I like the season, fall. I think it’s my favorite time of year.

Odd that it makes me think so much about life when it’s the time of year when the lushness of summer relinquishes its hold over the local scenery.

Fall’s changing weather is a good metaphor for my health and energy. The season features good days and bad days. Sometimes I’m full of energy and sometimes I can’t sleep or my joints are a little stiff. I don’t always know why.

On some days, the sun is so warm and close that you can feel your face warming up as you read just inside your living room window or when you do dishes at your kitchen sink.

Its rain, unlike summer thunderstorms that come on suddenly and leave just as quickly, can last several days. The newly fallen leaves seem to turn into a brownish paste on the sidewalk and stick to your shoes and clog the sewer covers in the street.

Fall rain is not a passing event, predicted to the minute by the local weather service. Fall rain settles in for some time and has the power to color your mood for a while.

Fall reminds me to downsize.

When I go through my biannual closet cleaning and transferring ritual, I think about what I really need right now. I’ll pack up my tees and sundresses and move them into the closet in my guest room and bring my nice sweaters back to my bedroom closet.

I’ll count my dry cleaning bags with just a little anxiety, praying that I didn’t inadvertently leave any beloved cashmere Christmas present at the cleaners last April when I finally gave up the notion that I might yet need to dress for warmth.

I’ll try to delay turning on my furnace when the nights start getting colder as if there’s a magic date I need to adhere to. I’ll walk around my home wearing extra layers for much of October, like I’m camping inside, until I finally break down and turn the heat on.

Fall has taught me, life has taught me, that there is no magic date for anything. Except for filing your taxes, each person pretty much decides when he can do something and understands what the consequences are for taking different actions.

Trying to delay turning on the furnace in the fall because of the cost, then programming thermostat thresholds when comfort becomes more important is an odd form of self-acceptance that seems to come with middle age. I appreciate the struggle, the friction over weighing my options and finally making a decision.

In the fall, making plans for entertainment is different. You have to be more conscious. You have to do more research, but that’s okay.

In the summer, I know there are almost always outdoor concerts I can go to. Or, I can amuse myself simply by sitting out on my deck, sipping a drink and watching the trains go by.

It’s entertaining just to be outside.

In the fall, there are plays and gallery openings and new TV shows. It’s easier to get together with friends (who are usually back from vacations), but you’re required to plan things more, to make more of an effort. It’s good to ask yourself what do you really want to do?

I think of fall as a time for new beginnings. Like many plants, it seems you can’t expect new growth until you cut away old shoots that don’t grow any more. Fall is the right time for this.

It’s a time to ask yourself what do you love. What do you really want in your life?

Fall presents a great reminder not to take anything for granted, and that’s no small thing.