Smells like Fall

So, it's fall and I'm happy. I've decided that fall is my favorite season of the year. It took me a while to settle on it, but I finally made it official this past week. And by "official", I mean that I keep gushing about how much I love fall to SJY, friends, and to total strangers in Rite Aid for that matter.
Being a native Floridian, growing up I had always thought that fall was this ugly, sort of depressing time where you got to watch everything die...and then were forced to rake up the remains from your front lawn. Since moving from Florida to more northern areas of the country, however, I have to admit that I have been romanced by the autumn season. I get excited when I see fall colors in display windows, I have at least 2 or 3 pumpkin spice candles on hand at all times, and instead of coffee, I actually order caramel apple ciders from Starbucks all year-round. I'm not kidding. Even as I write, I'm bundled up, sitting by the gas heater sipping a hot chocolate wondering how I can incorporate fall more into my home decor. SJY put a stop to the branches of berries I brought home the other day, but I'm waiting him out on this one.
Maybe it's the crisp air that I find invigorating, or perhaps it's the beginning of a new school year, complete with freshly sharpened number two pencils, that stimulates the nostalgic recesses of my mind. But I think more than meteorology or new school supplies, fall signifies, for me, a season of change, of transformation, of the possibility for something new. Perhaps it is fitting that my wedding will take place during this time. As I approach becoming a wife and all the change that that will bring, I find that I am comforted by the companionship of this fall season. We are both in the midst of a great transformation.