I FEEL IT COMING...

I feel it coming... I do...it starts around 7:30pm... Every evening it cools down and a chill comes that makes me want to put on my favorite sweatshirt. When I crawl into bed at night I want to pull my quilt over me instead of leaving it at my feet. I curled up on the couch with a blanket the other night as we watched a baseball game. I really do feel it coming and every year I get excited about it. That wonderful fall season.

The boys start school next week and we have been gathering our school supplies. What is it about school supplies that thrill me? In one of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail, Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) sends an email to Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) commenting on the joys of fall:

Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.

I just started working part time at a little store on our island that reminds me of this. Small town charm so quirky and quaint where everyone knows each other. We sell all kinds of wonderful paper products and art supplies and lots of school supplies. I'm enjoying looking at all of the academic calendars and crayola crayons and not to mention pencils! They smell so good...so woody and rich. They just bring me back to my childhood and wonderful memories of fall. I have so many favorite fall memories. Many of them were from our little town in Illinois where we lived for 17 years. The big oak trees turning brown and all of the other maples with their brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. Big storms would blow through and the leaves would swirl around the air like a beautifully choreographed dance. One Halloween my boys, so little then, dressed up as Buzz Light year and Woody from the Toy Story movie. Poor Buzz could barely make it through the crowds with those big wings! And Woody's big hat was almost bigger than he was! There was something so magical about that particular night of trick-or-treating. My parents had flown in from Washington State and were here to see their grand kids and enjoy Halloween by trick-or-treating with them. They walked behind the boys, holding hands and smiling the whole time. The sky was a heavy grey/black color threatening to unleash on us at any moment and the leaves on the trees were glowing with their brilliance and had left big mounds of themselves on peoples yards. (so fun to jump in) The air was heavy and warm blowing against our faces. Every step we took had this wonderful rustling sound from the leaves on the ground and there seemed to be a million little trick-or-treaters running around giggling with excitement. It was a very surreal scene. One I will always treasure. And this is the feeling I get with fall approaching. The crisp air, brilliant colors, sounds of high school football games and marching bands, hot cider and pumpkin bread...it all brings a renewed sence of order. I start to like cooking again and the creative juices seem to flow more readily. I'm sure you will read many posts from me boasting about the wonderful qualities of fall. I hope you enjoy it too.

Blessings,

Meagan