Fall seems to be everyone's favorite season. Whether it's the fashion, the cool air, the smell of falling leaves, or the annual obsession over pumpkin-flavored foods, people are drawn to fall. If I had to guess at the reason I love it so much, I'd say it's because of warmth. Clearly not the air, but the feeling in my soul. To me, fall is the start of the holiday season.
During the fall, my family and I would go to a local farm in my hometown, choose some pumpkins, go on a hayride, and take pictures with the props set up around the fields. My little brother would ride rides and find his way through a maze, and I'd get apple cider. Most of the time, we would get two pumpkins each. One big one to carve or paint on, and another small one just because. Last year, we made a whole night of carving our pumpkins. We sat at the kitchen table, working on them. When we were finished, my dad carried them to the living room and sat them next to the fireplace while my mom made popcorn and put my pumpkin seeds in the oven. We watched a movie, ate our popcorn, and went to sleep.
On Thanksgiving, my mom would make the food she was taking to my grandparents while my dad watched TV and my brother and I asked when we were leaving over and over again. When everyone was ready, we would load up the car and drive to my grandparents. It wasn't liking seeing them was rare, but having our whole family together was. No matter the drama going on, we all showed up to my grandparents' house for Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day at 4 pm. We would eat and then everyone would migrate to the basement to sit around the table and watch the game of pool that was going on while listening to music so loud you could hear it outside. Just before everyone left, my aunt would make all the grandkids put their names in a hat and then pick someone else's out. It wasn't to do a secret Santa or anything, just to make sure that everyone got a gift and no one had to buy for each kid. That night we would go home and beg my dad to let us decorate for Christmas.
We would pick out our Christmas tree while it was still November. Throughout the whole month of December, we would drive around just to listen to Christmas music on the radio and look at people's decorations. My favorite part about Christmas has always been the happy feeling everyone had. I realize now that my happy view of the holidays is a very privileged one, but that happiness is why I love it so much. I think that's why I love fall. I felt like my family had to be happy because it was the holiday season. We had to sit around and watch movies. We had to pile in the car to pick pumpkins and a Christmas tree. We had to continue our traditions. I think the false sense of peace and happiness was extremely comforting to me. It gave me something to look forward to, but then again, it could just be pumpkin pie.
