Don't wish the time away...

                            

                                                  Apple picking last Fall!

My last post was about wishing time would slow down, about how fast time has gone since having Sabrina. This post is going to completely contradict that!  I'm a woman, I can change my mind as much as I want. :)

I just got back from taking my dog Baby for a walk, and I was struck at how Fall like the weather is right now. So of course I am now longing for time to hurry up, to get to my favorite season and time of year- Fall. 

I love everything about Fall. I love the warm days and cool nights, I love baking pumpkin squares and making comfort foods like soups or a roast and mashed potatoes. I am no Martha Stewart, but I like to pretend I am when Fall rolls around. I like to go apple picking and use the apples to bake a pie (probably the only pie I make all year!). I love to watch the leaves change colors. 

Growing up, Fall was a big deal in our house. My mom's favorite holiday was Halloween, so it was always a special time for us. We'd watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and Garfield's Halloween Adventure. As we grew older, my mom would take us to haunted hayrides (which I HATED) and instead of Charlie Brown, we'd watch Halloween episodes of Roseanne. We always carved pumpkins and Grandma Helen would hand our candy at our house while my parents took us trick or treating. Those are some of my favorite memories, freezing outside collecting candy and then coming home and sorting the candy for the inevitable bartering and trading that would occur.  At the time, I didn't realize how important those moments were, how I'd hold onto those memories even as an adult. 

This Fall promises to be one of the best for me. Our traditions won't change much- We will do our usual apple picking, but this year we have Sabrina to join us in our tradition. Though she won't exactly be able to participate fully, she can be a part of our pumpkin carving. And of course, I am so looking forward to her first Halloween. Buying her a costume, going to a few houses trick or treating, handing out candy at home.  It will be amazingly wonderful to create new traditions in our family, just as my mom started traditions for us as kids. Some of those traditions will be the same, others will be different, but they are all rooted in the same love of family. 

So while still wishing for time to slow down, I am also looking forward to this Fall, and all of the joy that it will bring. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family to love, and I plan to make our own family traditions that will last a lifetime.