The Trouble with Fall

Fall is a wonderful time of the year, perhaps even the best. The weather cools down, the leaves turn beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow, and I begin to select every day items from my scarf collection again.

But, there are some stressful bits about this wonderful season that I would like to address here. Tell me if you agree.

1. Halloween costumes -- My friend Olivia loves to go all out with her costumes. They often involve lots of face paint, and elaborate outfit, and probably a few props to make it impressive and bold. My ideas don't come that easily. I love a good play on words, like Pig in a Blanket, which I was a few years back, or Facebook (thank you Office).

London, circa 2009

But still, every year, I stress about a good costume that is warm, comfortable, clever, and makes me look 10 pounds lighter. Am I really asking for a lot here?? This year, the runners up are 50 shades of gray, a luffa, or maybe a shooting star. Of course, all this could be moot because I'm not sure I have plans yet for Halloween, which I need to fix immediately.

50 Shades of Gray...but where to get all those paint samples??

2. The impending doom that is Christmas shopping for relatives -- I'm lucky; there are five of us in my family, and my brothers don't really care about presents (I get them gifts anyway, though, because I am the best sister ever). So, I don't have nearly as much to complain about than the people who are buying for family members in the double digits. I typically wait until after Thanksgiving to buy presents for my family, but this year I'm planning to shop early. "Planning" being the key word here. I love buying and giving presents to people, and I make a concerted effort to listen throughout the year for passing comments my family members or friends make about something they want or need. I don't always remember, but the few times I did made it much easier to buy for people when St. Nick came around.

What?! No.

3. Pumpkins -- All. The. Pumpkins. I love them, don't get me wrong, but we need to look at who we are as a society and a species. It's getting a little ridiculous. Google Pumpkin Spice Overload and click on Images and you'll see what I'm talking about. I bought a pumpkin a few weeks ago, baked it, puree-ed it, and made two loaves of pumpkin bread. Then I put the rest in the freezer because it stressed me out to think about how many pumpkin-spiced things I could make with it. I'll probably use it for a pie for Thanksgiving, but until then, we need to calm down with the pumpkin, people.




Okay, now that I got all that out of the way, I'm going to backtrack. Because besides these problems that I felt like complaining about today, fall will remain my favorite season. Going the extra mile to make a Halloween party fun, or buying a thoughtful gift for a loved one, yields more connection and wonderful times spent with family and friends. The effort is always rewarded in the end.

Once I've picked out my costume, I'm going to have a great time with my friends on Halloween. After buying Christmas presents, I'm going to sit wrapped in a blanket by the fire with my family. And despite complaining about all the pumpkins, I know me, and I'll probably have at least four more Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks before the season is over. After all, they are pretty delicious.

What do you love/hate about fall?