Autumn resolutions

Summer, it appears, is over for another year.

 

I don't mind saying that in late September. Even if we didn't get much of one this year, I can't stand it when people start with the "heating's staying on" or "no summer this year!" nonsense because we get a chilly day in May (looking at you, most of Irish Twitter). But I don't mind it now because I like autumn.

 

I like autumn because of spiced coffee, lumberjack-style shirts and the start of ice hockey season. I love that sweet smell of wet leaves and fireworks. I like the excitement of the kids going back to school (they’re still young enough that going back to school isn’t the worst thing ever) and scouts and sports.

 

Back when I was in school, autumn meant new clothes and books, new surroundings and maybe a new teacher. If you were lucky, you might get a new bag or lunchbox or one of those fold-open vinyl pencil cases with the movie or ‘cartoon du jour’ on it and a full spectrum of new felt-tip pens inside.

 

It was the perfect time for resolutions – I'll do my homework as soon as I get home, I'll eat better lunches, I won't talk back to the teacher this year. Autumn, much more so than January 1st, was the perfect time for a fresh start.

 

Consciously or unconsciously, I've carried this view of autumn forward into adult life. Somehow I’ve started almost every job I have between August and October, so a fresh start has remained something for this time of year. This is still when I make my resolution, though it’s remarkable how little they’ve changed. I resolve to be better organised and do my ironing before Sunday evening (the grown-up version of last minute homework), to not just eat cold-weather comfort food, to not talk back to AJ's teacher.

 

I have vague hopes of sticking jerseys on the kids, making the drive to Belfast and cheering on the Giants, and wildly optimistic fantasies about pints in pubs with fireplaces. Before long, I’ll be looking forward to Christmas.

 

Yes, it’s easy to say all this now. Right now out my window it’s bright and unseasonably warm. The enthusiasm hasn’t been dampened (literally or figuratively) by sudden downpours, weird attic smells from the box of winter clothes, faulty heating and sudden spikes in the gas bill or the interminable sound of ‘bangers.’ Kicking through leaves and drinking hot chocolate in an Enid Blyton-y kind of way is still the picture in everyone’s head at Madden Mansions, and if I can keep it there until it’s time to write the Santa letters, then I think I’ll be doing well.

 

I have to go for now, though. I need some new pens for work and I’m pretty sure I saw a Star Wars set in Easons.

 

John Madden is a freelance designer, writer and dad from Dublin. You can find him on Twitter as @johnmadden78.

 

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