Day 6: Joyful

The title pretty much says it all, October makes me joyful. I don't know why, but it does and I roll with it. I can't pinpoint exactly when I really first started feeling this way. If I wrack my brain, the very first instance I can remember being excited about October was in elementary school. It wasn't a month long love affair like it is now, but it was there. I really can't explain it. Does October make me joyful, or do I make October joyful? Or is it some strange combination of both?

There are so many things to see and do in this super month. So many things to taste and experience. Yesterday was the perfect, joyful October day. The sun was out, but it wasn't to hot or to cold. There was a gentle breeze. There was a cider party that I could have gone to, the downsized Octoberfaire was happening and the Corn Maze opened. There was just a glut of wonderful things to do and that is the rule, not the exception.

So how did I spend my day? I slept in until the suns liquid gold rays peeked around my curtain and poked my eyelids. From there, I strolled through the day without a care in the world. I went down to the river and read my book. I bought some cider and sipped it as I drove through the countryside. I went to the very last movie at the drive in and got to drive home on darkened back roads. It was a wonderfully relaxed day.

But that is how I see most October days. They are full of promise. Ready and willing to be anything you need them to be.  You can cram them as full of things as you like, or spend the day lazily rocking in a hammock. It is your choice. I think the magic that happens in October is a way for my system to gear up for the holidays. There is no pressure in October. You don't have to wrap any gifts or host any dinners unless you want to. October is the best possible way to usher in the holidays. The deep breath before the race.

But loving October like I do, has given me a deeper appreciation for the other busy holidays. I used to be a staunch Thanksgiving hater. It doesn't' help that November is the anti October. But last year, I had a change of heart. November really isn't all that bad, and Thanksgiving can be kind of fun I have found. I had been rather Grinch like about December, but I am feeling a softening to that as well. And it is all thanks to October and its easygoing magic.

I hope that some of my October joy finds its way to you this year. I can't wait to see what other adventures the most wonderful of months has in store.....