Column: From cool mornings to hot afternoons: Ohio’s seasonal struggle

In the last few weeks, fall has made several attempts to enter our lives, but Mother Nature hasn’t been too encouraging. We have a cool day, followed by a day in the mid-80s. It’s very difficult to know what to wear from one day to another. Of course, this is Ohio, and Mother Nature loves to keep folks guessing.

I will admit the warm, bright sun and the clear blue skies are greatly enjoyed. The tree leaves are slowly turning beautiful colors, and the nights are generally always cool. Of course, we know what follows fall — the long, cold winter.

A few days ago, I woke up and it was 49 F outside. I had several things I needed to get done, so I put on long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and a sweater. By the time a couple of my chores were done, the temperature had risen, the sun had gotten hot and I had the car air-conditioning on high. That evening it was after 7 p.m. before the outside temperature began to drop. At 10 p.m. the temperature was still in the mid-70s. Fall can do better than that.

But as the beautiful tree leaves begin to fall and the trees begin to look bare, we know that winter is coming. Our children love winter just as we once did when we were kids. Kids love to play in the snow, ride their sleds and enjoy having school canceled. Reaching adulthood changes our attitude. We adults have to shovel our walks and driveways, drive on slippery roads, pay higher prices to keep our houses warm, and change our plans when school is canceled and our children stay home.

Of course, there are great holidays during wintertime, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and Valentine’s Day. Actually, many folks love winter. I wish I could be like those folks.

Perhaps one morning I’ll wake up glad it’s winter and rush outside to play in the snow. That is as likely to happen as me waking up one morning with wings on my shoulders and flying around the house. If I’m given a choice of what happens when I wake up that morning, I'm pretty sure I’ll choose wings.

Laura Moore can be emailed at lehmoore1@gmail.com.