Autumn

It’s now September, which means that summer is over and autumn is here.

I don’t remember the change of seasons being an issue for me while I was growing up but, as I’ve got older I’ve started to struggle with the darker days of autumn and winter that we get here in the northern hemisphere of the NW of England.  These seasons can be difficult for me if they’re dull and wet, especially if we’ve had a dreary and damp summer.

Over the last few years, I’ve made more of an effort to try and look forward to autumn and look for the good things to look forward to.  I began by thinking of the memories I had of autumn when I was younger.  

Things like - 

*Walking in the fallen leaves and listening to them crunch underfoot

*Going looking for conkers with my family

*Playing conkers (probably outlawed for health and safety reasons now)

*Loving watching the leaves change from green to the glorious autumnal colours of reds, oranges and yellows.

Even though this helps me a bit, I have developed a few seasonal self-care things that I do as summer changes to autumn.

*I open the curtains as soon as I can in a morning when it’s getting light out to get as much natural light as possible

*I try to get outside as much as possible, including a walk on my lunch break at work

*I make sure I take time to breathe and journal 

*Putting fairy lights on when I’m at home

*Making sure I get enough sleep; ideally between 7 1/2-8hours (this isn’t always easy)

Things I now enjoy about autumn which makes the transition of seasons a bit easier for me;

*Milky hot chocolate

*Cosying up on the sofa under a blanket

*Comfort foods - homemade veggie bolognese with garlic bread, my bean and rice lunches I make for work

*The perfect hoodie

*Snuggling under a duvet in bed

*The cool crisp autumnal air first thing in the morning. It’s still a practice that I’m working on as I only get to practice it a few months out of the year.