For me fall has always been about change and transition... It’s about “freshness” and renewal. When we were kids, we started school after Labor Day (I still think we should). It was time to return to learning after a long summer of play... just as it is now. It's a time to get back to and settled into a routine. As kids, fall was definitely a time for fall festivals and bake sales, for decorating and planning what you wanted to be for Halloween. It was all about the food at Thanksgiving – dressing and pumpkin pie were definitely my favorites. And of course, we were continuously updating our Christmas lists for Santa Claus and working on any faults as not to get switches and ashes under the tree.     

This fall is no different than any other necessarily, but I love where I am in my life. It is celebratory; it is intentional; it has significance, meaning and a newfound purpose.  So perhaps this fall is a little different….  I am under a new sky (as told to me by a priest), and my daughter and I are making our own memories. My hope is that she, too, will remember all the wonderful things about fall – how her five senses were engaged… with the intoxicating smells and tastes the fall harvest, the vibrant colors of the leaves, hearing the wind whistle in the trees and feeling the fresh, crisp air on her skin.

We will be picking out our pumpkins today at the farmer’s market on Finley Ave – just as I did as a little girl.  Doing so brings back such magical memories of not just pumpkins but sugar cane, pomegranates, pansies and cinnamon brooms… I know today will bring loads of fun, and I hope that we will be in sensory overload…  I want my daughter to enjoy this time in her life. As parents we can’t prevent and shield our children from all the bad experiences this life deals us. But it is my prayerful intention for her to grow up with happy memories, a thankful heart, an eager spirit and to know where she came from… I pray that the fall will evoke for her lots of joy, laughter and smiles when she is raising children of her own one day just as it has for me.  Happy fall….