By Stacy Turner

September used to signify a return to school, but with so many kids now starting in August, it has lost its title as the reigning champ of back-to-school.

When my little “pumpkins” were young, September meant pictures on the front porch in new school clothes. If the season was measured by produce, we were still enjoying corn on the cob and apples from the local orchard. Sadly, school seems to shift earlier each year, claiming a little more of summer. Maybe that’s why, when a certain retail coffee chain announced its signature fall beverage would launch at the end of August, I felt a public service announcement was overdue.

For many, September’s cooler evenings still bring to mind bonfires, football games and sweater weather. For others, September means pumpkin spice season has officially begun. But before we jump ahead and miss this transitional time, let’s pause and consider why we’re in such a hurry to fast-forward through one of the loveliest times of year in Northeast Ohio.

To be fair, I enjoy my share of pumpkin spice baked goods and caffeinated beverages. It’s a pleasant seasonal candle scent, too, reminding us of crisp weather and warm gatherings, which are lovely scent-iments. But each new pumpkin spice season begins long before actual pumpkins are done growing, which can disconnect us from what’s happening right now.

In September, warm days and more daylight mean there’s still time to be outside. It’s warm enough to cook out and sometimes even swim. When it still feels like flip-flop and lemonade season, it seems wrong to be looking for autumn, even in an iced drink. And nowadays people are buying pumpkin spice-flavored cereals, coffee creamers and baked goods. But who decided to add the signature fall flavor to cheese?

Every year, pumpkin spice is incorporated into more products where it just shouldn’t be. Like pumpkin spice SPAM. There’s no denying SPAM has its own niche of consumers. But in the Venn diagram where SPAM lovers and pumpkin spice lovers intersect, I’m fairly certain it’s a negligible share of the already tiny canned meat market. The same goes for pumpkin spice-flavored pork rinds. Just. No.

Pumpkin spice has also infiltrated products that make even less sense: trash bags, deodorant and beard oil, now available in September’s gourd-geous new scent. And don’t worry—even pets can enjoy the season, thanks to pumpkin spice-scented cat litter.

Shopping for groceries has turned into a strange scavenger hunt, where I try to identify the places this seasonal scent-sation has infiltrated. Nothing is safe from the cloying mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. But we can’t blame September for its identity crisis, since we pumpkin spice lovers have brought it on ourselves.

When I was a kid, pumpkins didn’t make it out of the patch until just before Halloween, when we carved them and lit them with candles for the front porch. Now sugary pumpkin drinks are available through every drive-thru on the way to school or work, or as an after-school pick-me-up. And in about a month, retailers will rush headlong into the next big seasonal flavor: gingerbread. I guess we should count our blessings that turkey and gravy don’t mix well with coffee and sweet treats.

I’m not advising you to avoid this transplanted taste in whatever ways you enjoy. But I would like you to make time to be present for the season you’re in right now. Because if you don’t, you might miss it. It’s the same with our kids, too. Someday soon, you may turn around and wonder where your own little pumpkins have gone.