Okay, that’s a lie.
I do. I always decorate for seasons. I am a Seasonal Decorating Addict.
We’re all familiar with the phrases “eat crow,” “eat your own words,” “pot calling the kettle black.” Yep, pretty much that’s me doing all of those, because once upon a time, I heckled people for seasonally decorating.
Here’s my defense, in no particular order:
- Inflatable yard decor.
- Window. clings.
- Bathtubs as spring flower planters
- Fake cobwebs
- Griswold-esque exterior illumination
I have strong memories of a particular house in my hometown that was kind of the mascot for seasonally-decorated homes. We could count on that home donning its seasonal decor on about the same timeline as Walmart stocking its shelves for the upcoming holiday…so approximately two months ahead of schedule. That is when I could likely have been quoted as saying something about the cheesiness of seasonal decor.
But here I am now, in all of my seasonally-decorated glory! I spent a bit of time today with fall decor as my focus, and I found my inner dialogue asking, “Why do I do this?”
As you can imagine, there is no profound answer to that non-profound question. Emotionally unsatisfying, I know š However, a theory is in the making, and I’d like to know what you think…
So, I visit the local produce/plant stand today, and I pay relatively reasonable prices for pumpkins, gourds, mums, and a straw bale. Upon returning home with my purchase, I crank up some JT and proceed to neatly display my haul, along with several other bits of seasonal decor that I have collected over the years (most of my decor is recycled year-after-year, as I attempt to breathe new life into it and use it in different ways). As I’m knocking down cobwebs from the corners of my porch (unlike some, I do not correlate cobwebs with fall decor!), I realized that what I was doing was sort of an obligatory homage to the region in which I reside. Or is it? I don’t even know. Do NYC urbanites decorate their high-rise balconies with corn stalks, hay bales, and scare crows?
As much as I love summer, I will admit that I also appreciate a sweet comfy sweatshirt, great-fitting jeans, a pumpkin donut, and a cup of hot apple cider…and apparently a porch decorated as if I live on a farm! And for whatever reason, I love the view of my seasonally-decorated porch!
