A few days ago, the first snow of the year fell over Indy. It seemed a clash of seasons, a battle between leaves and snow.
I wasn’t ready for this. This small bit of snow, lovely as it seemed, was insult added to injury. If you’ve watched any television or shopped at all, you too have suffered the holiday onslaught which began in September. It was near Labor Day when I first saw the trim and tinsel at a hardware store. The faux trees and yard ornaments teased from the racks, “Ready or not, here we come.”
My husband is offended by any signs of Christmas before Thanksgiving. I’m not nearly so strict, at least not until after Halloween. Even my unabashed love of holiday music can’t abide Christmas in September.
Maybe I am more sensitive about it all this year. I got busy, having spent my autumn training for a marathon, with most spare time dedicated to running or recovering from a run. I never could find the alignment of free time and energy for the annual jack o’ lantern carving. The plain pumpkins remain on the porch, a reminder of a holiday less celebrated. They’re uncarved, save a hunk clawed out by a hungry squirrel.
For the first time I noticed the commercials with twinkle lights and jingle bells started even before Halloween. The grocery store across the street from my office offered snowman figurines for sale next to ceramic pumpkins. Around the neighborhood, others seem confused too. One nearby house dons a wreath made of wheat, decorative gourds on the porch, and a Christmas tree all lit up in the window. I’ve seen a few other households who have visibly declared they’ll live in both seasons at once.
Meanwhile, it has warmed back up, and today brought storms rivaling anything we saw during the spring. From my back door, this:
Add this reverb into spring to the disorienting task of adjusting to daylight savings and early dark evenings. Torn between forces of nature and big box retail, between snow and thunderstorms — I couldn’t possibly be more seasonally confused. Is it Flag Day yet?