Finally ready for fall
Call me a late adopter.
I’ve never been one to jump on trends super early and especially not one to be a trendsetter. This means that when everyone is chomping at the bit to break out their shorts and flip flops in March, I am still wearing jeans and boots and jackets until the end of April (depending on when the last snowflakes finally fall). Likewise, I usually see some ladies in mid- to late August donning tall boots and sweaters and scurrying to order their pumpkin spice lattes when it’s still 90 degrees outside and technically still summer.
Well, we’ve officially been into fall for nearly one month now and I am finally ready for a cooldown and some fall clothes and decorations. I already saw some Halloween merchandise for sale in stores in August just after they pushed out the last “back to school” stuff already in July. Now, they’ll rush right past Thanksgiving to start pushing Christmas on us by tomorrow (if it hasn’t already started).
I get why people love to rush into seasons and especially when it comes to fall. Fall is probably my favorite season because of the cooler, usually drier weather (depending on where you live), the change of colors in the trees and the start of football season.
The rush to change seasons stems from excitement of what’s ahead and anticipation of enjoying what the upcoming season has to offer. Still, I like to enjoy the entirety of the season I am in and slowly inch into the next one. If that means shorts until September 21st, then so be it. Considering this summer was so hot, I can understand the excitement for fall and cooler weather this year.
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, this meteorological summer (June through August) was the warmest in 132 years across the contiguous United States. August 2026 alone tied as the hottest August or month ever recorded on Earth.
This month, we got to combine both the changing fall colors and football with a nice, weeklong trip home to the tristate area for back to back college football games and visiting family and friends. I made sure to keep a pretty good but manageable stash of fall and winter clothing when we downsized from house to condo and moved south last year. I have them vacuum packed in storage bags and plastic totes in the guest room closet, so it was fun to dig them back out for another year.
Finally, I am in my fall mode almost a month late. I’m sure that means some folks are already preparing for holiday shopping and that Christmas movies will be popping up on television next week. You still won’t catch me drinking a pumpkin spice latte… ever. But I am certainly looking forward to enjoying some pumpkin pie in a few weeks!
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.