Saturday was the first day of fall, so I celebrated by decorating the house, swapping out some of my ordinary tchotchkes and subbing in some more autumnally-appropriate tidbits. Even ran to the craft store to buy some silk leaves in bright fall colors because I'm impatient. I love when the trees change colors, the crispness that comes in the air, visiting pumpkin patches, all that fall-themed stuff. Fall is by far, my most favorite season.
I told the kids that fall is my favorite season. About all the fun I would have as a kid, playing in the leaves, having bonfires, carving pumpkins, roasting the seeds.
My mom is visiting us in October, which we planned to take advantage of what will hopefully be a bit cooler weather. We've talked about all the fun we'll have with Grandma, how we can take her to the pumpkin patch and all of our favorite places. My 8-year-old loves the pumpkin patch as much as I do, and this started a litany of questions about this year: "Will we bring Grandma to the pumpkin patch? Will we visit the same one we went to last year? Will they have a hayride? Do I get to pick my own pumpkin? What if it's bigger than my head? Can I carve my pumpkin? Is this something that's done outside or inside? Is it hard to carve a pumpkin? This will be my first pumpkin that I've ever carved and I'm kind of excited about it."
That just doesn't seem right. But it's true. If you carve that pumpkin and it's too warm out, that pumpkin won't last very long. And nobody likes a squishy pumpkin, except maybe the pigs in the petting zoo. Even though it's fall, it's usually also rather warm when we venture to the pumpkin patch. I'm in denial when I visit, we wear jeans and long-sleeves, but usually those sleeves are rolled up pretty quick lest we overheat. And the pictures of us on the hayride always have us sitting next to someone in shorts & a tank top. Sometimes even flip flops. But I just can't do the pumpkin patch that way. It's like picture day at school, I plan my outfits for the pumpkin patch. Flannel for everyone! The kids don't complain … much.
This year's trip to the pumpkin patch will be Grandma's first in Oklahoma and I'm hoping that the weather cooperates and gives my Wisconsin mama a nice Oklahoma day that she'll feel right at home in. We'll take our hayride. And hopefully this year, the weather will smile on us and we'll have a nice crisp day to carve our pumpkins together.
