It's that time of year again!

Leaves are turning gorgeous colors; apple cider is widely available (Pumpkin Spice Lattes, if that's your thing); Halloween is right around the corner.

Happy October!

Isn't it great?

Sure, if you're into cold, bitter winds and uncomfortable rain.

Don't get me wrong. I love cozy sweaters and scarves and leggings and boots. I love warm beverages and apple orchards and pretty colors. I enjoy corn mazes and cuddling and football. I like exploring my creative side helping my friends design Halloween costumes and coming up with my own original ideas.

But I also love beaches and sandals and swimming and sunglasses. I like bonfires and fireworks and baseball. I like waking up for my job and actually having the sun come through my window.

I like leaving my house without having to layer. Instead, now I have to make sure to check the weather before planning my outfit. Is it 30 now and 70 later? Or a reasonable 55 all day? Is it overcast and sad or sunny and deceiving? Is it going to snow next week? Hard to tell, because it's still dark outside when I wake up.

Even the variety of color all turns into a mushy, gross brown before too long. And by this point cold and flu and season has started so I'll be a sniffling, coughing mess until at least April.

Maybe it's because that where I live, autumn seems to last for two weeks and then become an endless, miserable winter. Sometimes it snows by Halloween and often before Thanksgiving. Costumes have to be designed to keep you from developing hypothermia. I honestly don't understand how some girls can dress as "sexy kittens" when 90% of the time I'm debating dressing as an Eskimo. I would prefer not to get frostbite on a majority of my skin's surface area, thanks.

(Not an insult to those who dress as "sexy" whatevers, but I am curious as to how you seem to be unphased by the sub-70 temperatures. Please teach me.)

So here's to the next seven or eight months of shivering in my own house despite the heat being blasted and wearing every article of clothing I own. Here's to hating life every time I have to crawl out from under the covers. Here's to counting down the days until July comes back and I can have a couple months of actually looking forward to going outside.

I enjoy the idea of fall, but I do not enjoy the reality of fall. Let me look at photographs and paintings and admire the changing colors. But I will still wish I could comfortably step outside in a brightly colored sundress and flip flops with a tall glass of lemonade or sweet iced tea.

And all of the fresh, warm apple cider and pumpkin spice in the entire world couldn't change my mind.