Falling for fall

Every year at this time many people -- by which I mean me -- have to be dragged into fall kicking and screaming. We are not ready to say goodbye to summer yet. We do not care if the temperature has dropped into the 50s or 60s; we still want to go to the beach. We still want to wear shorts. We do not want to get out our full-length pants and our long-sleeved shirts and our sweater sets that make us itchy. In time, however -- and with the help of a compassionate, patient personal therapist -- we reluctantly accept that it is fall. This usually occurs around January 15.


THIS year, however, it is only mid-September and I am actually looking forward to fall. Normally it would have started making its presence felt by now. But THIS year, it is, perversely, sunny and in the 80s.


I blame this entirely on the fact that this year I shopped for fall clothes early in the season -- usually another thing I have to be dragged into kicking and screaming -- and am ready and eager to wear them all. This act has obviously triggered a reversal of the normal progression of seasons.


So now there is a dilemma: Continue to act as if fall is imminent (in which case it MIGHT come by January 15), or go along with the ruse that it is still summer? The latter brings the danger of starting to believe that it actually IS still summer, and you might -- if you were the Hero and I -- do something rash, like, oh, schedule a sailing lesson. Which we did. For the day after tomorrow.


It seemed like a good idea a few weeks ago. Even a few days ago. Shoot, yesterday would have been perfect weather to go sailing. But today...today has become, quite suddenly, fall.


At least I'll have something to wear.


Update on the Battle of the Stink Bugs: The Hero has informed me that he is, quote, "sick of dealing with the stink bugs" and has therefore enlisted a new weapon in their disposal: the BugZooka. He confesses that he bought it in a "weak moment." We're sure there will continue to be periodic updates on this affair.