The Joys of Autumn

It has been pointed out to me that I get way more excited about seasonal activities than the average joe. Take the Fourth of July, for instance. It was raining this year, and some of my friends were ready to break out George Foreman's Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine and call it a night. No, sir. Not on my watch. I insisted that my burger be treated right: prepared atop a traditional charcoal flame - outside - with a Sousa march playing in the background. So, met with chuckles and rolling eyes from my companions, I took my burger, braved the thunderstorm, and grilled the stars and stripes out of the thing. I was wet at the end, but my burger tasted like America.

That being said, my favorite season (by far) is autumn. When I woke up this morning and felt cold wind flirting with me through my window, I was more than a little pleased. It was perfect weather all day long, actually. I took a very long walk this afternoon (in a sweater!), and it struck me just how many memories something like the crisp air can trigger in me.

Images of middle school youth retreats came flooding back - the nights at Camp America where so many of us were introduced to Jesus of Nazareth and found out what loving Him looked like. I thought of cold mornings when Ben would pick me up at 5AM, a Caedmon's Call record playing in his car, to go and pray around the High School. Then there were the fall evenings of golden leaves and a game of disc golf with Ryan (I was never good at the game, but of course that's never why I went). Late-in-the-season cookouts at the Maglich house and impromptu bonfires at Hueston Woods rank high on my list as well. With the arrival of autumn it was also pretty much a given that we would block off at least one long weekend and escape down to Red River Gorge. There's nothing better than waking up in a tent to frozen toes and frosty breath with five or ten of your closest friends.

I could go on, as I haven't even mentioned corn mazes, pumpkin patches, hay-rides, or steaming hot apple cider yet, but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say that I am gearing up for some seasonal bliss in the very near future.