[C] New Seasons

There's something about the start of every new season, that instant when you realize the next one is coming and you get a rush of excitement thinking about everything good it will bring. Like now, for example. I love autumn, but as the last leaves cling to branches, bracing determinedly against colder and colder winds, the approach of winter is undeniable. And suddenly one has visions of building snowmen, warming up with hot chocolate by the fireplace, trimming trees, riding in horse-drawn sleighs, and the joy of reuniting with family. The thing about this anticipation, though, is that it is fleeting. Because once the thrill is over and the novelty is gone, all that remains are the cruddy parts you overlooked earlier - frostbite and frozen eyeballs, trudging through slush to get groceries, shoveling out a car buried in a bank of snow, holiday travel. And who ever really rides in horse-drawn sleighs, anyway? Then the long wait for another new season begins again... For the moment I'll try to hold on to that feeling of looking forward to the coming winter while it lasts.

Note that none of this applies to people living in the constant bliss of Southern California climes ;)

- C