Seasonal Personalities

Seasonal Personalities

Oh yes, the weather is changing as we approach the last holiday of summer, Labor Day. The changing of the seasons is somewhat sad as we watch the approaching days turn from warm to cool. No more long weekends at the lake, no more vacations for a while since the children are back in school, and time to bring out the warmer clothing of winter.

I love the fall, the colors of the leaves as they change to their brilliant earth tone colors, the Friday night football games and the excitement of the college games as they consume the Saturday TV schedule. 

One of my favorite things to do on a cool day as I am sitting in the bleachers of a stadium watching two schools battle it out for bragging rights is to eat boiled peanuts. The saltier the better as I eat my fill and wash it down with a hot cup of joe. Hot and black, strong and lots of it is how I take the brew that fills my body with energy and warmth. 

Another great thing about fall is the many festivals that communities around the country put on. If you look and search enough, you can find most anything you want at these events. Woodworking, soaps, musical instruments, fudge, candies of all types, and plenty of music adorn the atmosphere as you stroll by the different tents and booths.

Music, I love the old blue grass music that is played here in east Tennessee. About 30 miles north of my home in Cleveland is the small town of Sweetwater. There is a flea market that is open every weekend of the year and you can shop till you drop there and find anything you need.

Inside the building in the corner is a booth that sells musical instruments, guitars, banjos, and mandolins. Every Saturday morning the booth is full of older gentleman and they play that sweet bluegrass music for hours. When one gets tired another steps up to takes his place.

Bluegrass is not country music it is Appalachian music and the harmony simply mesmerizes me.  I love the sound of a mandolin as it gives the music a brisk sound of banjo and guitar combined. 

When the seasons change people seem to take on different personalities. 

In the spring, everyone has a joyful almost playful attitude. The sky is a blanket of blue and the smell of new growth on the trees and plants cause us to be excited, even though the pollen creates havoc on our sinuses.

We, as the growth that God provides, come alive after months of hibernation. Our clothing changes to bright colors and our vehicles take on a new luster of cleanliness, as we are now able to bathe the largest member of the family. 

Summer is the lazy time of year and we spend a lot of time outdoors but we seem to be spoiled by the massive piece of machinery that blows cold air into our lives. Time outside is good, especially when we take the family to the biggest bathing pond in the world, the beach. The younger generation bask in the sun while us older ones sit inside and complain about the heat.

Fall, the season that is quickly approaching, holds another personality.  A more subdued nature takes us over as we think about the most anticipated event of the year, FOOTBALL. I think this is the season I love the most because of all the smack that goes on with college football. In DIxie we do it best when it comes to talking FOOTBALL SMACK! The SEC reigns  and we in the south don’t mind letting everyone know it.

Our clothing gets thicker and we wear the school colors of red and black, orange and blue, Crimson, and my favorite Tennessee Vols orange and white. 

We post insults about the opposing schools teams and we make predictions about who will fare as number 1 even before the season starts, but in the end everyone understands it is simply good natured fun. Did I say GO VOLS!!

Lastly we get to winter, once again we find ourselves huddled in our homes, warmed by that large fire-breathing piece of machinery in the basement to keep us warm. Our personalities take on a different look, a look of contentment. The holidays are upon us and we fellowship with family and friends as we rejoice in another year of life.

We shop at the malls for the cherished Christmas gift for that special someone as we walk past rack after rack of spring clothing just waiting to be purchased. I don’t know about you but it is difficult to get excited about spring fashions when the weather outside is frightful. 

Christmas is probably my favorite holiday, the family time, the faces of my grandchildren as they ask for and anticipate the gifts that Santa is going to bring them. The programs at school and church, where they dress up as Mary and Joseph or the wise men and act out the Christmas story.

The fond memories of Christmas past when I was a youngster and those as I grew into a family of my own. It seems that during these special holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas is when we seem to really take time to reflect on the special people in our lives and the blessing we have received.

As I sit in my office in front of the big window I so dearly enjoy doing what I love to do, write, I watch the season as it changes from lazy days of summer to the upcoming brisk days of fall and reminisce on life.

Take the time to laugh with someone, hug ,and tell them you love them. It just might make their season change a blessed one.

I hear my wife in the attic getting out the fall clothes, gotta go to work!

“Life happens”