It’s mid-October. How have your habits changed with the seasons and the weather?

I can certainly see some changes in my day-to-day practices. Even though daytime temperatures are still quite comfortable for the most part, evenings have become cool and nights downright chilly.

While 30 days ago my bed was topped with only a flat sheet or lightweight blanket, now a comforter has become a fixture for bedtime. Many mornings now, I wake up and turn on a space heater for at least a few minutes to take the chill out of the air.

I haven’t broken down and turned up the thermostat to start the furnace, but I have needed a little supplemental heat on several occasions.

No longer do I walk to the front door in my bare feet and slip some flip-flops on as I head out to run an errand. Instead, I an almost always wearing socks now, and I have started wearing tennis shoes nearly all of the time when I am outdoors.

I have noticed that I am carrying more items with me as well. On several mornings this week, I had a sweater in my hand when I headed out for the office or to a meeting or other appointment.

If you check the back seat of my car, chances are you will find my reliable old denim jacket lying there. I have taken to leaving it in the car in case I forget that sweater and stay out later than I anticipated.

No longer is the coat tree in our entryway nearly empty with just a ball cap or two hanging there ready to grab. Instead, it is bow covered in garments, including my tried and true, zip-up “Superman” hoodie that I wear both inside and outside of the house.

And the changes go beyond wearing warmer clothing. We are now eating differently as well. In the summer, we enjoyed large salads on an almost daily basis. We frequently chose such as burgers foods that could be prepared on the grill. Now we are eating more foods prepared in big batches on the stove, such as a pot of vegetable soup or creamy biscuits and gravy.

Since we have brought all of the houseplants back inside and disposed of what remained of our porch garden, I have very little daily maintenance to do outdoors. Now I only need to water a few colorful mums a couple of times a week.

I suppose it is all part of our annual cycle of life in Ohio. And bigger changes are on the horizon. It won’t be long before we are all wearing coats every time we leave home. Soon, we will need to don gloves or mittens and warm hats to guard against the cold. At the very least, we will want to be sure we have those items in our vehicles in case they break down and we become stranded and exposed.

Then we will be more likely to drink hot chocolate or tea, and we will all be eating those “comfort foods” that warm us from the inside out. Pots of chili will bubble on our stoves, or perhaps hams or birds will be roasting in our ovens.

As we anticipate the coming winter and the holiday season, we can look forward to time-honored traditions and family fun.

In the meantime, I am trying to adapt slowly to the cooling weather. I would prefer to have several more summery weeks, but that just isn’t in the cards for our region.

So, I guess I will just break out my sweater collection and sort through my sock drawer with the understanding that it is time to face reality and dress for the weather.

Do you know where your favorite jacket is?