Even living in sunny southern California where the weather persists in the 70s Fahrenheit, I still feel the onset of fall. A part of it is the cooler mornings and evenings. Another part is being greeted by a dusky sky when leaving the lab around my usual hour. What strikes me the strongest, though, is the descending mist of nostalgia that settles in for a few weeks at minimum.
It usually happens in early fall, about one or two weeks after the equinox. I remember old friendships the most. People who used to mean the most to me at an earlier stage in life. People with whom I wish I hadn’t fallen out of touch. I also remember my childhood, bicycling around my neighborhood with my siblings, delighting in the vibrant, fiery trees all around.
I love autumn. I loved it especially when I lived in a deciduous forest biome. To me it’s a reminder of the memorable people and moments in my past. It’s a yearning for a connectedness that no single human can fulfill.