It’s September and the peak of summer is officially over. Not just that, but, for many, September marks the beginning of the winter lifestyle. How so? Kids go back to school and we begin to dig out the winter wardrobe from storage. Here’s how the local lifestyle noticeably changes as we approach autumn.
1. Daylight hours
Although daylight hours are noticeably less according to the natural cycle of the earth around the sun, thankfully we still have until the end of October before the official end of summertime daylight saving. Still, the days are visibly shorter and there’s less opportunity to enjoy the sunshine.
2. Weather
You can feel summer desperately holding on as autumn fights its way in. Indeed, it’s still generally hot with an extra dose of sticky thanks to the increased humidity and additional cloud cover that comes with September.
3. Winter wardrobe revisited
While sweat may still trickle down your body during the day, overcast days and evenings tend to be a bit cooler, forcing most people to return to the long sleeve. Eek! In fact, out come the jeans, the light sweaters and the clothes in synthetic fibres that are just unbearable to wear during summer.
4. Back to school
Kiddies will be trading their swimming shorts for school uniform shorts - aw bless! We bet they’d rather enjoy the first. With kids back in the school routine, routine changes for the parents too. In fact, just about everything changes about managing family life.
5. Morning traffic
Yes, it’s a little bit annoying, but you know school has started when it takes you an extra twenty minutes to get to work because every car in Malta seems to be on the road at 8am. Along with work commuters, you get all the parents ferrying their kids to school. Weren’t you missing the joy of an extra dose of traffic jam?
6. Autumn activities
When days out no longer revolve solely around beach trips, you know winter is coming. Suddenly, you begin to enjoy the attraction of nature walks, museum visits and all those other ‘winter activities’ that just don’t beat the beach in summer.
And while we love the summer in Malta, the other seasons have their own special little pleasures too. So welcome change and on to living gratefully and gracefully, no matter the season.