Ah, it’s that time of year again — the days get a little shorter, kids are back in school and soon we’ll be pulling out the old flannel shirt and sweaters and putting the short sleeves away for the winter.

It’s my favorite time of year, but it wasn’t always that way.

I remember being a youngster and dreading this time of year — time to go back to school and it’s time to pull out the long sleeves and put away the shorts, yuck!

Funny how time changes a person, isn’t it?

Now I can’t wait to feel that first crisp chill in the air and see the jack ’o lanterns lining the porches and smell the burnt wood from the fireplaces around the county.

It also seems that some of my fondest memories are of this time of year: high school football and soccer games, taking walks with the flannel shirt and trick-or-treating with my two boys.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of pulling my car out of two feet of snow and driving along the icy highways; but there’s something about the fall and winter that’s missing from other seasons — especially after a summer like the one we’re having now. I’ve never drank so much water in my life, and I’ve always been a big water drinker.

It’s seems that during hot summers like this one, I can never get cool enough; however, it doesn’t seem to

matter how cold the winter, I can always find a way to adjust.

You know what they say: “You can add as many layers as you want, but you can only pull off so many.”

It’s these hot summers that make you appreciate the coolness in the fall and winter and vice versa. I know a lot of people dream of living in the warmer climates of Florida or Arizona, but I’ll take southern Ohio’s climate any day of the week.

After having lived in such places as North Carolina and Texas and spending a lot of time in Las Vegas, Nevada, I can honestly say that — despite occasional flooding and ice storms — the weather here is right up my alley.

So, get out the long sleeves and the warm jackets and make yourself a hot cup of hot cocoa (and mini marshmallows, of course) and enjoy another cool Ohio winter. It’s the seeds of much inspiration in my life, and I hope it will inspire you as well.

Don Willis is managing editor for the Ironton Tribune. He can be reached at don.willis@irontontribune.com or (740) 532-1445, ext. 12.