Snow, get your own season.

While we were away on vacation a mere 2.5 hours from home, I received a text message that made me cringe:

'It's snowing here.'

'Here' being home, where I would be returning to in a few short days. 'Here' being New Jersey, where I can never remember having to even think about the fluffy white death until mid-November, at least. Personally, I don't care for snow, unless I'm curled up in bed ignoring it. If I had an arch nemesis, snow would be it. As if it isn't bad enough that snow (and it's cousin, the even more deadly ice) has caused me to total two cars and gives me severe panic attacks when I am behind the wheel and see a flake, it's now trying to usurp my favourite season! I'm not standing for this, Winter. I'm making a voodoo doll and stabbing pins with sunflower heads into you until you go away and leave Autumn alone.

Luckily, we missed the snow and things seem to be Autumnal once again. Autumn is by and far my favourite season and not just because of Samhain or Dia de los Muertos, both of which I celebrate in some way. As the Earth starts to slow down and shut down in preparation for winter, I can feel myself begin to slow down and relax. My head is much more clear during this time, I'm more patient, calm and able to gain a better perspective. I spend more time on introspection and do some emotional 'cleaning'.

Usually, I do cleaning around my physical space during this season as well. As someone who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, I'm not always able to pull myself out of the mopes and motivate myself to do Spring cleaning. Also, Spring just doesn't speak to and move me the way Autumn does.

When Autumn begins it's quiet creep into my area, a childlike giddyness overcomes me. Whatever melancholy may have had me in it's grasp is tossed into the breeze and forgotten. Excitement explodes from me and drives my poor husband mad as I carry on about pumpkins, corn mazes, haunted things, decorating and witchery. Mostly pumpkins though; they may, quite literally, be my favourite thing ever. I can hardly contain myself when we finally make it to the pumpkin patch and go on a quest to find the perfect pumpkin. I never go with a shape or size in mind, but let intuition guide me to right the pumpkin for me. This year, there were two pumpkins for me (and two for my lovely).

My pumpkins are the ones on either end of the pumpkin line-up.

There's something about the change in colours, the musky smell of Earthy decay, the crunch of leaves underfoot, carving jack-o-lanterns and the crisp bite of an Autumn evening that really moves the deepest parts of me. I welcome the return of the darker half of the wheel, and look forward to it's cool evenings and swollen moons. I look forward to celebrating my favorite holidays with friends and family as well as alone.

Hopefully, Winter has had it's wee temper tantrum and moved on for now so I can enjoy this season the way I like to. Without having to worry that Corn Mazes will be closed due to snow and that my pumpkins will have frozen and gone to pot before I can even carve them.