You know how sometimes you have the loosely familiar feeling that something is changing, but it's initially so subtle that you just can't pin down exactly what it is. Upon waking in the morning a few days ago, I remained in bed for a moment, gathering my thoughts and forming my intentions for the day. As the fog of sleep slowly lifted and my senses opened up to the world, I noticed something felt abstractly different from my typical waking routine. My concentration was off kilter as I fumbled through the motions of preparing for the tasks of the day, but my memory started to prod me gently about that same feeling, still lingering, yet now distantly familiar. Was I coming down with a cold? No, that wasn't it. I wasn't feeling uncomfortable, per se, just different.
I distracted myself with my usual breakfast and freshly brewed dark-roasted coffee. The coffee seemed better than usual. The morning air was cooler than I expected and the warm, rich brew complemented it nicely. I opened my back door for a moment to stare out into the trees and breathe in the freshness of nature. Ah, that was it, I thought. Fall is here! I laughed to myself for a moment at being overly pre-occupied about solving a useless mystery. I stepped back inside and finished my coffee, reflecting upon the feeling and what it even is. Is it the cool air? Is it the smell of dying leaves? I don't really know. I've always been sensitive to changes in the weather and the seasons. They affect my mood, my sense of taste and smell, and my thought patterns. I always welcome it, though, as it makes me feel interwoven with the fabric of the rest of the natural world. We are a part of it, after all, no matter how much we sometimes try not to be.
Something else interesting seems to happen to me in the fall. I sometimes think of it as the beginning of tickling season. It's a time when my interest in tickling typically spikes. I'm not completely sure why this happens, and it's unclear if this is something that mostly just happens to me, or if others share this experience as well. Brains are weird, and I suspect that by way of association, over time I've subconsciously linked the activity of tickling to that time of year and its tale-tale signs. My guess is that if most people associate tickling with any season at all, it would be summer or spring, especially for those more fixated on feet, as that is when people dawn their sandals, flip flops, and other revealing footwear. I do have a foot fetish, and I do appreciate the warmer weather for that, but it just doesn't have the same effect on my drive to tickle and be tickled as the onset of fall.
My interest in feet could still factor in I suppose. Is it that uniquely beautiful, yet difficult to explain aesthetic of a woman in deep blue jeans warming her bare feet in the sun before it sets? Is it that memory of a girl from years past who sat shoeless on the ground with me at the top of the hill on her grandparent's farm as I tickled under her toes with a piece of straw? No, I'm sure those play into it, but I have at least as many foot tickling memories that took place in the summers of my childhood.
I wonder if it's like a tease that drawls me in when all the ticklish spots quickly hide away under more and more clothing. After all, I do have an unexplained affinity for cute women wrapped up in cozy soft sweaters. It could be simply that the cooler weather encourages closeness and snuggling, always good opportunities to crawl a hand up under the layers to surprise a ticklish tummy. Perhaps it's just the sense that more tickling prospects are on the horizon from my subliminal memories of many past return-to-school seasons.
Another tickling-related phenomenon that occurs for me in the fall, and persists through the winter, is changes in my own sense of ticklishness. Does it happen every time? I'm not sure. But I have noticed a pattern over the years of feeling more ticklish in the colder weather seasons. I don't know what's going on here either. There are far too many variables to consider, and I'm not going to start a tickle research lab with an army of unpaid interns to find out! Is it because I get less vitamin D or release of nitric oxide from sun exposure? Is it a change in my diet? Is the cooler, dryer air just making my skin more frictionless and sensitive? Does wearing clothing that covers more skin lead the nervous system into a false sense of security? It might just be a psychological enhancement due to the elevated attention to tickling in general that fall brings me.
Every time I try to solve the complex riddle of why I am the way I am, I'm met with more questions than answers. Though, I think some riddles aren't meant to be solved, so much as they are meant to be meditated on. For I believe it's the questions that come out of trying to solve the unsolvable that help us answer the more important riddle of who we are, rather than why we are. So while I sit here nearing the end of writing this post, I don't feel I've learned anything new about why this is the start of tickling season for me, but I do feel a deeper understanding of, and connection with, myself for having tried.
In reflecting on what I wrote here, honestly, each time the seasons change I feel it affects how I think of tickling, but fall marks a more noticeable change than the others. Do you associate any particular season or time of year with tickling more than others? I'd love to hear about it if you do.
Take care and happy tickling!
I distracted myself with my usual breakfast and freshly brewed dark-roasted coffee. The coffee seemed better than usual. The morning air was cooler than I expected and the warm, rich brew complemented it nicely. I opened my back door for a moment to stare out into the trees and breathe in the freshness of nature. Ah, that was it, I thought. Fall is here! I laughed to myself for a moment at being overly pre-occupied about solving a useless mystery. I stepped back inside and finished my coffee, reflecting upon the feeling and what it even is. Is it the cool air? Is it the smell of dying leaves? I don't really know. I've always been sensitive to changes in the weather and the seasons. They affect my mood, my sense of taste and smell, and my thought patterns. I always welcome it, though, as it makes me feel interwoven with the fabric of the rest of the natural world. We are a part of it, after all, no matter how much we sometimes try not to be.
Something else interesting seems to happen to me in the fall. I sometimes think of it as the beginning of tickling season. It's a time when my interest in tickling typically spikes. I'm not completely sure why this happens, and it's unclear if this is something that mostly just happens to me, or if others share this experience as well. Brains are weird, and I suspect that by way of association, over time I've subconsciously linked the activity of tickling to that time of year and its tale-tale signs. My guess is that if most people associate tickling with any season at all, it would be summer or spring, especially for those more fixated on feet, as that is when people dawn their sandals, flip flops, and other revealing footwear. I do have a foot fetish, and I do appreciate the warmer weather for that, but it just doesn't have the same effect on my drive to tickle and be tickled as the onset of fall.
My interest in feet could still factor in I suppose. Is it that uniquely beautiful, yet difficult to explain aesthetic of a woman in deep blue jeans warming her bare feet in the sun before it sets? Is it that memory of a girl from years past who sat shoeless on the ground with me at the top of the hill on her grandparent's farm as I tickled under her toes with a piece of straw? No, I'm sure those play into it, but I have at least as many foot tickling memories that took place in the summers of my childhood.
I wonder if it's like a tease that drawls me in when all the ticklish spots quickly hide away under more and more clothing. After all, I do have an unexplained affinity for cute women wrapped up in cozy soft sweaters. It could be simply that the cooler weather encourages closeness and snuggling, always good opportunities to crawl a hand up under the layers to surprise a ticklish tummy. Perhaps it's just the sense that more tickling prospects are on the horizon from my subliminal memories of many past return-to-school seasons.
Another tickling-related phenomenon that occurs for me in the fall, and persists through the winter, is changes in my own sense of ticklishness. Does it happen every time? I'm not sure. But I have noticed a pattern over the years of feeling more ticklish in the colder weather seasons. I don't know what's going on here either. There are far too many variables to consider, and I'm not going to start a tickle research lab with an army of unpaid interns to find out! Is it because I get less vitamin D or release of nitric oxide from sun exposure? Is it a change in my diet? Is the cooler, dryer air just making my skin more frictionless and sensitive? Does wearing clothing that covers more skin lead the nervous system into a false sense of security? It might just be a psychological enhancement due to the elevated attention to tickling in general that fall brings me.
Every time I try to solve the complex riddle of why I am the way I am, I'm met with more questions than answers. Though, I think some riddles aren't meant to be solved, so much as they are meant to be meditated on. For I believe it's the questions that come out of trying to solve the unsolvable that help us answer the more important riddle of who we are, rather than why we are. So while I sit here nearing the end of writing this post, I don't feel I've learned anything new about why this is the start of tickling season for me, but I do feel a deeper understanding of, and connection with, myself for having tried.
In reflecting on what I wrote here, honestly, each time the seasons change I feel it affects how I think of tickling, but fall marks a more noticeable change than the others. Do you associate any particular season or time of year with tickling more than others? I'd love to hear about it if you do.
Take care and happy tickling!
