To Everyone Who Finally Turned Their Heat On Last Night….

Listen, I feel ya. I was cruising around online last night and this morning, I noticed a lot of us are in the same boat. Maybe your the type who made a pact to wait until October 1st, or maybe you've built a fire but justified it because you didn't turn on the 'actual' furnace. But no matter how you slice it, it all means one thing...

The heat was on.

Last night my wife got home from work earlier than me, and when I walked in the door, it immediately felt different than usual. I wasn't greeted by the warmth of my wife's smile (well, that's not true...shes's awesome), but by actual warmth. And in that moment, I knew we had crossed a seasonal threshold that there was no turning back from. Did I shed a slight tear? No. But I think I heard my wallet whimper.

I saw people talking online back during those chilly days in August, about how they were on the fence about turning on the heat. And then of course, because this is Maine, we had a very warm beginning and end to September, to lull us into the possibility we could hold onto summer a bit longer. And that was nice.

But then, like a band-aid being ripped off a kid's knee, I walk out of work last night, and it's only 44 degrees. Mother Nature simply packed up the last shred of summer and scooted it out of here faster than New Yorkers leave Bar Harbor on Labor Day. There was no warning. Just warm, then cold. Boom.

So now, I'm suddenly burdened with all this activity. Apparently, it's time to remember to check the oil tank, get the furnace and chimney cleaned...the whole shebang. Ugh. Summer is done, so it's DEFCON 5. Although, I believe DEFCON 1 is the worst. But 5 sounds way worse. At any rate, you get the point. It's game on.

It's not like I need to school anyone on what to do, everyone has their fall routine. But sadly, we just all have to face the fact that it's time. Time to embrace heat, instead of complain about it. Time for the crackle of the fire, instead of the roar of the air conditioner. Time to admit that we've come full circle again... that we're going to actually want to be warm.