Every year around this time I experience a bit of a seasonal clash. My margarita is cold, downright frosty, and I’m loving the sweet taste of summer nights. My table is decorated with the aromatic sights and smells of pumpkin and the promise of sweater weather, crackling fires and football. Yep, my Pumpkin Pam side is pushing hard against my Margarita Mary side. Hint: Pam usually wins.
In the Mary vs. Pam epic seasonal battles of my life, I tend to favor fall and all of its splendor. Why? Mary’s one downside is that she causes me to sweat through everything. The older I get, the less I like being overheated all of the time. Mary also means mowing and trimming on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, Pam is a bit more lazy. Sure, you have to clean up leaves but that’s just one burst of energy. She also doesn’t make you sweat as bad. In fact, that first time you pull on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved sweater to get through your day feels like a mini celebration. You can now regulate your body temperature more reliably.
Still, Mary has her winning points. Bright days, outdoor time, reliably good weather. She’s sunny and fun, that Mary. Pam is a bit more serious. She has some bad days and she has a bit of a darker personality. In the end, though, I probably love these two sisters equally. If fall came before summer, I think I’d lean towards summer more. It’s just my nature of looking forward.
But now, with just 10 days left to go in August, I’m in Pumpkin Pam mode. Over what portends to be a rainy weekend, I hope to do some cleaning inside and to get out some of my fall décor. I may possibly even bake a pumpkin spice “something” just to start celebrating the flavors of the season. Mostly, I’m ready. I’m ready for slower days, less outdoor work and while I never totally love spending my time indoors, I’m ready for more indoor days. In a summer of discontent, I’m ready for some slow and easy.
Last night, in what will become known as The Great Backyard Summit of 2026, we mapped out our plan for the future. Essentially, my goal is to take this year and see if being a homemaker is what I truly want or if I’m not just ready to reinvent myself professionally. In the meantime, we will try to make that transition from “wealth accumulation” to “wealth management” as our financial advisor calls it, though I think he throws that term “wealth” around a little too freely. 😊 Finally, I hope that by living a bit more deliberately and working some, we can still save enough out of cash to pay for half of our garage.
With those goals in mind, I’m ready to get started on our new life. Today – on one of my last “Friday’s off” as I won’t need it anymore – seems like an obvious place to start. I have two small projects I’d like to at least start today (and finish one). I’d also like to make a fab dinner to kick off our weekend. Finally, there are some routine and seasonal tasks that need to get done and I’m perfectly positioned to do them.
And I’ll let Mary and Pam battle it out for my soul. I get Mary’s point: she’s truly the best and sometimes the shortest season. She really needs to milk every minute she gets. Pam is a bit pushy. Still, she argues that she’s the best season, particularly with the slowdown of outside work and all of those fabulous holidays thrown in. And she was never known for her patience. And me? I’ll live with the dichotomy of being a Pam on a Tuesday and a Mary on a Thursday. In this new world where I can live life at a pace that suits me better and focuses on home and family, I feel like I can relax and let the seasons blend a little bit.
The Yuppie Homesteader 