UNITED STATES—Goodbye summer, hello fall! That’s right people, those hot summer months are just a week or two from disappearing for good, and the autumn weather is about to explode in full force with a host of other things. For starters, the kids are BACK IN SCHOOL!

Yes, for most parents this is a massive relief, because they now have 8-9 hours a day to take care of things without dealing with the kiddies causing turmoil around the house. That is also a good thing to help keep those fragile minds from losing focus. If they have too much time to wander, the mind will continue to wander.

Also its time to get those fall clothes out of storage; those jackets, jeans and other clothing that you’ve been DYING to wear, now is the time. Put those summer clothes away and pull out the attire that you should be able to wear for the next 6-9 months. However, the most important thing to me about fall is the holidays. Yes, there are so many holidays in the fall compared to any other time of the year.

Up first we have Halloween, yes the day that we get the opportunity to dress up and pretend to be someone that we’re not, indulge in plenty of parties and of course, get all those tasty, sweet treats. For me, Halloween is great because we can indulge in all things supernatural, spooky and deliver scares to those who least expect it.

Just when Halloween ends, the shopping season kicks off in force in the month of November as we prepare ourselves for Christmas! The pinnacle of all shopping days, Black Friday, umm, it’s now Black Thursday gives Americans the opportunity to shop like never before during all types of hours and garner some deals that you’ll never see the rest of the year.

I personally love AUTUMM because it’s all about family. You have Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, some could make the argument that Christmas happens close to winter, which is true, but at the same time, we’ve had a few Christmas holidays where the weather has been more fall like than winter.

I love Thanksgiving, because as someone who likes to cook, food brings people together, and what better way to bond with family than over a festive meal. Our family is big on tradition, and even bigger uniting during the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. Its one big potluck for our family, and for those who like to cook savory or sweet, nothing is off limits. Is it awkward to mingle with those family members who get underneath your skin? Of course, but if you’re not fighting with your family than you don’t love them in my opinion!

Then we have Christmas people. The holiday that is all about giving, yet so many people think it’s about receiving. I’m a fan of Christmas because the thought of giving makes me so giddy inside; buying gifts and seeing the smiles on family member’s faces just delivers a warm feeling inside. Also I like the cool weather. I mean 40 to 50 degree weather in my opinion is somewhat comfortable. You can wear a jacket and you don’t have to worry about getting ‘too hot’ and trying to cool yourself off.

The fall ushers in the opportunity for us to get back into the kitchen and cook up some tasty meals without worrying about the massive heat getting to our bodies or causing some of us to become a bit irritable. It’s unfortunate because this is also a time of the year where we tend to pack on a few extra pounds because the cooler temperatures make us a bit lazy. However, there are much more positives with the fall season than there are negatives in my personal opinion.