I often spend the last week of September in a bit of a funk…summer is “officially” over and it will be many months before we can look forward to life without school, long days at the beach, and the joy of wearing flip flops every day. But somewhere around early October I hit my stride and start to get excited about the change of seasons and some of the gifts of the Fall season. Here is my short list:

1. Turning on my oven. After 3 months of fruit salads and green salads, and grilling most nights I look forward to getting back in the kitchen to cook. The comforting smell of potatoes roasting in the oven, a pot of chili on the stove or banana bread baking simply cannot be topped. Coming home on a cold day to a dinner of roasted sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts and chicken is the kind of comfort food that warms your belly–and your soul!
2. Putting on a sweater–or an extra layer when you exercise. After spending 4 months crossing the street several times during the course of my morning jog to “hunt for shade”, it is wonderful to have a chill in the air at the beginning of a run. I am finally trading the sunblock for a long sleeve shirt. Running errands when you are not melting, walking the dog with a light jacket, and not panicking that I forgot a hat at every sporting event I attend is a welcome change of seasons. Bring on the fleeces!
3. A different selection of fruits and vegetables. While chicken may never go “out of season” eating an apple in May simply cannot compete with a crisp Macintosh in October. Butternut squash soup for lunch or a roasted acorn squash for dinner make it easier for me to say goodbye to vine ripened tomatoes and corn for another year.
4. Staying home! At the risk of sounding anti-social, there is nothing nicer than staying home on a Friday night, putting a log on the fire, renting a movie and making a pasta dinner. Summer is all about entertaining and packing a year’s worth of social events into 3 months, and as fun as it is, it can be exhausting. It is a welcome relief to change into sweatpants on a Friday after a long week and see what “new releases” are on Netflix. And you certainly wake up feeling much more refreshed and ready for a long walk or run–with a pullover!

Enjoy the new season and tell me what you love most about Fall. We are off to buy our pumpkins…another favorite tradition.