every year I fall for fall

There is something about that cool, crisp autumn air that really gets me going.

Fall means visits to the pumpkin patch and daddy carving his masterpieces, raking leaves and jumping into the mounds, lugging up the "Halloween" boxes and draping our home with their contents. Fall means kids are back in school.

Fall means caramel apples, popcorn balls, and ANYTHING pumpkin-flavored. Unfortunately for me and my waistline, Fall also means the desire to eat more hearty meals like thick soups and chilies. I love how Fall allows for comfy sweatshirts, blue jeans and fuzzy socks. I spend the rest of the year yearning for the nights of cozy throw blankets on the sofa and bulky covers in bed.

It excites me to see neighborhoods dressed in spooky attire; ghosts, goblins, witches and bones. Houses, trees and bushes laced with creepy spiders and sheets of web. Dim or strobing lights beckoning to hundreds of costumed trick-or-treaters. And candy...candy everywhere...candy for weeks!

So Fall is my favorite. And it doesn't last long enough. And it's that small span of time between the monotony of long summer days and the craziness of "the holidays" and the brrr of winter. That small span of time that makes me stop for a moment and think about where I've been and where I'm going. I love Fall!