An ode to September

Before the remnants of Hurricane Ida rolled in, I walked outside the other day and got blasted by stifling humidity and temperatures in the high 80s. The boys of summer, in my case, the kids from the neighborhood shooting basketball on the street, were holding out for as long as they can, but a change is coming. 

You can feel it in the evening. When the sun goes down, there’s a shift in the wind, a slight breeze rushes in from the West. Oh, I know Autumn won’t officially turn the page for another three weeks, but fall is here. You can see it in the calendar:

• Kids have gone or will soon all be gone back to school.
• The local high school football team has already notched it’s first lost of the season. 
• The nights are getting colder and soon I’ll be stealing the candy my wife buys in advance for Halloween.
• And by God, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and every other coffee shop in the world is already shilling their spicy pumpkin latte coffees. (If that’s not proof, then I don’t know what is.)

The leaves are still a faded green, but they will soon turn. My daily uniform will change soon to a faded sweatshirt and shorts. 

Yes, I love this time of the year. Most of the year, it wouldn’t take much to convince me to move away from the Northeast to some Carolina or Florida Beach or Colorado Mountaintop. You could probably even convince me to move to Southern California and all its flare without too much of a fight. Move overseas? Europe, the Caribbean, South America, I’m on board. Sure, sign me up. From September to December, though, forget about it. I’m happy right where I’m at. 

Bring on the colder temps. Bring on Kirk Herbstreit and the rest of the ESPN College GameDay crew. Bring on a lazy Saturday morning catching up with my wife over breakfast and then going for a hike in a local State Park. Bring on just sitting outside and nursing a cup of coffee or a frosty adult beverage over a warm fire.

Autumn is a magical time and I’m in heaven.