Fare thee well...Summer.

I don't care what the calendar says, fall has officially arrived in my mind. It usually comes after I send the last kid off to school, making it's way into my heart no later than labor day. This year, it actually looks and feels like fall. The nights are getting cooler, and the brisk air usually lingers throughout the morning. Thanks to all the fires, the air has a hazy, eerie halloweenish feeling to it, and makes the moon appear like a great pumpkin in the sky. It even smells like fall, due in part to the pumpkin spice wall-flower (it's an air freshener) that I have plugged in, and the scent of burning leaves outdoors (ok, it's probably Californian burning homes I smell but that doesn't make for a nice mental picture).

I love living in Utah and experiencing all 4 seasons. I think one the the reasons why I start craving christmas music in July is because I start yearning for a change. Not to imply that I'm not happy living in the moment, don't get me wrong...I love summer! I love sitting on a warm porch with a good book, watching the sun set at 9:00 at night. I love laying on the fresh-cut grass when it's dark, watching for falling stars. I love being able to go anywhere without having to bundle up in coat and gloves while waiting for my car to warm up. I love sleeping with the window cracked opened, listening to the chirp of the crickets while the warm breeze glides over the lone sheet that covers my hairless and somewhat browned legs. I love cooking outdoors on the grill, eating fresh corn on the cob, juicy peaches picked fresh from the tree, sweet watermelon and ice-cream sandwiches. Yep, I'm going to miss summer...and my flip flops...but it's time to move on. Fall brings other things that I love; a start contrast to all the things I love about summer, are the things I love about fall:
The days that get shorter...snuggling with my little man on the couch with a comfy blanket and slippers while we each get in our 20 minutes of required/enjoyed reading each night. The feeling that it's time for bed by 9:00 at night. Snuggling on same above mentioned couch with same comfy blanket and slippers and same above mentioned little man, watching the first snowfall of the season (have you tried to snuggle with your son in the summer? It's too hot and sticky, they're too busy playing, and little boys just smell funny in the summer).
Hot, home-made soups, hot rolls from the oven, the smell of dinner in the crock-pot awaiting you when you arrive home from work. Hot-chocolate with warm pumpkin bread.


Saturday mornings on the football field, watching your son score the winning touchdown. Warm cozy sweaters, and the warm glow of candles lit in the fireplace.
Scarecrows, witches and pumpkins that adorn every nook and cranny. The smell of pumpkin and cinnamon spice, and even the musty smell when you first crank up the heater after a long summers rest.
Carmel apples and apple pie. Pumpkin and pecan, and experimenting with new flavors before they make their debut at the Thanksgiving table.
Snuggling under a pile of blankets at night, warming my cold feet next to my heater of a husband.
The anticipation of all things childlike and magical. Halloween, Thanksgiving...Christmas!

That is why I love fall.

And I know, sure as anything, that winter will bring it's own special time of the year. And by the middle of February I'll be looking forward to the promise of Spring. And of course, spring is just a teaser for what lies ahead...Summer. And by then, I'll be ready for it again, but for now...I bid thee farewell Summer.

Thanks for the memories...