And On Into Autumn

“Then summer fades and passes and October comes. We’ll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure.” 

White Field at the University of Notre Dame

And so we are on the brink.  The days growing ever shorter as the sun sinks ever earlier each evening below the horizon, leaving us in darkness now well before 9:00pm.  A cold front blew through on Sunday evening, and for the first night in awhile, I turned off the air conditioning and opened the windows.  

I have written about the seasons before; always in high praise of summer and low praise of any season that has anything to do with summer's end and winter's approach.  Our students are starting to flow onto campus in huge masses, returning for a new semester.  The parking lots are full; even where student parking is prohibited (aggravating, that).  Restaurants now all have a standard long waiting period for a table, as parents who have accompanied their first year son or daughter take them out for their last meals before being exposed to dining hall fare.  Tomorrow, the Marching Band will make it's first journey of the semester through campus, playing the hallowed Notre Dame Fight Song.  People will file out of buildings in droves, all clapping excitedly along in rhythm.  

Around these parts, people love the autumn.  I grudgingly admit that it is a stunning season in the Midwest.  Try as I might, my camera can never quite capture the brilliant beauty of the leaves as the trees begin to change.  The mosaic of colors will be too outstanding to describe accurately.  Anticipation here on campus will be high, as everyone awaits the first football game, showcasing our new, genius coach.  Folks can't wait to pull out jeans and Notre Dame sweatshirts.

But I am not a member in the ranks of autumn lovers, nor, I fear, will I ever be. Yes, I marvel at the beauty of nature around us, and, typically, I will not miss a football game, either college or pro.  Yet, even before summer's end, I find myself ever saddened by the darkening of days and the ever so slight warning in the breeze that, all too soon, the temperatures will descend and, along with them, we will be descending into the long, dark, dreary period called winter.  If only I could freeze time and keep this day forever--the sun shining brightly against a brilliant blue sky and a warm breeze softly blowing. Thoughts of snow and ice should be miles away but, alas, I cannot help but dwell, perhaps unhealthily so, on that much despised (at least by me) season with it's relentless howling winds and frigid temperatures.  Some days it feels as if we will never see sunlight again.

God give me the strength to get through it!