The Best (and Worst) Parts of Autumn

I have loved autumn since I was a child. At that time of my life, the main reason was that my birthday is in late November, so I’m an autumn kid. I dedicate this post to my favourite season.

As I mentioned, I’m a late autumn kid, so when I was little, the season was mainly about looking forward to my birthday, which is on the border of autumn and winter and it often snowed in late November where I grew up, so I always wished for snow for my birthday.

I have always liked autumn because the hot summer months are over, I no longer get sunburnt, stung by instects and as someone who is very sensitive to heat, it’s a blessing when the temperature drops. A few years I got a heat stroke on holiday and I remember when I was a teenager, I was rushed to the doctors office because I was feelings weird and it turned out that the heat messed with my circulation. Not a fun thing during the summer break.

It might sound strange, but I liked going back to school. I wasn’t very social, I had few friends, but I was still excited about learning new things. When I attended primary school, the school was two kilometres from our house and I really enjoyed walking on the tree lined road, collected acorns and wild chestnuts which I later used for DIY project. I loved the crisp air and the scent of the leaves that had already fallen.

Although I no longer have such issues, I still find it hard to tolerate the heatwave, so once the temperature goes below 20, I start to celebrate. As an adult, I appreciate the scents of the season even more. They are weirdly relaxing and put my mind at ease.

Another thing I love about autumn is the seasonal food. When I was a child, I hated pumpkin and squash, but as an adult, I learnt to cook them according to my taste. My favourite autumn seasoning is shawarma (a spice blend used in the Middle East) which acts as an instant mood enhancer.

Moving on with the topic of food, I’m a hobby baker, but I think it’s doesn’t come as a surprise that I’m not willing to turn on the oven in the summer. Autumn is the perfect time for baking, though. It warms up the house and fills it with the most wonderful scents I can think of.

The last, quite practical reason why I love autumn is that it’s brings a lot of rain after the extremely dry summer, so I don’t have to water the plants, so it saves time and money.

Now, let’s move on to the not so fun part of the season. Firstly, the rain that I’m grateful for because it saves me time and money bring a lot of mud. Our street is actually a dirt road – yeah, I know it’s a shame in 2024 – and if there’s major rain, the street gets flooded and it usually takes days to clear up.

Next, we have to turn the heating on, which gives a cosy atmosphere, but it also means that the utility bills are higher.

Last, but not least, the number days that are ideal for air drying our clothes outdoor is limited due to the rain.

All in all, autumn is my favourite season. For me, the advantages outweigh the inconveniences and the first days of crips air and foggy morning pull me out of the Seasonal Affective Disorder I regularly experience in summer.

Do you like autumn? What do you think the best and worst aspects of the season are?