As the Leaves Change:
Well, it's fall, and homesickness has struck me hard once again. As much as I love Scotland, it's hard to beat the fresh crispness that Fall in Michigan has to offer. Some days it feels like there is a larger variety of activities in the fall at home, but perhaps its just that I am totally miserable in the summer, due to heat and humidity reasons, that makes me want to spend more time outside when its a bit more chilly.
Honestly, the feeling of Fall weather in Michigan is hard to describe, there is something so simple and beautiful about watching the leave change colors en masse during September, and there is always that one tree that stays green until mid-November. Going to apple orchards and buying apples by the bushel, even though we might only eat 5 or 6 and the rest turn into applesauce and pie. Arguing about what orchard has the best apple cider this year because you've been to about 7 orchards a-piece and you need more (also, nothing beats fresh donuts from the orchard). Waiting until October 1st for all the Halloween corn mazes to open, walking in the dark and getting lost, but Shott insists that it just means that we are getting a bargain, because we get to see all of it.
Growing up in mid-western America leads to singular celebration of the seasons, its exciting as the year goes by because of the opportunities each month presents for us. Autumn is associated with the harvest, and Michigan is no stranger to making the months leading up to Thanksgiving feel like a celebration of the hard work from planting in the summer. Perhaps, I feel this harder than others because my grandparents owned a farm and I remember long summers of planting onions and other vegetables.
After so many years of old traditions, it is hard to create new ones, we keep reaching for feelings that can't exist here, and ultimately we become disappointed. I wouldn't say this is a fault of Scotland, but a fault I find in myself. Its unrealistic to expect a place that it not home and demand it to have things that make me feel like I've never left. What is more realistic is to find new activities and feelings that Scotland can offer that make it feel like a new home. And even though I'm trying to find new traditions doesn't mean I need to abandon all of my old ones - I still make applesauce like its my job. ;)
EDIT: Shott pointed out to me that the day I wrote this post it was 96°F (35°C) in Michigan. So, I guess Scotland is more like home than even Michigan right now. Nice to have a little perspective.
Honestly, the feeling of Fall weather in Michigan is hard to describe, there is something so simple and beautiful about watching the leave change colors en masse during September, and there is always that one tree that stays green until mid-November. Going to apple orchards and buying apples by the bushel, even though we might only eat 5 or 6 and the rest turn into applesauce and pie. Arguing about what orchard has the best apple cider this year because you've been to about 7 orchards a-piece and you need more (also, nothing beats fresh donuts from the orchard). Waiting until October 1st for all the Halloween corn mazes to open, walking in the dark and getting lost, but Shott insists that it just means that we are getting a bargain, because we get to see all of it.
Growing up in mid-western America leads to singular celebration of the seasons, its exciting as the year goes by because of the opportunities each month presents for us. Autumn is associated with the harvest, and Michigan is no stranger to making the months leading up to Thanksgiving feel like a celebration of the hard work from planting in the summer. Perhaps, I feel this harder than others because my grandparents owned a farm and I remember long summers of planting onions and other vegetables.
After so many years of old traditions, it is hard to create new ones, we keep reaching for feelings that can't exist here, and ultimately we become disappointed. I wouldn't say this is a fault of Scotland, but a fault I find in myself. Its unrealistic to expect a place that it not home and demand it to have things that make me feel like I've never left. What is more realistic is to find new activities and feelings that Scotland can offer that make it feel like a new home. And even though I'm trying to find new traditions doesn't mean I need to abandon all of my old ones - I still make applesauce like its my job. ;)
EDIT: Shott pointed out to me that the day I wrote this post it was 96°F (35°C) in Michigan. So, I guess Scotland is more like home than even Michigan right now. Nice to have a little perspective.
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