In the past few weeks, Gainesville has slowly begun to transform for fall. Toys ‘R’ Us has racks full of costumes. Target has already started putting Halloween candy on the shelves.  Cracker Barrel has wreaths of autumn leaves on the doors. And Yankee Candle has candles scented like pumpkins, candy corn and pretty much everything else fall related.

But there is one thing missing from this town as we prepare for the new season: cooler weather. When I walk outside, I am dripping with sweat before I get to the car. And when I take the dog for a walk, my clothes are sticking to me by the time I get home.

Fall is, by far, my favorite time of year. I love pulling out my pumpkins and candles from the closet and decorating my home.  Everything just feels so warm and cozy, like I should make a hot cup of something and snuggle under a blanket.  But the problem is, it’s still so warm outside that if drank a hot cup of tea then walked outside, I’d probably faint.

If we could just get the temperature to drop by a few degrees and maybe get a few trees to turn to shades of yellow or red, then at least I wouldn’t feel so silly hanging up autumn decorations. But no such luck. Weather.com is predicting our temperatures to stay in the high 80s for all of September. And as far as the low temperatures go, I wonder why they even bother with those.

But I guess I shouldn’t complain, since I will be more than happy to be able to walk out to my car without trudging through 5 feet of snow come December. I really enjoy living in Florida, but a little reprieve from the hot, hot weather would be nice now and then. Maybe it’s just me, but it always seems like people tend to be nicer and more patient as the temperature drops. I know I smile more when my body doesn’t feel like it’s had the life sucked out of it by the Florida heat.

But for now, until December comes and we have a day or two of cool weather, maybe I’ll just close my blinds, make some hot chocolate for the family and pretend like it isn’t a million degrees outside my front door.