It’s not always fun and sunshine being a Midwesterner. Emphasis on the sunshine. No, we’re barreling straight toward some of the worst times of year to be a Midwesterner. We’re doing cardio, so we don’t have heart attacks while shoveling snow. We’re enjoying the last drops of sunlight after we leave work, knowing that it soon will go away. We’re relishing the time raking leaves and not chipping icicles off our roofs. We’re preparing for the long, long winter. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves on the way down. Autumn is a beautiful time to be here. 

The leaves are changing colors, trips to the pumpkin patch lift our spirits, and we’re nailing down our Halloween costumes. Let’s be real, though, we just always throw on a Ditka jersey and call it a day. This time of year in the Midwest is all about enjoying what we’ve got, with the real sense that it might all go away in an instant. So it’s best to enjoy the here and now. And memes are a huge part of that.