First of all, I just love fall. The stereotypical #whitegirl comes out in me. The infamous PSL (pumpkin spice latte, of course), the changing of the leaves, the leggings, the boots, the sweaters. The whole shebang.
I love all the harmless banter that goes along with football - both college and professional - and the rivalries. I love wearing my old ECU t-shirts on Saturdays and my Giants gear on Sundays. I love the weekly pools that I do with Patrick and his family to see who wins.
And of course, I love "hurricane season" which is certainly unique to the East Coast. Having been raised on the Eastern Shore, we certainly experienced our fair share of hurricanes. Naturally, when I was younger, it was mostly the idea of potential days off from school if the weather was severe enough. Who doesn't love a hurricane day? Flashback to 9 years ago, I was just weeks into my freshman year at East Carolina University. Hurricane Ernesto reared its rather ugly head, and we were flooded beyond belief. Honestly, it didn't take much for the Tar River to overflow. I decided to stay at college for the weekend. I figured I was safest staying put rather than trying to travel home, which was still in the direct path of the hurricane. Something told me to move my car from the bottom of the College Hill parking lot up to the lot just behind my dorm. Since it was the weekend, we were permitted to do that. I waited until I found an open spot, and ran down as fast as I could to move my car. GOOD THING - later that night, the cars that weren't able to be moved had flooding all the way up to the car door handles. It was absolutely insane. Classes were cancelled for days.
Hard to believe that was 9 years ago. I'm always going on about how time flies, but it's so unreal!
Speaking of hurricanes . . we've got Tropical Storm Joaquin coming up the coast which was just upgraded to a Cat 1 hurricane this morning. I still get just as excited as I did when I was little. Not sure why because there are no such things as "hurricane days" when you're essential personnel at the hospital. I just love how everyone gets all worked up about getting their milk and bread, even though we hardly ever need more than a day or two worth of supplies, if that.
Anyway - tis the season!