October is my favorite month. Fall is always truly here; the last vestiges of Indian summer that dog September have faded, and that unmistakable nip in the air feels refreshing after long months of sweltering heat. The bitter cold of winter is fast approaching, but it's easy to push it away in the brilliant sunshine.
October is pumpkins: soups and breads, and huge displays of fat orange gourds everywhere. Sweaters and coats getting worn again. Soups and oatmeal replacing salads and cereal. Leaves turning brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red, crunching under our feet.
Even though I don't follow the sport much, every Saturday in October feels like football weather.
October is also my wedding anniversary; this Friday will be our sixteenth. 16!! That doesn't seem possible.
October starts the whole holiday season; we start to nail down our plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, deciding whose family we are visiting for each. Discussing how many vacation days we need, booking flights and hotel rooms. Lately I have been hosting Thanksgiving at home for my in-laws, so October is the month when I get to menu-plan. One of my favorite chores. :)
October, of course, is Halloween. I still remember as a kid, bundling up in long underwear under my hobo costume, or trying to figure out how to wear a coat and gloves and still look like a scary witch. I loved walking through our neighborhood with my sisters and my dad, trick or treating from house to house. (Mom stayed home to pass out candy. This was always Dad's holiday.) As I grew up, Halloween celebrations turned into adult parties with drinking and sometimes skimpy costumes, then giving up costumes (and parties) entirely, then just eating way too much candy at work. Now with Babyfriend around, trick-or-treating is coming full circle back to my Octobers, and it feels right.
The only thing I don't like about October is that it goes by much too fast.
You captured the beauty of Fall! I, too, LOVE October. It's weird, but I've always kind of thought about Fall as the "rebirth" of the year, probably due to school and the budding holiday season. :)
ReplyDeleteKristen, fall is also my favorite month. You really captured the essence of fall with your words and your pictures. Fall's energy is really showcased in the Midwest in October. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures, Kristen! Fall has always been my favorite season, and like you, I'll soon have a fall wedding anniversary to celebrate too (which, of course, is why we went with fall!). And I'm always amused by the description of this weather as "Bears weather," but I know know exactly what it means and we're definitely having it now.
ReplyDeleteThough summer is my favorite season, October is my favorite fall month - maybe because summer tries to hang on a little and who can resist all the beautiful vibrant colors?
ReplyDeleteWell pictured Kristen!