Fall is such a beautiful season. It gives us the best wardrobe options, the best hot drinks, and our environments turn into the most rich and vibrant colors with the leaves changing and pumpkins sprouting up everywhere. I love to celebrate fall – once the time actually gets here.
There is much debate about when fall preparations and fall decorations should begin. Some feel that whenever September and Labor Day hits that means fall — and all the holidays that follow — is here, and others like to wait until the actual date of fall. While the official date for the beginning of fall is September 22, 2021 this year, we started seeing pumpkin-flavored offerings available in mid-August.
And I, for one, am not here for it.
Fall is the unofficial start of the end-of-year stress
I remember in my early college days I was shopping and saw some early fall decorations out and had an emotional episode over how it was too soon to be talking about the holidays. I distinctly remember feeling the pressure that it was too early to start thinking about the holiday season madness that comes immediately after the autumn season starts. And with kids, that stress is tenfold — and I'm just not ready for it. We're barely getting back to school as it is.
This isn't just a symptom of getting to fall too early, it’s really all of the holidays. The stores are pushing us to buy for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas so early it’s really no wonder why we feel rushed from now until the end of the year. Every September through December I get a rush of feeling like I am behind, too late, missing something, and rushing from one event to the other – and for what? Are we really taking the time to savor each moment or are we already looking towards the next one?
Instead, celebrate the natural pace of the year
I'm the type of person who loves to celebrate the natural pace of things, the holidays and the full seasons. Therefore, this year, I'm soaking up every last bit of summer while I still can. Before you know it, we’ll be complaining about wanting it to be warm outside again. So, I’m still spending my Saturday afternoons at the pool, ordering iced coffee, serving dinner outside on the back patio and whatever else I can think of until we fully turn the switch on for fall.
The seasons are timed out naturally for a reason and have their natural ebbs and flows just like our lives do.
The seasons will change, and so will we
The changing seasons are great indicators of how our lives change. Our bodies change through pregnancy and postpartum, our children are constantly evolving, and we grow and transform as mothers when we learn from our experiences and mistakes.
I believe wise mothers find ways to appreciate each change in season. So I have to remind myself, just like I can't stand how fall comes too early and people are rushing through the seasons, I probably shouldn’t rush to wish my son could talk already, or that my challenges around potty training would come to an end.
I can remind myself to embrace each and every life experience and season that I find myself in
Although I'm reluctant to jump into a new season too early, I don't have the same hesitancy with motherhood and maybe that's something for me to work on. I can only focus on what I can focus on at the moment and enjoy the current season of my life.
