Brian and Libby's Blog

Fall Anxiety

You know you all have it. You started to realize it back in June, when they prematurely took bathing suits off the racks in your favorite stores and replaced them with back to school clothes (e.g. stuff like leggings and off-the shoulder shirts, which we wore in the mid-eighties when our parents bought our clothes and we had little/no choice in the matter).

I have fall anxiety over more than retiring my vast collection of open-toed shoes. Fall means that I too go back to school...one night a week down at St Rose for my masters program. It also means that I am home less, think about work more, and eat more fast food. The track closes, the sun sets earlier, we can no longer grill every night, and all of these collectively bring on what has been officialy coined "SAD" or seasonal affective disorder (no, I did not make that up).

So although I have been suffering from severe fall anxiety (I did make that up) I have been trying to look on the bright side and consider those things I love about fall. Some of these are overwhelmingly obvious. Some subtle. All of them, however, are helping me overcome Fall Anxiety.

1. Christmas. I love Christmas. I know Christmas isn't technically in fall but for me the anticipation of Christmas is good enough. This year will be the Howe family's 3rd annual custom Christmas card (what will we come up with this year?) and our 2nd annual Christmas party (it's the best party of the year I hear). Also, what Brian doesn't know is that this year I am going to begin putting up decorations the minute Halloween is over and I might even start playing Christmas music 2 weeks prior (all of this is well thought out). Consider also that in my new home I can completely rethink all of my Christmas decorations, purchase many more, and I have kind of already strategically mapped out a way to fit 5 Christmas trees in our townhouse :)

It's not just Christmas, it's the holidays in general. I love Thanksgiving too (and will be hosting my first Thanksgiving in our new home) and I even love New Years. I love the fact that even New Yorkers are a little bit happier about life during the holidays, and although they won't admit it, they like when there is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground if it's before January 1st (after January 1st, this completely changes).

2. Wardrobe - Fall clothes rock. Tweed, wool, and even corduroy are all welcome additions to my wardrobe. Last week I bought a new pair of camel colored leather Guess pumps. They are beautiful, and I could buy them with zero guilt. Why? Because I needed them for fall, of course. Who can complain about that? Forget you open-toed shoes. I have my new pumps and I loooove them. Note: I am of the persuasion that "back to school shopping" should be for everyone, and you should never get too old for it. It really helps with the fall anxiety.

3. Apple Pie - You can't make apple pie on the grill. And yet it's so delicious that it helps reduce my anxiety over cooking inside more. Not only is apple pie delicious, but it makes your whole house smell like the holidays, and I truly thing it's medicinal. Anytime you can eat something delicious with ice cream and still get a serving of fruit out of it, well that's just plain genius.

4. Routine - I am so going to regret admitting this but summer is like vacation to me and I can only take so much. You know how you go on vacation and you come back tired because you did so much (well, you do if you're me, because you have such a rigorous itinerary for your vacation, but that's another post for another day)? Well that's kind of how this summer's been. Brian and I are having so much fun this summer, but I'm actually more whooped when the weekend's over than I was when it started. No more fun. I need structure, I need boring, I need routine. I need FALL! Note: There is no doubt that I will be eating these words right around January 2nd.

5. Change - Fall is hands down my favorite season, Brian's too, because it's so stinking gorgeous. When you are fortunate enough to live where we do, you really get to see the beauty of fall, and get to marvel at the Adirondacks and the Berkshires and how awesome God is that every year the planet essentially dies and then comes back to life...that is so cool. And it does that by itself. And its really beautiful while it's "dying" (ok I know its not really dying but you know what I mean). I know that all of the seasons are beautiful but there is something magical about fall.

So that's that. I hope that I have in some way helped you also see your glass half full of delicious and fragrant hot apple cider, and that you will be able to reduce your fall anxiety by considering those things you love about Fall.

posted by Libby @ 12:56 PM