Well, football season is upon us once again, and while for many people this means action-packed Sundays filled with excitement, triumph, drama, and occasionally tears, for others it means one day a week will be spent trying to find a place in a football-crazed world. This fall however, we’re taking back our Sunday afternoons. Here are a few ideas for the football-averse to help them make this fall memorable without subscribing to 16 extra-premium cable channels.
Go apple picking
This is an easy one. Would it even be fall without a trip out to an orchard to load up on honey crisps, ginger golds and pink ladies? A brisk Sunday morning is the perfect time to stroll those lengthy rows of trees, cider-in-hand, looking for the best of the crop, and since everybody else will be watching football you’ll have your pick! The best part of this Sunday activity is what comes afterwards, days and days of apple pies, applesauce and caramel apples.
Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank
As the weather gets colder and Thanksgiving approaches, the urge to give to those less fortunate can become a powerful feeling. Lending some of your time and energy to the needy is one of the most rewarding and personally fulfilling experiences you can have in the fall. A Sunday afternoon or evening volunteering will leave you feeling positive and energized for the week ahead.
Curl up with a book
The fact that everybody else is crowded around the television means that you’ve got a perfect opportunity to sneak away to a quiet room or outside if the weather is nice enough and plunge into a good book. Perhaps it’s the stillness in the air or the warm autumnal colors, but something about fall just feels right for reading (perhaps it's because as a child my school always had a fall book fair?). Trying to avoid the evening games? There are few better feelings than sitting in front of a crackling fire breezing through a dog-eared paperback.
Get some shopping done/Visit a farmer's market
Is there anything more disappointing than finishing a long day of work only to realize that you need to go straight to the grocery store and wait in an improbably long line just to buy a few weekly essentials? Beat the system by knocking out your weekly groceries while everyone else is polishing off their tortilla chips and salsa in front of the game. If you live in a town or city with nearby farmer’s markets, this is also a perfect chance to pick up some fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables–winter squash, Brussels sprouts, apples and pears, oh my!
Get out of town!
Sometimes the distance between the living room and the bedroom is not far enough away from a pack of roaring football fanatics, if peace and tranquility is what you’re looking for you could do worse to take a day trip out of town to get a view of some magnificent autumn foliage. Whether it’s a long drive up a slow country road or a train out of the city to a nature preserve, now is your chance to catch some of the most breathtaking natural scenery America has to offer. Bring a picnic basket, a journal or a sketchbook and you’ll find that peaceful contemplation really doesn’t get enough good press.
