I love my new home office. This photo is my little view on the world – at least my Boise view of the world. It’s right outside my office window and the leaves were turning their beautiful fall colors. Growing up, Fall was always my favorite season.
Midwest Memories
I was born in the Midwest – Hammond, IN – you know, right next to Gary? You know – Music Man – Gary, Indiana, Gary Indiana – sung by little Ronnie Howard before he was Opie. Okay, my Baby Boomer friends have deserted me once again. But, I digress…
Some of my favorite memories of growing up in the Midwest centered around the Fall season. After living in Indiana, my family moved to a three-story house in the Cleveland, OH area – Lakewood, to be exact. We had great trees and I loved the fall colors that kidnapped the green to turn it into red and gold.
Our next door neighbor had a beautiful tree that stayed wine-colored all year round. Yes, I had tree-envy. It would stand proudly different throughout the spring and summer months, only to welcome the other trees to a kaleidoscope world in the fall. It was like waking up on Christmas morning to find packages with brilliant wrappings and festive bows beneath a sturdy trunk.
Even when the leaves began to fall, there was great joy in what that meant. We would rake them up into huge piles then take a running start to leap spread-eagle, backwards, into the center of the pile. I later wondered why we never cracked open our skulls – probably that hard-headed Miller noggin!
So, when I took this picture outside my office window, I journeyed back to those days and what I liked best about Fall. Have I ever told you I am easily distracted from work? I came up with my Top 10 Things I Loved About Fall. They are in no particular order (kind of like eliminations on Dancing With the Stars).
P.S. To my San Diego friends, I remember getting my Fall “fix” by driving down Highway 163 this time of the year, headed toward Balboa Park. Yes, San Diego has its own version of Fall.
Top Ten Things I Loved About Fall
- The first splash of color I saw in the season
- The nip in the air that reddened my cheeks
- The piles of leaves that became our landing pad
- Halloween! I LOVE Halloween! (notice present tense)
- Friday night football games at my brother’s high school
- Hot Apple Cider
- My Dad’s homemade soups we called his “concoctions”
- Racing around the piles of leaves with our Labrador Retriever
- Pulling out my quilt made by my Grandmother
- The first fire in the fireplace
I would love to hear your Top 10 – or 5 – or 1. Do you love Fall as much as I do?
Live…Laugh…Love…
Summer is my favorite time of year. I can’t handle the cold. But if I’m going to be cold, my favorite thing about fall would be the hot chocolate. The yummy stuff with whipped cream on top! That makes the cold tolerable. 🙂 But summer still kicks butt with the sun and sand and chance to just float!
How could I forget the hot chocolate..you’re right…yum! I love summer, too, but not the heat – which is a very big reason I lived so many years in San Diego. Keep it no higher than the low 80s and I’m a happy camper. My favorite time at San Diego beaches was in the winter. That’s probably because the weather is the closest to a Midwest Fall day.
But, we do love our beaches! Thanks for sharing, Desiree.
Cathy:
Some of the things you may have forgotten about the “ten things:”
1. The first splash of color I saw in the season… means it’s time to get the snow shovels ready.
2. Switching from heat to A/C the same day
3. All those leaves need to be raked
4. Searching for signs of tampering 🙁
5. Sitting on bleachers in 40º and rain showers
6. mmmm…. (I guess I’ll have to give you that one)
7. Yabut, did he ever make squash goulash with ham chunks? ewwww…
8. See #3
9. Dad yelling “Shut the door! You tryin’ to cool off the house or heat the outside?”
10. Chasing the bats out of the chimney first
Still and all… my favorite season. Just had 20th anniversary (Oct. 14).
LOL!!!
One of the nice things about the aging Baby Boomer brain of mine, I forget half of what I knew! In this case, you’re right, that may be a very good thing!
#7 – nope, can’t say my Dad EVER made squash goulash with ham chunks – although I’m surprised. My Dad was a product of the depression and felt very strongly that nothing should be thrown out and he could “concoct” something with the leftovers.
#9 – did we have the same Dad?
#10 – we didn’t have the bats but we did have a squirrel come down the chimney to be chased by said Labrador Retriever….ahh…memories…
Congrats on the 20th anniversary! Thanks for taking the journey, Mark.
1) getting my coats out 🙂
2) camping when you HAD to burrow into a sleeping bag
3) Halloween!
#3 is why I like you so much! Anyone who likes Halloween is my kind of person! Who needs to grow up anyway? Thanks, pal!
Cathy,
Not bats in the chimney but bats at the end of our street that circled the trees at dusk. I almost put my hand on one at Mr. McKinstry’s house when I sat on the lawn (I was about 12) and suddenly this bat who’d hit a tree flew up and scared the crap out of me. Then there was one in my garage in Idaho showing its teeth at me and making a creepy sound…and finally as I stuck my hand in a huge hole while climbing and felt a chill…what was it?? Bat eyes staring at me….I HATE BATS!!!
I do love the beginning of spring because it means winter is ending!
Funny, I don’t remember the bats so much. I do remember seeing one in the garage but then that could be the fading brain of mine. I would not be a fan of bats either! Too creepy!!
Spring is good, too!
Only one to add… Predawn runs down the Towpath, with the Erie canal on one side and the river on the other, a leaf-strewn trail beneath your feet and chilled air in your lungs.
Okay… and Pecan pie at Thanksgiving.
Okay–that be you running down the Towpath–me, I walk -like maybe 60 miles, 3 Day Walks, but I do not run.
You & Dad battling over the pecan pie-how could I forget? 🙂