My out-of-state kids miss 'Arizona fall.' I thought that was weird. Now I get it

I was taken aback by what my kids, all of whom currently reside in other, more temperate states, said in a recent family group text: “I miss Arizona fall.”

Say what?

The reason for my confusion was simple: I didn’t know Arizona had a fall.

I mean, on paper, sure. It’s got October and November showing up on the calendar, like everywhere else. But mostly it’s just slightly less hot than it is in the summer, which can be defined loosely as “way too hot.” The whole place is in a bad mood, sick of the seemingly unending toaster oven of a weather forecast. It’s certainly not something anyone would miss.

Or so I thought.

It's going to be 100 degrees this week. In the middle of October

For the record, yes, I know, some areas of the state have an actual autumn, with leaves that turn and chill in the air and temperatures that require long sleeves, at least. I, too, would love to be having a beer on a restaurant patio in Flagstaff or Show Low, wondering if I should be wearing a light jacket or a full-on coat.

We’ve never lived in any of those places. My kids grew up in the Valley of the Sun, emphasis on Sun. I grew up in a small town in the mountains of Virginia. What it lacked in, I don’t know, everything, it made up for in actual seasons. (Actually, I love it there. It’s the classic thing of thinking it’s boring and wanting to get out when you’re growing up and then longing to get back once you have.)

I bring this up because the temperature is supposed to be 100 degrees, at least, several times this week.

It is the middle of October.

You want frustration? Tune in to college football games around the country on Saturdays this time of year, and look at how the fans are dressed. Lots of sweatshirts in those crowd shots. Wear that kind of getup to an Arizona State or University of Arizona game and you’d pass out.

From the heat, to be clear. Not the tailgating. Though I guess that’s also an option for some.

I understand that part of the deal with the devil you make when you move to Arizona is that you suffer your way through blistering summers so that you can walk around in shorts and short sleeves at Christmas or whatever. (It’s actually usually a little chillier than that, but you get the idea. You can still gloat to your freezing East Coast friends and relatives.)

These four words are off-limits: It's officially air-conditioning season in Phoenix

Halloween is the traditional breaking point for Arizona heat ... mentally

And Halloween is typically the traditional breaking point, at least in the minds of those of us who find wishful thinking a coping mechanism, certainly when it comes to weather. When my children were younger, there were some Halloweens when a last-minute costume change was necessary because of the heat.

Yet they miss it. Go figure.

In fairness, there is something pretty magical about the first morning you go outside to pick up your newspaper — see wishful thinking as a coping mechanism, above — and there is a genuine chill in the air. Break out the parkas! At least until 8 a.m. or so. Then it’s back to shorts and T-shirts, but it is a nice little break.

Of course, that’s not really it. I’m sure my kids miss that breakpoint moment as much as anyone who has lived here. But there’s more to it than that. I am not a completely oblivious parent. Only a partially oblivious one. Which is normal, I think, and probably somewhat healthy.

But I understand that when my children say they miss Arizona fall, they mean at least in part that they miss Arizona.

By which they really mean they miss home.

Home is a concept, but it's also more

Home is a concept, certainly, the place where you’re from and a place to return. For many people, it’s where you feel grounded, surrounded by the familiar and the comfortable, so naturally from time to time you miss it, especially when things may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable.

But it’s also more than a concept — specifics are what build concepts, after all. Further chatting found that they missed maybe not fall specifically so much as certain things they remembered about it when they were growing up.

Friday-night soccer practices before going for pizza, maybe, when the weather started to cool. Or trick-or-treating — if it wasn’t exactly chilly yet, at least it was getting dark earlier. Later, Friday-night football games, whether playing, cheering or watching, when late in October you can finally stop sweating just by showing up.

Now that they mention it, those first days of not having to turn on the car's air conditioner on the drive to school were pretty sweet.

I scoffed when they said they missed Arizona fall. (Full disclosure: This is a common reaction.) But I’m also glad they do.

And don’t worry, guys. I miss you, too.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: My out-of-state kids miss 'Arizona fall.' I'm still feeling the heat