Autumn has arrived.

Autumn has arrived again.   We now have to accept colder temperatures and less daylight hours … no doubt we’ll soon have Jack Frost lurking around, giving us the lovely job of scraping car windscreens with frozen fingers and half-awake eyes.

However, we are also surrounded by Mother Nature in her glorious Autumnal robes.  I love taking long country walks with my husband at this time of year: listening to the leaves crunching beneath our feet, looking with renewed wonder at the beautiful red and gold trees and inhaling the sweet scent of fallen apples.  I can’t wait to start cooking with pumpkin again!

We have a young niece that we don’t see regularly, as we live too far from each other.  When leaving this weekend, she gave me a hug that felt like she never wanted to let me go.  It’s sad that as adults we often need but don’t get those kind of hugs very often: society has taught us that we should only hug other adults for a few seconds before it becomes uncomfortable.  Why is that?  Hugs can communicate a myriad of emotions with one simple gesture: happiness, pride, comfort, empathy, love etc.  They often show our true feelings far better than words can.  We shouldn't therefore feel constrained by social niceties.  We should feel free to hug a loved one as though we never want to let go, just like my little niece does.