Fallophoboia

You won't find this condition in the DSM. It's real, though. It's the fear of falling leaves, nips in the air and all the other harbingers of autumn that put a skip in other people's steps.

I won't deny that I've enjoyed the last few low-humidity days, the blue skies of Sunday, the white puffy clouds, sleeping under a light cover with the windows thrown open to the evening air.

But brown leaves on pavement give me a fright, as do quieter nights, crickets only, no katydids.

I love summer, that's all there is to it. And while I console myself with the knowledge that spring will be here again before we know it, the truth of the matter is that we must trudge through fall and winter to get there. And sometimes that seems like a tall order.