The Seasons of New England

New England. An immense region filled with our nation’s founding history, highly worshipped professional sports teams, and higher education institutions draped in ivy. New Englanders are already well aware of these facts and take pride in them everyday of their lives. That they should. This part of the country has a lot of backbone. I don’t have to go on and on about the topic, especially to the citizens of Foxboro, a place that encompasses that small town New England vibe.

Another important element that often describes New England is the weather patterns. The old saying “You don’t like the weather? Wait 5 minutes." The weather in this expanse can be described as erratic at best. The region is well known for its harsh, devastating winters that bring out that tough, rugged personality of New Englanders. Nor’easters result in constant shoveling, plowing and road maintenance. Driving becomes such a huge task, the abundance of snow ruins a lot of daily activities. School and work could be cancelled, fortunately. Snow days were a blessing in public school and they still are in college!

I couldn’t image what it would be like living in a state where snow ceases to accumulate at all. Even though the blizzards cause many problems, they bring just as much joy as well. The first snowfall that crisply blankets the ground in the dusk of a December day is certainly a sight to see. Also, the vibrantly lit holiday lights that grace the evening and make the chilling temperatures seem just a little bit warmer. The snowmen, fort building, sledding, skiing and snowball fights are what kids look forward to every winter here in New England.

My personal favorite season in New England is autumn. The beautiful foliage and the cool, crisp air are invigorating. Foxboro High School football games were great to attend on those Friday nights in the fall. The leave raking and Halloween mischief are in the midst of this season, as well as bonfires and hoodies. The beginning of a new school year brought out the excitement of seeing everyone again, getting new teachers and classes, and starting fresh.

As far as spring time in New England, it has its pros and cons. Spring can either have very sunny, beautiful days where you want to be outside and play sports all day; or it can rain constantly for weeks at a time. Along with these rainy days, the air can be cool, raw, and damp. I find that it’s always difficult in deciding what to wear during spring days; I feel that it is the season that changes most often.

New England summers are what we live for. Unlike other parts of the United States, we truly are the only area in the country that has four different seasons throughout the year. Some regions in America have hot weather all year round. Since we only have that for three or four months out of the entire year, we make sure that we never take that for granted. Beaches, cookouts, pool parties, vacations, etc, flourish during the summers. I think that we appreciate the nice weather more than anyone else in the country and at the same time we know how to deal with callous weather conditions as well.

I’m glad that I had the opportunity to grow up in the small New England town of Foxborough, experiencing that unique transition of every season each year.