A Common Misconception

My affinity for all things autumn is well documented on Facebook.  It is generally known that October is my favorite month of the year.  This is actually incorrect.

I can't blame you for thinking that, though.  I actually think of April (and July) as superior, more desirable.  It's just that there's more about October that can be hyped up, more festivities to talk about, to share.  With April, I'm not into chocolate bunnies or painting eggs and hiding them.  That's all fine and good, but it pales in comparison to the abundance of Octoberness: changing leaves, pumpkin spice, hot apple cider, corn mazes, scarecrows, Halloween... the list goes on.

With April, it is a different type of appeal, but a stronger one.  My point is that spring is actually the best time of year, psychologically speaking.  Minus the fun and flavors.  Spring is refreshing, almost by definition.  And I'm talking about April in Missouri, not April in Texas.  But that's why I'm posting about it now: because February in Texas is basically April in Missouri.  It's spring here.  But for all intents and purposes of this blog post, I am talking about the seasons as they are in Missouri.

April.  The long winter is finally over.  March was a tease; it was still too cold and windy to be pleasant, but not freezing.  You knew you had to hang on just a few more weeks, but March was too much of a bastard.  "In like a lion, out like a lamb."  And then, "April showers bring May flowers."  April is when you can legitimately call it spring in Missouri.  Warm-ish, but sometimes still jacket weather.  Lots of rain, and the grass turns green again while the trees start to awaken from their hibernation.  New aromas fill the air.  You can finally drive with the windows down.  It's refreshing.  That feeling of rejuvenation and anticipation makes April the best month of the year, though October is a very close second.  For driving music, in April I inevitably turn to Final Fantasy VI and VIII, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.  Good, refreshing stuff.

Tonight, before going to work the midnight shift once again, I was having my coffee with the patio door open and the ceiling fan circulating fresh air into the apartment as I was transcribing an arrangement of Final Fantasy music just for fun.  I had some manner of floral scented candle going as well.   I was taking nostalgia to a productive place.  It's spring here, and that was the perfect beginning to a relatively unappealing night.

Now, I mentioned July.  Obviously, there is a bit of bias seeping in here, because my birthday is late July, so I grew up with plenty of reasons to value it above other months.  As a kid, the middle of summer vacation was the ultimate goal when looking forward on the calendar.  I hated school.  I always have, and I still do.  (Ironic that I would go so far as to get a Master's Degree, and then find myself later teaching in a school, since I have always hated it so much.)  Every year was an Odyssey to make it through another long school year, just to get to the coveted summer vacation.  My cyclical plight paralleled that of Calvin and Hobbes.  Summer!

Also, I've always loved the Fourth of July.  Always.  There's your summer festival right there.  Add that to my birthday, and the residual feeling from childhood summer vacation, and that's plenty of reason to hold July in higher esteem than most months, but as an adult it has lost most of its luster.  There's no such thing as summer vacation: it's a blur of going to work, and the heat just makes it more grueling, not more fun.  Sweating through my long sleeves in July, week after week after week of monotonous work?  And I don't get to make it to any barbecues or fireworks displays?  And I'm in my thirties, so birthdays are not fun?  Yeah, I'd say July was more for the kid in me.

But the reason July rocks is the weather.  Again, I'm talking about Missouri, not Texas.  Back home, late July seems to be when all the awesome thunderstorms happen.  Every day, the horizon is a majestic mural of cumulonimbus clouds.  And the scent of summer rain in Missouri--before, during, and after the storm--is the best.  I guess I always thought of summer as the "default" natural state of the universe, that the other three seasons were aberrations that you just had to get through in order to restore order.

Yeah, so now July sucks.  In Texas, anyway.  There are seldom any thunderstorms or cumulonimbus clouds, and it's far too hot.  April happens in February, and October comes and goes without being heralded by cooler climes and changing leaves.  They say there are still four seasons in Texas: almost summer, summer, still summer, and deer season.  That's about right.

I just wanted to clear the air.  Yes, October rules, but the rejuvenation of April is actually more desirable than the fun of October... but just barely, and not for very long.  July, in theory, is awesome.

I'm glad we got that straight.

Now, most of my readers are probably suffering through blizzard season right now.  Hang in there.  Think of warm rain, and being able to walk outside without putting on a coat first.  Spring is coming... but you have to survive March first.  Not me!  I live in Texas, where it's already April!