Writing Prompt: Fall-ing

 Prompt: Write about your favorite season.

Fall-ing 

I woke up slightly chilly this morning, grateful that I remembered to sleep with a quilt over me last night. That’s when it hit me—Fall is in the air, and I felt giddy with this knowledge. Call me an indoor cat during summer, I hate the heat and hole myself up inside in the AC all throughout June, July and August. But here we are, I made it to September, and temps are now in the comfortable 70s and I’m ready to burst out of the house. Fall has always meant relief for me, relief from the blazing hot summer, as well as opportunity for my creativity to come shining through. 

Yes I’m Fall-ing, and that means taking Basset Lily for long meandering walks down the streets and alleys of my neighborhood. I can enjoy going to parks with my husband. It will soon be time to start making soups, buying apple cider and making apple pies. I may buy a pumpkin and decorative gourds to display on our porch. Out come the long-sleeve t-shirts, light cardigans, and other comfy clothes to relax in. I love it all.

Fall also means football, and I’m an emotional, quasi-lunatic fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Brainwashed to be rabid at birth by my parents, I am heavily invested in every game each Saturday, to the detriment of my nervous system should my team lose a game. I expect perfection, never get it, and make meaningless promises to myself after the game is over that I will not be so emotional in the future. Sure would be nice if I could just Let Go and Let God do his handiwork; it would save me a lot of grief and anxiety over outcomes I can’t control. 

We discussed turning it over in our sponsees’ Zoom this week, and I think for me my obstacle for doing so is Trust. I get worked up because I don’t trust the football coaching staff knows what they are doing; and likewise I don’t trust that God will handle things for me. Maybe though this particular Fall I’ve made some progress, maybe my continued work on the Steps is bringing me closer to the serenity I seek. Sponsor Shawn directed me to Chapter 11 in the 12 and 12, told me to read about prayer and meditation when I asked how I might strengthen my relationship with my Higher Power. That’s my assignment for this week, and I’ll get to it hopefully before Saturday’s football game.

In the meantime, I’m getting ready for a morning walk with Lily, I’m finishing off my coffee and getting ready to lace up my sneakers and head out. The air is crisp outside, I’m excited, I’ve got energy again and I’m happy. I quietly recite the one prayer I know by heart, the Serenity Prayer, as I prepare to head out and enjoy this beautiful Fall morning:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.