How to Survive Till Fall Actually Shows Up

Well, it's that time of year again. Your calendar says September, but the weather's hot and humid, the rain's refusing to come, and you long for jackets and sweaters but they're packed away in the back of your closet because it's far too hot to take them out. Now, it may not be like this for anyone living anywhere north of Oklahoma, but down here in the South, our weather is clinging desperately to summer when it really ought to let go and move on to fall.

But fall is taking forever to get here! How are we going to survive until the cool weather finally blows in?

Here are my top 10 tips and tricks for How to Survive Till Fall Actually Shows Up:


10.) Crank up that air conditioning and throw on a hoodie!

This is one of my favorite ways to get that Autumnal feeling. Sitting at a table doing math is pretty boring, but with the air conditioning on and a hoodie on my shoulders, it could be Christmas. (Note: Don't open the windows while doing this. The sight of trees with leaves on them will ruin the illusion.)

9.) Listen to Christmas music.

I know, I know. It's only September. It isn't even technically Halloween time yet. But what has more nostalgia than Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song" or Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"? Very little. And what does that nostalgia call up? Images of snowy pine trees, grey skies, sharp cold wind, red noses, and warm lights glowing from inside houses. So even though you may be reluctant to pull out your favorite holiday albums this early in the year (I personally wait till at least the day after Halloween, and prefer to wait till the day after Thanksgiving, if I can summon the will-power), if you want that fuzzy winter feeling, Christmas music is the way to go.

8.) Add fall items to summer outfits

For example: Wear a (fairly thin) sweater with a pair of shorts; throw a thick scarf over your tank top. Not only is this a good way of saying a pointed "goodbye" to summer, it's also very useful for when you step from extreme heat outside to the freezing temperatures of a heavily air-conditioned movie theater/restaurant/school.

7.) Start adding warmer colors to your wardrobe and the interior of your house.

Nothing big at first. You know that picture you took at the beach this summer that you've been using as a wall-paper for your computer? Change it to something more fall-ish. Wear deep red and gold together in an outfit. Change your blankets and pillows to deeper blues, reds, purples and golds. As we get closer to the holiday season, you can be more blatant about it: paper snow-flakes on the wall, pine-cones on shelves, gold and silver tinsel, and little figures of turkeys, pumpkins, and snow-men all help to usher in the Christmas spirit.

6.) Watch some Christmas movies

Maybe not "Frosty The Snowman" or "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" -- nothing too openly Christmas-ey. Go with something like "It's A Wonderful Life", "The Nativity Story" (yes, of course Jesus' is birth is relevant all year round), or "A Christmas Story", which has "Christmas" in the title but is much more about childhood than it is about Santa.

5.) Start to plan for Thanksgiving and Christmas

Not officially, of course; just start brainstorming ideas. Think about where you want to spend the day, what you want to eat, what you might want to get somebody for Christmas. You don't have to tell anybody, but I've found that even just thinking about the holiday season gets me excited.

4.) Go check out the Halloween section in your local Walgreen's.

Granted, Halloween is my least favorite holiday, because I'm not one of those people who enjoys having nightmares. However, I do love dressing up, and the spookiness of the Halloween section always makes me kind of jumpy, which is not a bad thing. It also gets me planning my Halloween costume, which is...

3.) Start planning your Halloween costume.

Yes, grown-ups too. Look, just because you've planned it doesn't mean you have to wear it -- and if you want to wear it, what the hey! No one can stop you. I personally am going to keep dressing up till I'm too old to attend the Fall Festivals at my church (we don't call them Halloween officially), although I most likely won't be going around at 60 playing games for candy. But what's more fun (and fall-ish)  than dressing up as the Mad Hatter, Jack Sparrow, or Gandalf The Grey/White? Very little.

2.) Pray for cooler weather.

Just start praying. This will get you hopeful and cheery, and God will hear your prayers. I'm sure the rain and wind are on their way now -- I'm praying so, anyway.

And the number 1 way to survive till fall actually shows up is...

1.) Be patient!

I know it's hard to wait till the cool weather gets here and we can start putting up Christmas trees. But winter will come, and you will be able to pull out your favorite sweater again. And in the mean-time, you can put numbers 2-9 into practice. :)

Have a very merry end-of-the-year, and keep praying that fall gets here soon.