As I was driving back from dropping the grandson off for soccer practice I noticed a sign alongside the road. Hand painted on a piece of plywood it read, MUMS. My immediate thought was, it's fall. The seasons are being rushed into we are all aware of that. The Halloween candy went up when the 4th of July stuff came down. Now it appears the mums have joined in. I've still got my tomato plant producing and flowers are in bloom, there is no place no Mums. I don't know, it was just a shock I guess. When I got home the evening news was on. I was watching that with my wife and telling her about those mums when the newscaster mentioned a corn maze ! Yup, this farm that creates a corn maze every year has it ready for business. Oh my goodness, corn mazes too ! Did I just hear Jingle Bells or is it my imagination ?
Now this is something I have mentioned several years, and probably several times during those years, it's nothing new. Still those mums appearing on the side of road was a jolt. I was thinking about the grass that needs mowing and what I might put on the grill for labor day, fall decorations weren't part of that picture. The wife and I do have a small collection of " door decorations " that we hang to announce the arrival of the various holidays and seasons. In fact just a little while back we bought one that says, Welcome Autumn. " It has the obligatory pumpkins, corn stalks and bales of hay on it, along with some glitter. We picked it up at the Dollar store shortly after the fourth of July, laughing as we did so about the fall decorations being out. Somehow it doesn't seem so funny today.
I can't help but think we are now living by a commercial calendar. It certainly seems all the seasons are geared toward sales. I was never a farmer or one who lived off the land. I did grow up with an understanding of that somewhat. In the spring you had the fresh turned earth and the crops went in. The flowers began to bloom and the grass was greening up. The warmth arrived a little earlier in the morning hours, the world was waking up from that long winters nap. Spring was celebrated for the gift of life. Then we had those lazy, hazy days of summer. Life was good, even the rain was celebrated as a gift. The fall was harvest time, a time to be grateful for whatever bounty the good earth had provided us. It was also the time to prepare. Prepare for the winter months. All the seasons being tied to the cycle of life, of birth and death. Modern man has lost that connection for the most part. The seasons dictate the products that are for sale. That much has always been true. Even in my youth certain products were not available for purchase until they became available locally. Things like cantaloupe or watermelons weren't shipped in from California or foreign countries. If the local farmer didn't grow it you most likely didn't get it. My Mother tells me they didn't get oranges at all until Christmas, as a special treat, because they were so expensive. The local grocery store, owned by Mom and Pop didn't stock such things as a matter of course. Now we expect to be able to get whatever we want, whenever we want it. The calendar means little to us in that regard. The calendar marks the passage of time. As any " senior " will tell you, time flies. I sure wish we would stop rushing headlong into each season. We are only given just so many seasons, let's not use them all up at once ! Mums and corn mazes ? Really, already ?
Now this is something I have mentioned several years, and probably several times during those years, it's nothing new. Still those mums appearing on the side of road was a jolt. I was thinking about the grass that needs mowing and what I might put on the grill for labor day, fall decorations weren't part of that picture. The wife and I do have a small collection of " door decorations " that we hang to announce the arrival of the various holidays and seasons. In fact just a little while back we bought one that says, Welcome Autumn. " It has the obligatory pumpkins, corn stalks and bales of hay on it, along with some glitter. We picked it up at the Dollar store shortly after the fourth of July, laughing as we did so about the fall decorations being out. Somehow it doesn't seem so funny today.
I can't help but think we are now living by a commercial calendar. It certainly seems all the seasons are geared toward sales. I was never a farmer or one who lived off the land. I did grow up with an understanding of that somewhat. In the spring you had the fresh turned earth and the crops went in. The flowers began to bloom and the grass was greening up. The warmth arrived a little earlier in the morning hours, the world was waking up from that long winters nap. Spring was celebrated for the gift of life. Then we had those lazy, hazy days of summer. Life was good, even the rain was celebrated as a gift. The fall was harvest time, a time to be grateful for whatever bounty the good earth had provided us. It was also the time to prepare. Prepare for the winter months. All the seasons being tied to the cycle of life, of birth and death. Modern man has lost that connection for the most part. The seasons dictate the products that are for sale. That much has always been true. Even in my youth certain products were not available for purchase until they became available locally. Things like cantaloupe or watermelons weren't shipped in from California or foreign countries. If the local farmer didn't grow it you most likely didn't get it. My Mother tells me they didn't get oranges at all until Christmas, as a special treat, because they were so expensive. The local grocery store, owned by Mom and Pop didn't stock such things as a matter of course. Now we expect to be able to get whatever we want, whenever we want it. The calendar means little to us in that regard. The calendar marks the passage of time. As any " senior " will tell you, time flies. I sure wish we would stop rushing headlong into each season. We are only given just so many seasons, let's not use them all up at once ! Mums and corn mazes ? Really, already ?
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