More than ever, I feel a strong sense of my favorite season this year. I work at a school so every Fall is marked with a refreshed yearning to learn and acquire knowledge. You can sense it in the air. This year, this yearning seems stronger for me than the last 4 years. 2011 marked the last time I took any college courses for myself. I am beginning new courses this month and I attribute at least some of that to the inspiring feeling that the Fall brings me. I also have an urge to read more and I am doing just that, thanks to the wonderful October Reading Club.
I know that I will get limited opportunities to treasure my favorite season in my lifetime. I never ever want to take Fall in the Northeast for granted. I need to savor every bit of it. Fall is one of my favorite yearly traditions. In the 'Fall bundle' of things, I get Halloween, Thanksgiving, Football, new video games, and some time off of work to enjoy it all. One of my biggest moments to savor it all will be my annual trip to Salem, Massachusetts where Halloween is celebrated like it is the most regarded holiday of the year, as it should be.
Gabe and I
2011 was important to me for another reason. I lost my best friend, Gabe. Since then, the Fall has become that much more important in terms of memories and experiences that will no doubt heighten as my body and mind experience this lovely season for the 36th time. Music plays a part in this as well. Certain songs and albums become enhanced from September to the end of November, sometimes, even into the beginning of December. One song I always play during this time of year is Sunny Day Real Estate's "The Days Were Golden". The song feels like the audio version of watching the leaves fall in the brisk October air while contemplating life.
I was born in this magical window of time, so was my wife. We both share a love of the Fall and were married on October 12, 2013 on one of the most beautiful days of the year. This has helped to build up the Fall as that much more of a treasure than what it was to me, say 10 years ago. And, as a song that I wrote (that seeks to express some of these feelings and ideas), reminds me, "Treasure The Fall".
This is also the time of year we pay thanks in America. Every day I am thankful to be alive. It is such an added bonus that I get to experience Fall in the Northeast every year that I have been alive so far.
Here's to many more.