Changing of the Seasons

 

Being born and raised in the Ohio area known as the Snow Belt; the changing of the seasons was something we took for granted.  The leaves would change to all sorts of brilliant colors, the air would inevitably get a nip to it, and eventually the snow would fly.  We knew that the days would get shorter and we would be buried in snow.  As children we would wake up early and click on the radio waiting in breathless anticipation for the simple words “snow day”.  We would get cabin fever in February and wait to see if Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow and watch for the first signs of spring.  We would cheer as the first crocus would pop its bleary head through the snow.  The joy of the changing of the seasons was lost upon our eyes after years of the same routines. 

 

When we moved to Florida the first thing we noticed is there seems to be only one long summer here.  The trees always stay a brilliant shade of green, the flowers bloom bright colors, and the weather stays balmy year around.  Granted we do have a few weeks a year where a jacket may be required but it quickly melts away to the typical tropical heat.  The season here consist of two major times, summer and rainy.  After almost seven years here we still miss the leaves, the crispness that beckons us to autumn, and we truly do miss the joy of the first snowfall.  We quickly became immune to the beach, green trees, and balmy weather.  Yes, we miss the frigid air of a northern winter!

 

So how do we celebrate the changing of the seasons when in truth we get none?  That was a dilemma we struggled with for much of the seven years we have been here.  How can you prepare for a season you will not see?  Here is the formula we use and it seems to be helping our Yankee selves adjust to life in the tropical south. 

 

Autumn – I used to laugh at my older family members when they would say they could feel fall coming in their bones.  Well, it is absolutely true.  Around late August my body still starts preparing for fall.  I get urges for things like apples, concord grapes, and pumpkin seeds.  Yes, I now can feel autumn in my bones.  There are days when I feel autumn so deep inside I can almost smell that scent of falling leaves.  In our house we start by taking out autumn colored items.  Fake fall leaves adorn whatever surface we can put them on, we have an autumn table cloth, and we decorate our house for the season.  It may seem like a simple solution but it helps for us to see a little orange, yellow, and red.  We also change our diet.  We go from the watermelon and oranges of summer to the apple cider and apple butter of fall.  We start to eat more comfort foods like beef stew and potato soup.  Anyone who walks into our home will smell the familiar scent of pumpkin spice, a candle that is burned as often as possible. 

 

Winter – This one is a little harder to prepare for.  We cannot possibly make it snow in Florida.  It just won’t happen.  So we instead start burning the scent of vanilla, which reminds us of Christmas cookies.  We decorate the house for Christmas and trim our fake Northern tree with the old familiar ornaments.  We bake Christmas cookies and keep our traditions familiar.  The one thing we do that helps us quite a bit is we spray our windows with the fake snow.  Now this may seem ridiculous and we’ve gotten a few odd looks but the truth is it helps us.  When we look out our windows we see snow; that old familiar friend that we hated so much when we lived in it but we long for now.  Lastly, but absolutely a spirit lifter, is we call our family and friends up north and talk about the weather!  I know it sounds cruel but hearing their tales of blizzards and twenty belows helps us to feel better about our balmy eighties.  Besides who doesn’t love a little bit of bragging rights?

 

Spring – Spring is a fairly easy transition to make.  After all spring is supposed to be when the sun pops out and the newness of life begins.  We work in the yard, we garden, we get our fingers caked with dirt (well wet sand at least), and we clean clean clean.  We spring clean our house and typically start a new renovation project.  It is our way of celebrating the season of newness!

It doesn’t matter where you live in the world, if you are from the North you want your seasons.  You don’t have to travel to find that little taste of change but you can bring the seasons to you.  Celebrate those changing seasons with all the vigor of a Yankee.  Enjoy your stew, hot cider, and pumpkin pie.  Embrace your inner clock and keep that feel of the change of season around all year!