I love the smell of spring
Flowers
And rain.
I love thunderstorms.
I love dancing in the rain
While lightning flashes above me.
I love the way my hair blows
In the cool breeze.
I love the first day that a winter coat isn’t necessary
No gloves
No scarves
No socks
No boots
Just a shirt and jeans
Or perhaps a sundress.

I love the heat of the sun,
The way it feels on my face
As I sit and soak it in.
I love the beach,
Digging my feet into the sand,
Feeling the cool grains against my skin.
I love walking my dog
In bare feet
Trying so hard to get lost
Just for the excitement
Of being found.
I love driving with the windows down-
Every single window.
I love feeling the cool breeze on my face
As I drive,
Singing loudly
Only a little self-conscious in front of the people around me,
But mostly not caring.
I love taking the long way home
If it means I can finish that one amazing song.
I love eight-hour days of band
Sweat
Pain
One more rep
Faster tempos
Never ending
Then finally, a water break.
I love the days when all we can manage to do
Is sit inside, in our air-conditioned homes
Thinking of the days of blankets
And sweatshirts
And how they’re gone
At least for a few more months.
I love having no homework,
Just reading whatever I want.
I love walking to the library
And leaving with at least five novels in my arms,
Perhaps a movie, too.

I love buying school supplies
The smell of fresh, unused notebooks
Begging for words on their pages.
I love getting my schedule,
Calling friends,
Are you in this class?
Is this a good teacher?
I love setting up my locker-
Neat
Clean
Empty.
No tape, no old papers,
No dead pens.
I love the first day of school-
New teachers
Or perhaps some old ones.
I love studying each room
Learning who else is in my classes.
I love mygradebook.com on the first day,
Seeing the cheery 100% next to
Every class.
I love homework the first night
Perhaps because I am blissfully unaware
Of the torture I will go through in the year to come,
But I love being productive,
Desperately holding onto that 100%
As long as I can.
I love marching band.
There is no way I could write about how much I love marching band.
It’s just
My life.
It defines me.
Maybe that’s obsessive,
But I don’t care.
I love it.
I love the changing leaves in the autumn.
I love stepping on extra crunchy ones.
I love turning down a street that has extra vibrant colors-
Reds
Oranges
Yellows
Maybe even some lingering greens
All mixing to make a wonderful mixture
Of beauty
Which I can never seem to exhaust.
I love the fall breeze,
Crisp,
Refreshing after a hot summer.
I love apple cider
Apple pie
Hay rides
Leaf jumping
I fully intend to participate in
Autumn Lovers Club at the University of Illinois
Because
I’m an autumn lover.
I love the slow, steady decline in temperatures.
Break out the jackets
And the jeans.
Put away the flip-flops.

I love the first snow
Before we grow sick of it
And the fluffy white stuff is just
Pretty
Covering the trees
In such a way that only snow can.
I love icicles
Utterly unique,
A wonder of nature.
I love being wrapped in soft blankets
Like my own personal cocoon.
I love hot chocolate
With a handful of marshmallows
Slowly melting into a white foam
At the top of the cup.
I love to curl up
With a book-
A great book,
The kind you can’t put down until the
Very
Last
Page.
I love fireplaces,
Their crackle and light
Sitting with my family
With a good game of Monopoly
Even though my Dad always wins.
I love cutting down Christmas trees,
Going to Wisconsin with my family
Finding the perfect one
With just the right smell
No sharp needles
Not too small, not too big.
I love bringing the tree home and decorating it
Dad does the lights, and then we take over
With homemade and purchased ornaments.
I love Christmas-
Music
Family
Celebration
Presents
Getting presents.
But mostly I love giving
The look on their faces

When I know I found the perfect gift.
I love snowmen,
Snow angels
Sledding

I love all the seasons.
I love the variety.
I love not having a favorite;
I love loving them all.