by Christina Vargas

Created on: September 09, 2009

Every year as the time approaches, the excitement within me builds. I can hear the cadence of the Friday night lights, the pupmkins line the shelves of our local craft store, and the county fair is on it's way. The sights and sounds of autumn march towards us. Every year in my classroom, I dust off the books with various titles about pupmkins, apples, jack-o-lanterns, turkeys and inevitabley leaves. It never fails that the question arises. The children want to know why their leaves do not change colors like the books say. The answer to that question can be spelled out in these letters...T-E-X-A-S.

Here in South Texas our leaves turn brown. There is dark brown, medium brown, and light brown. Occasionally, there maybe a splash of yellow, you know the type a banana turns before it rots. But, for the most part, our leaves just turn brown and crunchy. Forget about the notion of jumping into the piles of freshly raked,vibrant leaves. That can be quite painful here. I would not advise it.

Alas, the absence of autumn's trademark does not leave us without the appreciation of it's beauty and comfort. The rich color of the pigskin is almost beautiful as you watch large crowds huddle together in comraderie and excitement to watch that reddish brown ball bounce onto the green grass and fly through the dusky sky. The vibrant oranges,reds, browns,and greens of the sweaters and coats we pull out as the temperatures drop all the way to 65 degrees (brrrr), remind us that relief from the unbearable heat has arrived. What shines more briilliantly then the gold of a hay against the backdrop of a Texas sunset? Granted, that hay is sometimes just the dead grass in our front yard after the drought of summer, but it is still beautiful.

While we may only dream of the gold, red, and brown leaves that the rest of the country enjoys, we are not without an understnading of their significance. Down here in Texas, where we only see the changing of the leaves when we catch the workers setting up the autumn displays at Hobby Lobby and Walmart, we know what all those amazing autumn hues are about. They are about change, family, togetherness, warmth, excitement and anticipation. The only certain thing about life, is that it changes like the seasons. This we know as much as anyone up North. We also understand that family and togetherness provide a warmth that is warmer then the hot Texas sun. Above all else, we Texans know how to get excited. If you don't believe me, visit a highschool stadium on a Friday night. Now that leaves, excuse the pun, us at anticipation. Autumn brings with it anticipation of what you ask . Well, winter is what! Nothing beats the changing of the leaves here in Texas like a good ol' Texas snowfall!

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