October

Autumn makes me nostalgic, and despite the chill in the air, optimistic. I always seem to want to start new things in the Fall. You would think this would be a Spring attitude, but not for me. Fall marks the beginning of things to me. School starting, steadiness and routine returning, the ability to wear both warm and cold weather outfits, new albums from my favorite bands, reprieve from humidity, the promise of the holidays and family visits just over the horizon, and weather that makes me happy to be alive. In New York, autumn is a bit tainted since it's shorter and signals the coming of a much colder winter, but even New York fall has it's charms with all the vibrant leaves, apple activities, and boots that seem more functional than ridiculous.

October in particular has been my favorite month my entire life for a myriad of reasons. It's my birth month. It contains at least one long weekend (well, used to). I get to drink my chai tea warm. It's the first month I feel justified in making large pots of soup. There are football games, homecoming events, bonfires...and in North Carolina the Dixie Classic Fair.

The fair was a fall event where I'm from (not a summer event like it is in NY) and it was a romanticized, ethereal experience growing up. Night time at the fair was perhaps the most anything-could-happen, romantic setting of my youth. I went with my friends every year, wandering and wondering what the night would hold. More than once, I held the hand of a boy on the ferris wheel and thought I might float away...or throw up.

If it weren't for Halloween, a holiday I've never been fond of (mostly due to my hatred of horror movies), October would be perfect. So perfect, that despite it being my favorite I purposely avoided getting married in the Fall so that I'd have things to look forward to the rest of the year.

I guess I'm doomed to wax-poetic every October. I just really love fall, y'all.