Autumn

Autumn, or Fall as some call it, is upon us. The little valley where I live is in a magnificent explosion of colors. It's a new experience every day. This time if year is both my MOST favorite and my LEAST favorite. I can't really explain it except to say that no other time of year makes me happier to be alive while at the same time makes me seriously contemplate the direction of my life, sadness and loss. This time of year brings out the best and worst in me... for many reasons.

These are the reasons I love the Autumn time:

~The colors.... Red, Yellow, Orange and every shade in between.
~Blankets of leaves on the streets and sidewalks. They make the most
delightful crunching sound when you walk on them.
~ Pumpkin, corn stalks and hay bail decorations
~ Candy Corn, Ginger and Pumpkin flavors
~ Costumes
~ Cold nights and warm days
~ Cooking comfort foods like stew and chili and shepherds pie.
~ Walking in the rain
~ Dressing in layers
~ The wonderful smells of burning leaves, fresh rain and cooking turkeys

These are the reasons I don't like this time of year:

~ Spelling word ;-P
~ Shorter days
~ Waking up in the dark
~ Flu Shots
~ No more spontaneous "What should we do today?" days
~ Watching negative campaign ads
~ Muddy floors
~ No more fresh veggies in the garden
~ Anticipating the holidays without my grand kids

and finally.....

~ The silent reminder of constant change, children grow-up,
adults age and people of all ages die.

While Spring is the time for cleaning out the house and garage, Fall seems to be the time to clean out the garbage inside me. Reflection seems to be the theme this particular Autumn... My favorite way to reflect is to curl up on a park bench with a pumpkin spice late and a bag of candy corn and watch the leaves blow. I'm going to make time for that in the coming week... right after my flu shot ;-P

Happy Fall Everyone!!