Fall: Ready or Not?

I stopped by the coffee shop this week to get a latte and catch up with a friend, and I noticed that at that particular shop, pumpkin everything is back. All the spices and the lattes and such.

To be fair, I'm not a huge pumpkin spice latte fan, so I'm not one who lives all year long for PSL season to return. (Now...salted caramel mocha season? Let's talk.)

But I have been reading on Facebook that there's a tug of emotional war going on in my friends regarding the return of fall. After our cold, wet spring, many are still squeezing every last bit of wonder out of this summer, and they don't want fall. Not yet, anyway. But others miss their sweatshirts and fuzzy socks, and they're ready for all the fall.

So where do you stand? Ready or not?

I'm not ready for shorter evenings. I love my evening walks with Ryan, and those become harder to take when nightfall comes so much earlier. I know each one is getting progressively shorter even as we speak, but that is one of the things I'll miss most about fall, I think. My beloved sunset walks.

But I am excited about the fall colors. I really do love them. When all the trees turn and the crops fade to tan, and everything is all orange and yellow and red? Yeah, I love that.

I'm really, really, really not excited about suiting up in coats and scarves (and hats and gloves as needed) every time I walk out the door. I realize it's all of thirty extra seconds to put those things on before I leave home, but somehow those thirty extra seconds seem to take forever. It is really true that one of my favorite things about summer is being able to decide in one second that I want to go outside...and in the next second, I'm outside!

But there is something cozy about curling up with coffee, fuzzy socks, and fleecy blankets. I'll admit that's pretty fun. (I know. I'm a walking contradiction.)

I miss things like ice cream stands and picnics.

But I do love soup and all the warm fall foods. (And though I'm not a fan of pumpkin drinks, I do love pumpkin foods...breads and cookies and all the things I probably shouldn't be eating.)

So while I'm not in a hurry for summer to go, I think by the time it does, I'll be ready to welcome fall.

How about you?