{Confession} I don’t like fall

Don’t freak out…

I don’t like fall.

The way the whole world goes crazy for beanies and cable-knit sweaters and hot chocolate and picking apples…

Nope. Not for me.

Sure, I see the appeal of COZY. And maybe if I lived in a place that had an autumn like that, I’d enjoy the change from summer to winter.

Here in my corner of Arizona, we have a lot of elm trees. Elms don’t change colors. MAYBE a few leaves turning yellow. Nope, elms wait until the first frost, turn brown, and drop all their leaves.

Fall means stickers in my socks as all the grassy, prickly things die back and desperately try to spread their seeds before our short summer rainy season.

Apples were harvested in early September.

And I dislike bulky sweaters, I don’t wear slouchy boots, and beanies – while I do love hats of all types – squish my hair.

But the thing I dislike the most about the change of season is the way the nights get longer. I finally realized, it’s not that the DAYS get shorter… it’s that the nights get LONGER.

Why does this bug me?

Simply put:

I’m afraid of the dark.

Yep, I’ve never really outgrown it!

A few evenings ago, while I was lamenting the fact that longer nights ALSO means more time inside and trying to do things (paint) under artificial light, God put an interesting message in my heart:

The healing darkness.

It honestly surprised me. I’ve never thought as darkness as healing. Sleep, for sure…

But I DO sleep better in the longer, darker, colder nights. I go to bed earlier and stay there later. (Today was all the way until 6 am! Go me!)

So I’ve been sitting with this idea of darkness as healing. Easing into the idea of fall and then winter.

Some people go much slower in these months, they pause and rest and reflect. They can embrace the period of slowness.

Me? I pack more into my daylight hours (of which there are PLENTY. We get about 11 hours of light here during the dead of winter.)

Today, I want to invite you to think about what the change of seasons – from summer to fall – does for you. For your creativity, for your writing, for your mood. (And if you’re from the southern hemisphere, still think about it as you days get longer!)

Send me an email or leave me a comment. I want to know if you love fall (and why) of if you’re like me and just … don’t.

Kim Galloway
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