Embracing Autumn

Unless you were fortunate enough to have outdoor employment or are spending retirement closeted away, life post-work is inevitably more cognisant of the changing seasons.

After the long, drawn out, hot and languid days of summer it can be emotionally draining to experience the transition from sunshine to the dark evenings, stiff breezes and rainstorms of autumn. In fact it demonstrates just how dry this year's summer was when, despite being British and spending the whole of your adulthood with an umbrella wielded to your arm, you are actually surprised when it rains. Depressed, disillusioned, and dejected: a sorrowful reaction to the traditional season of golden leaves, floating mist and wide, breathtaking skies.

When I was working, I had a tendency to ignore the progress of the seasons, to batten down and continue, oblivious to the changing elements, cocooned from the outside by four walls with a pile of files to concentrate on and distract.

In retirement there are no barriers unless you purposefully erect them. Instead autumn stands there ready for your embrace. 

Whilst being nudged to start spending more time indoors, I have found that there are still plenty of dry and fine hours to pass outside, tidying up in the garden in a race against the oncoming ravages of winter. Then there is the time that I am employing in the kitchen making jams and chutneys with the produce from the vegetable plot and fruit trees.

At the gym a new season of classes has begun and everyone has returned from their summer activities reinvigorated and keen to work out.

 

A mild sun-filled day is mine to seize the moment, to go where I choose without meeting the masses now back behind their desks. The diminshing hedgerows provide the perfect opportunity to spot wildlife and the setting sun can create stupendous effects.

It is a time of year for treating ourselves with kindness, I confess to a love of a little extra care and comfort, pampered by a cushion or fleecy throw perhaps. Well deserved rewards, space to indulge in our hobbies and creativity, smiling in tune with nature. It's the time to start a new nightclass (or in my case take up painting); wear socks and shoes (no sandals) again; learn new words like psithurism to describe the sound of wind in the trees and rustling leaves.

Moreover if the cold and darkness become too overwhelming, in retirement we have a "Get out of Jail Card" with the freedom to press the escape button without seeking leave of absence from anyone else, enabling the possibility of a trip away including to warmer climes. 

Falling leaves; rosehips and berries; longer shadows and shorter days; oranges and browns. Give autumn a hug; I love it.