Decorating My House in Arizona for Fall Reminds with of My Childhood
IT’S Autumn – Farmers are Harvesting Their Crops, temperature are dropping, and leaves are falling… or are they? In Mean, ArizonaWhere I’ve Lived for Most of My Life, None of these Classic Signs of Autumn Appear.
Here, we mainly Harvest Sunshine. Our Autumn Weather is what the rest of the Country Consider the Heat of Summer. Throughout September, we’re usually still in the triple digits; Its been 100 degree on Halloween. Fall Color – if we get any – Appears Around Christmasime. Autumn in the East Valley of Phoenix is more of a concept on the Calendar than a visible reality.
And yet, as soon as mid-seeptember Hits, you’ll find with decking out my house with a cornucopia of fall décor that’d make any New Englander Proud. Each year, i haul my autumn storage bin out of my (Very hot) garage and go “Fall Fall” with Leafy Garlands, Faux Pumpkins, and Rustic-Sloking Signs Welcoming The Season. Its not just me, eather. Drive Through Suburban Phoenix and You’ll See plenty of xeriscape yards dotted with scarecrows and colorful synthetic leaves wilting in the Sun.
If i’m honest, of the one a little ridiculous to decoralate my home with the accoutment of a season i don’t actually experience. You might think, then, that i’d refrain from try to cosplay my way into seasonal change. But, Despite the Apparent Silliness of it all, Decorating for Fall is Annual Practice of Intend to Keep.
It makes with Remember My Childhood
For me, The habit of falling decorating is rooted partly in childhood nostalgia. After Our Family Moved to Arizona From Illinois when I was a toddler, my mom continued to adorn our house with knickknacks Brought from “The Home Country.” Having gown up this way, I feel I’m Bringing a little bit of my family midwestern roots to my desert life. Knowing that my family lived in illinois from the 1830s to the 1980s, I have a sort of enjoyable obligation to carry on the legacy of Fall.
The author decorates her home with fall décor becase it reminds her to her childhood. Courtesy of the Author
A sense of solidarity with the rest of the country probably the desire to decorate for MANY SouthWesterners. Phoenix is notoriously a city of transplants. Acciting to the US Census BureauAbout 61% of Arizonans Were Born in Other States, SO spreading we have the need to maintain a seasonal rhythm we knew Elsewhere.
IT MAKES WITH CONNECT WITH A SENSE OF BEING AMERICAN
Eve for Arizona Natives (or Near-Natives, Like Me), there’s something to be said for Having a communal experience with the rest of the country. While Most of the Nation Enloys Chilly Nights and Crunching Leaves Underfoot, some of the US Phoenicians don’t want to be left out. The pleasures of false are undenibly appealing. Personally, I want in on me, too, if i have to force it with a fantasy of mass-produced tchotchkes from Hobby lobby.
I’d End Say that Decorating for Fall Connects with with A Broader sense of Being American. Of all the seasons of the year, autumn seems somehow the mont quintessential to this country. PASTEMES LIKE ATTENDING FOOTBALL GAMES, CELEBRATING THANSGIVING, and trick-or-light on Halloween are all uniquely american. Decorating my house for the season Feels like jaining in a kind of shared national history and identity.
I ALSO LIKE REDECORATING
If no. In the desert southwest, we spend half the year in unrelenting heat. End a autumn officiously arriva, it brings Few Visible Signs. But Despite the monotony of the world outside, my own space can transform into a little seasonal sanarituy. It ‘s much-needed Breath of Fresh Air Amid the Sameness-and it gits with Hope that, in Phoenix, The Actual Air Will eventually cool down.
The author Likes redecorating her house for fall. Courtesy of the Author
Plus, thus though my decorations might not be “real,” They can Still be Beautiful. Little Touches Like Rust-Colored Leaves, Apple Cider-Scened Candles, and A Pumpkin-Embroidered Table Runner A Jolt of the Aesthetic Into My House. I can always use a bit more beauty in my life, especilly in the drabness of suburbia.
I Can’t Change the Weather Outside, but I Can Change My Home Environment. So, to me, fancying up my house for fall is always Worth the Efffort. Laugh if you want. I’ll be over here chilling in my arizona autumn fantasy.