THE FOUR SEASONS...

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Submitted Date 07/12/2019
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Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn/Fall. I have surmised after doing my own polling research with a cross section of family and friends who live scattered from coast to coast, that where you live as well as your choice of lifestyle will ultimately determine which one you favor. Usually when asked which season was their favorite, I found that they have no hesitation in choosing one over the others out of the four. I followed up by asking them why the one they chose was their favorite...

Burrr...the people who chose winter typically say they prefer it over the others because Christmas was their favorite holiday as well as enjoying the cooler temperatures during that time of the year. Some who live where it snows, even say they don't mind shoveling the snow, however if I lived where it snowed I would definitely have someone else shoveling it! I have always been a Southern California gal so never having lived where it snows I can't imagine what it would be like on the daily during that time of the year. I have seen pictures of Wyoming and Utah's winter snowfall and I can tell you one thing, it sure looks esthetically pleasing. Some of the people I spoke to say they love the snow because they love to ski. I have never been snow skiing but the thought of eating it on a section of hard, cold ice and being wet and freezing while doing it simply does not sound appealing to me at all. But I know people who can't wait to get out on those slopes for the thrilling adrenaline rush they say it brings.

I think I would thoroughly enjoy the snow as long as I never had to actually go out and try to navigate my way through it. When it comes to living somewhere in the snowy winter, if I could just sit on some comfy cushions and cast my gaze out of a huge picture window during the entire season watching it softly fall while staying warm and cozy inside with a nice glass of wine that would be my idea of appreciating it..not realistic as far as living with it I know and it's not my favorite season but I digress...

Ah, Spring. The people who chose Spring as their favorite season say they love it because Easter was their favorite holiday and they see it also as a time of everything awakening and renewing. Love is in the air and carried on the breeze. Robin Williams (my all-time favorite funny man) was once quoted as saying, "Spring is nature's way of saying let's party". Some said they liked the fact that this is the time of the year when the hours of daylight increase so the days are longer. They said they also enjoyed it because it's the season where the weather finally turns warmer but it's not too unbearably hot. It also brings more rain and believe it or not, there are people who actually enjoy not only the sound of the rain but the smell of the air once it stops. Some of the people I spoke to enjoy working out in the outdoors and find the spring a great time to do this. Flowers are also very abundant and flourishing everywhere. A few of the people I spoke to said that they enjoy having fresh spring flowers in their homes.

As some of you may or may not know we had a huge blooming of our California poppies this past spring. People were literally clogging up our freeways just to get a closer view of them covering nearby hillsides. I have a love/hate relationship with spring time. While I agreed with many of the reasons the people I spoke to had to say about loving it, at the same time I have not so fond memories of that time of the year. I spent many years having horrific allergies throughout my teens and early adulthood. And anyone who has had allergies knows what I am talking about. The minute spring would hit and things started to bloom it would start. Itchy, watery eyes, sneezing incessantly, etc. I would just feel so miserable during that time of the year. Thankfully I grew out of it. So while spring holds many wonderful qualities it has never been my favorite season.

Summer. Surfs up, cowabunga baby!! My California peeps all felt the same way. Summer was by far their favorite time of the year. The beach bonfires, poolside parties, barbecues, waterparks, themeparks, school vacation, their lists of fun places to go and things to do went and on. Even though it's the hottest of the four temperate seasons, no one I spoke to really minded the heat that comes with summer time. In fact, they relished it. It meant wearing lighter clothing, flip flops and bathing suits and the daylight lasting longer and nighttimes being shorter. Some said that summer also made them feel more relaxed and rejuvinated. I got the impression from the people I spoke to that for them, the summer season meant endless fun. Many of them said they wait for summer to take their yearly vacation because of the weather being so awesome. When I think of summer I remember our family going to the beach and on the way home stopping for burgers and root beer floats at the A&W.

Back then, they came out to your car and attached the tray with your order to your window. Which was nice because who wants to get out of their car and go inside when you have sand in every crack and crevice of your body, you're now beginning to feel the burn in the places the sunscreen didn't cover and you just feel icky and sticky?? But even with all that, I have always loved the beach. To me, summer time IS the beach. It's always been a cathartic place for me to chill and just be still. I always find myself going into an inward meditative state while I'm there. The sounds of the waves crashing, the seagulls flying overhead, the smell of the ocean...it's intoxicating. Whenever I see sailboats out on the horizon I picture myself on one of them, floating off to visit some uncharted island. I like where my mind takes me while I'm there. So while I agree again with all of what my friends and family had to say about summer, it's not my favorite season.

Autumn/Fall. When I spoke to the people who told me that fall was their absolute favorite season I could totally relate because it's also mine. One reason is because my birthday is in the fall. And I love to celebrate not only my birthday but other people's as well. Somehow celebrating the day you came into being seems more worthy of a celebration than any other type there is. We are all unique and special. And let's face it, all of us share our birthday with someone else out there in the world we may or may not know. For some people I spoke with, they loved fall because Halloween was their favorite holiday. For them, it was more special and significant than even Christmas was. It seemed to stem from their personal childhood memories with the holiday. I related to this because it was like that for me. I grew up during a time when going out trick-or-treating in my neighborhood meant people giving out hand dipped caramel and candied apples, homemade cookies and other baked items. We got the store bought candy too but getting the homemade goodies was such a special treat, one that I always looked forward to receiving. It was a time when no one worried about getting poisoned or razor blades being put in the apples...that creepy idiocy came much later on.

In fall the leaves change color which has always facinated me, starting when I was a child. My niece lives in Vermont and I envy her because the leaves changing color here in California cannot hold a candle to the ones that change there. I have only seen it in pictures but it is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful to see. Thanksgiving is also in the fall. I think Thanksgiving is the most overlooked one out of all the holidays. It seems as if we skip through it because don't you notice that right after Halloween we are inundated with everything Christmas?? To me, Thanksgiving is the most important holiday because there is nothing more important than being thankful as well as grateful for all of our blessings and for the people we love as well as those who have touched and enriched our lives in meaningful ways.

Fall for others I spoke with meant getting to wear leggins with oversized sweaters, hayrides, football and soup on a crisp autumn day. Fall has always filled me with a sense of anticipation for things yet to come. Not to mention fall fashion, going apple picking, warm donuts, carving pumpkins and the smell of cinnamon. Each of us all have our own special reasons for our favorite seasons of the year. It was interesting getting everyone's views on why they chose the ones they did. Once I began writing this piece I came to the conclusion that at least for me, each season holds something beautiful within it to enjoy and marvel at...but Fall will always hold a very special place in my heart. What season is your favorite??

 

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Julie 🌺

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