It Feels Like Fall

Who is excited for the start of COLLEGE FOOTBALL?!? I woke up this morning and by 10am there were four different college football games for me to choose from on my television (this is a large perk of living on the West Coast). A lot of the match ups aren't all that exciting since it is only the first weekend (with the exception of Notre Dame v. Purdue), but I can't help but feel like the fall has really started to arrive. I know that the calendar says that the first "official" day of fall isn't until September 23rd, but I don't really think it is dictated by the calendar, I think it is dictated by a few of those tell-tale signs.

College football on Saturdays, NFL on Sundays, the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, a little chill in the air, the smell of fresh cut grass on the soccer field, a plethora of apples to choose from at the grocery store, school supplies in the stores, fires in the fireplace, the changing tree colors, the smell of the leaves, the list goes on and on. Of course we are only at the VERY beginning of these signs on September 4th, but there is a definite warm fuzzy, comforting feeling in knowing that the rest are coming.

Some of my favorite memories growing up were from Saturday afternoons in Bedford, NY. After playing in town soccer games, complete with fresh cut orange slices at half time, we would ride to the Deli with my Dad and get a sandwich and a Nehi Grape Soda (since soda was not something we had in the house, it was definitely a treat that became one of the driving factors in my continuing to play soccer as a kid). We would head home in the early afternoon and play outside with our friends. In the late afternoon we would head inside and do homework while my Dad made a fire in the fireplace and watched college football and my Mom made dinner. Sometimes on Saturdays, if the schedules matched up correctly, my Dad, big brother and I would head up to West Point to watch the Army Black Knights in action at Michie Stadium. I never much paid attention to the actual game because I didn't really understand it, but LOVED the atmosphere. I loved the smells, sounds and sights of the games. The hot dogs, the cheers of the cadets, the sound of the band, and that crisp fall smell. To me, those kinds of days were the definition of fall.

What are the things that make you feel that the fall has definitely arrived?