Autumn: it's like your pinky toe, not so meaningful until it's gone

Is it just me, or is the world suddenly and inexplicably head over heels about autumn?  It is definitely worse in Bangkok because of our absence of fall weather, but I feel like even from people stateside, there is an explosion of love for all things fall. I don't get it. Fall has always just meant that winter is coming. Sure, going to the orchard or the cider mill is fun, but it's always colder than you want it to be, and far too often, damp. Growing up there was always one fall afternoon per year when we'd round the corner walking home from school and be able to see our yard and my stomach would just drop. There in the yard, would be my mom, with a rake. And that meant only one thing: we would be spending the next few hours grumpily raking wet soggy leaves onto the tarps and dragging them out to the street. Sadly, once we rounded that corner and could see her, she could also see us. There was no where to run. 

Don't hate me, but I think fall is actually something like your pinky toe- it doesn't mean much to you unless you lose it. I mean, the colors are nice and all, and apple cider is great, but we all lived for many years, decades even, without going stark raving mad about it. For the tropical expats, missing fall makes sense. Like a pinky toe, life seems just slightly unbalanced without it, but I don't know, it's also quite livable. For everybody else, I don't understand the craze. Or perhaps it is my imagination and people have been this excited for fall my whole life and I was too busy dreading winter to notice. Maybe the subtle excitement of the natives is being blown out of proportion in my mind by the over excitement of everyone around me. 

Seriously though, is it just me? Is this whole We Love Fall thing as recent a fad as I think it is? Either way, I'm going to go turn the AC down another degree or two, find a blanket, and see if I can dig up a YouTube episode of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. I'll come out again when spring comes.