As September is settling in, and the summer is coming to an end, I am starting to feel an abundance of emotions. Growing up in New Jersey, after Labor Day, the beach chairs get washed off and are stored away in the garage, and everyone begins to move along towards the next season ahead. Within days, schools open, classes are in session, and Starbucks brings back Pumpkin Spice-flavored everything. It all changes so quickly, and before you know it, you are trudging through the snow telling yourself to think warm thoughts, and praying for the summer months again. For those of you who find all of this unfamiliar, I compiled a list that will better help me to explain what the end of summer feels like growing up in the North:
1. When the malls and department stores leave "subtle" hints that Fall is on its way:
It can be mid-July, and you will walk into your favorite store to find sweaters and boots and winter coats staring back at you, taunting you, saying, "Enjoy the warm weather while you can. You should buy me now, it's going to be cold soon."
2. When the dreaded and inevitable first day of school is around the corner:
The same thing happens every year for as long as I can remember. I would try and stay in the moment. I would try and distract myself from the thought that school was nearly weeks away, and again, like every year, I wasn't ready to go back. The summer felt like it had just begun. How could it already be almost over?
3. When you have your last trip to the beach:
For a beach-lover like myself, this is the saddest day of the year. I never want it to end. The sun always seems to shine a bit brighter, and the water is at its warmest. As we pack up to leave, I always find myself staring out at the ocean trying to take it all in one last time before next summer, but suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the threat that is looming; the threat of colder months ahead.
4. When everyone welcomes Fall way too soon:
Bring out the plaid shirts and your pumpkin carving kit, because once September rolls in, it is as if the summer never existed. Little by little, random houses in the neighborhood will begin to put out statues of scarecrows and autumn-inspired wreaths for their front doors. All of the local coffee shops and supermarkets throw Pumpkin into every latte, cookie and candle scent they can conjure up, and people love it. It has become a staple part of the transition from Summer to Fall. Soon enough, your Instagram feed is filling up with pictures of people posing with their pumpkins and picking apples off the trees.
5. When you find yourself giving into the hype:
All of the sudden, I begin to see my thoughts traveling from the beach all the way up to the pumpkin patch, and then to the dinner table at Thanksgiving. I picture myself baking cookies in fuzzy pajamas and sipping hot chocolate that has an unnecessary amount of marshmallows on top. My mind somehow shifts amidst the changing seasons, and I find myself actually looking forward to the Fall and Winter months. I fall into the same trap every year.
Just like that — I go from resenting the fact that the summer is over, to appreciating that I have the opportunity to experience all of the seasons. That is until I am two feet deep in snow, feeling like at any given moment that all of my limbs are going to freeze off. It is an endless, vicious cycle; one that we up north love to hate!
