Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

 

“Hey, April, the coffee shop has this new pumpkin spice syrup that’s to die for! You can add it to your coffee, latte, frappe, la Grande…”

Fun facts about myself: I don’t drink coffee and I don’t like pumpkin spice flavor.

I know. I know! I don’t partake in the most basic of fall female rituals. Am I even human?

I love fall. I love the fact that I was able to wear a hoodie the other day. Granted, it was in my air-conditioned office, but I wore one. It was so breezy that I couldn’t keep my hair out of my face. Frustrating, sure. But there was something magical about it. The sun was warm on my skin, my hoodie was covering any midsection shortcomings and the wind was just strong enough to make the trees move and remove any possibility that I would sweat. It was glorious.

I took a trip up to Fargo last weekend. My brother got my mom two tickets to the Bob Segar concert for her birthday. My birthday gift was that my father didn’t really want to go, so I got the extra ticket. The concert was awesome. Our seats were so close that we didn’t need to watch the giant screens. My favorite part of the whole thing? That I got to spend a little time back in Fargo with my mom.

I went to college up there; lived for about five years in the Fargo/Moorhead area and I just loved it. Sure, it tends to flood in the spring. Yeah, it gets crazy cold in the winter. But from about May to October, it’s just the best.

Maybe I love it so much because that’s the town I became an adult in. Living on my own, trying to pay bills and make doctor appointments. I tell you what, there are few things more adult-y than scheduling your own appointments. But there is something about the feel of the air up there. As my mother and I were walking from my car to the concert venue, a smile appeared on my lips.

Sure, Fargo doesn’t have a ton of foliage changing color, so perhaps Duluth or the entire northeast actually do have better falls. But to me, it’s more than that. There are three major collages there, which means college kids everywhere. College kids in their hoodies walking to class. There’s something about how they walk in herds and hover at crosswalks; it makes me want to park my car and venture out with them, find myself auditing a human studies class and daydreaming about the party that kept me up all night.

The breeze is so strong up there, that you have to hold your car door as you open it for fear that the wind will rip your door wide open and slam it into the vehicle next to you. That same wind will give you the best wild hairstyle. Yes, I did style my hair with the wind in mind when I lived there — the messier the better. I would literally flip my head upside-down and hairspray it. Shake my head and spray it some more. I mean, you can’t control the wind, but you can definitely adjust your sails.

So yeah, I don’t like pumpkin spice. I mean, I’ll probably try the pumpkin spice Spam — ’cause, well, I love Spam —but that’ll most likely be the only artificial pumpkin-flavored thing I eat this fall. You will, however, see me sporting hoodies. I might park my car a little further from my destination so I can enjoy the walk. And I will most certainly let my hair down and enjoy the feel of it whipping around my face.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams.