Day 1: Hello October

I can't believe it is finally here. It doesn't quite seem real. Today, is the first day of October, and I am a bit apprehensive that my alarm is going to go off and it will all turn out to have been just a dream. I will wake up and it will really be November 1st and I will have another whole year to wait.
Happily, that is not the case. I am wide awake, and there is a feeling of October swirling in the night sky. Already the log jam of wonderful begins to queue up in my mind. There are so many things to say, so many new ideas to share. There are old traditions to observe and new ones to implement. I'm so giddy that I haven't even picked out which October movie to watch first.
It has been a wild ride since the last time this month came around, but that isn't the point. The point is, that for thirty-one-derful days there is a special kind of magic in the air. A different way of being. The days have an unusual feel to them in October. I really can't say why. Maybe I am seeing things through orange colored glasses, but October really is a month set apart. It has personality, vigor and more than a little mischief. I have felt it creep into the other months and slip in pieces of itself. A dash of mystery here, a pinch of whimsy there. I have caught fleeting tastes and smells of October in the strangest places, and felt its pull on hot summer days. Ah October, I have missed you.
For those new to the October Thoughts (OT), welcome. For those who are old hands, welcome back. I am so happy that I get to share my love of this wonderful month with all of you. It makes the journey sweeter traveling with friends old and new. Who knows what exciting discoveries we will make and grand adventures we will have this time around. .

For traditions sake, I will now present the reading of the history and for lack of a better word, guidelines. I have always had a love affair with October. Everything about it is heightened (lots more on that later). Then in the early 2000's, I found someone else who shared my love of the orange month. She wrote her own October Thoughts (still does) and graciously allowed me to piggyback off of her idea. You see, October has more than enough wonderful for us to share. Ever since, in one form or another, I have bent the ear of any who would listen, why I think October is the best month of them all.
Being a girl who likes variety, I have much to love in this month. I love the cozy and the scary, the cute and the gory. I like paper Mache bats as much as ridiculously expensive couture costumes. I like the candy and the weather, the scares, the tastes, the magic, the colors and so much more. Not everyone will share in all my delights and that is ok. As far as I know, October doesn't hold any grudges.
For 31 days, I will write about some aspect of October that catches my fancy. Some thoughts will be old, some new. Most will be long, there will be more than a little nostalgia and unless otherwise stated, it will be all my rambling thoughts (you have been warned). For the most part, I write at night. This means that when you awake in the glorious October morning there will be a Thought ready and waiting for you. BUT, life does happen and sometimes the thoughts will be delayed. That just means that you can fill in your own. I am more than happy to take requests or play with comments. You the reader, help me make the magic and what we come up with together, can sometimes be the best part. I look forward to our interaction.
But for now, you get my manifesto on why I think October is so great in the first place. Each year I try to put into words a summation of my October love affair. And each year, I come up with something slightly different. This year my overarching theme is the word cozy. I get a great feeling of inner warmth and joy when I think about October. The nights turn crisp and hold the promise of snuggling under blankets and eating comfort food whilst drinking hot beverages. There are golden glows from the suns rays, and warm, comforting colors in the fall palate. There is a sense of ease in the traditions of the month. By now, life has fallen back into its rhythms and routines from the chaos that is summer. There are things to look forward to and life seems to turn inward. The frenetic pace of the holiday season has not yet hit and there is still a sense of enjoyment in the coming days. For all its mystery and magic, there is something reassuring and dependable about October. I can always count on something wonderful to happen.
In my minds eye, I see October as a sepia photograph or multifaceted jewel. It is nostalgia and friendship. Promise of better days and new insights. And it is never the same upon repeat viewing. October is the best kind of mystery and I look forward to unlocking it with you. So grab a pumpkin spice latte and your coziest blanket and come along with me on the grand adventure that is October!