The hallmarks of Fall

As a child, Fall meant crunchy leaves, school supplies, potato harvest and Halloween.
As a teenager, Fall meant volleyball, homecoming, school pride, and Thanksgiving.
In college, Fall meant crisp campus walks and night games clad from head to toe in dark clothes.
Today, in Arizona, Fall means highs below 90, a whole day without car A/C and putting on a pair of jeans.

I've been a desert transplanted potato for over 6 years now, and one of the things I miss the most are varying seasons.  I always loved Fall, it always seemed full of color and fun and new beginnings, but today I realized how much I miss that as I contemplated the fact that I was able to leave my car A/C off all day and that I was brave enough to try out my jeans for the first time in months (I learned very quickly here that if it's denim it better be closer to the knee than the ankle for a good chunk of the year so I've made friends with skirts, shorts, capris and lightweight pants to survive the Arizona heat).

While it's true that there are still some things that happen here that feel like Fall (like the wonderful pumpkin spice muffins my roommate's Mom made the other day), this Idaho girl sometimes misses the sweater weather and morning frosts and everything else that accompanies this prelude to winter.  I'm sorry Arizona, but it's just not the same.