Day 1 the Fun has Begun!

I almost didn’t write this year. With everything that is going on out in the world and with everything I have gone through personally, I didn’t want to add one more thing to my pile. But then I thought about it. With everything going on, how could I not write? How could I let the awesomeness of October pass by unrecognized? That would be like letting all the non-October months win, or perish the thought it would let those early Christmas folks get a foot in the door and we CAN’T have that. ;) Besides, now more than ever we need to be reminded of the joy, beauty and whimsy that is still to be found all around us. And trust me, it is there. So put on your brightest orange shirt, get your binoculars ready for some leaf peeping, and strap on your cartoon ghost suspenders cuz here come this year’s October Thoughts.

There is always a day you can tell when fall has arrived. Usually it is well before the “official” calendar start date. Fall air has a crispness to it that you can feel, a bite that has you changing from short sleeves to sweaters and finds you reaching for cozy blankets by the fireside.  Summer heat waves seem to turn into frost on the windshield overnight. The sun takes on a golden amber hue and your bones feel a drowsy heaviness as the siren call of hibernation begins to beckon. Your blood begins to circulate slowly in your body like an easy drizzle of molasses downward from the spoon. The frenetic pace of summer is over and now is the time to enjoy life.

I felt fall sometime in August this year. It was dancing around the edges of the fields. It was combing its wispy fingers through the corn stalks making them rustle and chatter. Then I felt it again in a smoky morning in early September. But last Sunday, I KNEW fall was here. I didn’t have the will to do anything and not in a bad way. It was that comfortable exhaustion when the day is mellow and bright and merely existing is enough. I lay sprawled out in my hammock gently rocking in the soft breeze. I didn’t have anywhere to be. I didn’t really have anything to do. Well, that wasn’t true, but nothing that wouldn’t keep. I stared up at the long lost blue sky. I took in a lungful of clean crisp air. I noticed that sometime in between being busy and sleeping my days away, the leaves were starting to turn. They had already put on their crimson and gold robes and were getting ready to partake of one last dance until they finally drifted exhausted to the earth.

I closed my eyes and let my imagination take me where it would. I could smell crisp apple cider in the wind along with wood smoke from a nearby fireplace. I could feel the magic of October beckoning to me and I answered, and I'm glad I did. Happy first day of October everyone. Here is to 30 more days of whimsy and wonder.