a glimpse of your reflection after hoping out of the shower, you don't recognize those pale, white, flabby legs staring back at you from the mirror. What happened to my tan? Whose legs are those? They can't be mine!?
- The rain is cold. It's not the refreshing Summer rain, cooling a hot day. It's not a Spring shower that will encourage flowers to poke through their beds. It's cold, depressing, serving no purpose but to make me take a jacket and umbrella, and God knows I can't curl (or straighten) my hair!
- "Oh look at the gorgeous fall colours!" That's great for about a week until they all turn brown and fall in my yard. It's not so bad here, we're pretty wide open, (and mind - only 3 trees in our yard, all under 10 feet...) most leaves blow away or get stuck under the deck. However, in Tennessee we have no 'grass' per se. Just trees, moss, oh and leaves. Lots and lots and bags and tons of leaves. Ankle deep by late November. Last Spring it took me 4 days, (six hours a day...) to rake those beauties up and haul them to woods across the road. Of course I love the trees, they provide privacy, and without grass to cut, we're able to be away for long periods of time, but it really sucks to spend half of your vacation raking up leaves. (Oh, more fun when their wet...)

So generally I'm a really positive person. I try to look for the bright side, and find joy in millions of little things. Fall is not a little thing. It's a big gray cloud following me around for 3 months until it snows. The cloud is reminding me that there's at least 7 months until the sun comes back, regularly baking the landscape, and making me smile.

I promise, more positive next time!