Goodbye Autumn

What a lovely autumn this was! I’m sad to see it go. Even with my annual bout with bronchitis, I was still able to experience the delights of the season – the occasional whif of dying leaves through my congested sinuses – that distinct crispness that makes me smile no matter what. The cool air in the evenings. The crunch of the leaves underfoot on walks with my husband. And, call me crazy, but I just love carving pumpkins; I love digging my fingers into the goop inside and smelling that rich smell of pulp, then, of course, toasting the seeds.

I traced fall’s gait in the brilliantly colored trees just outside my entrance into work, which greeted me every morning. First, they only had a bit of red on the edges and were still a dark green in the middle. Gradually, the red grew and the tree caught fire. Finally, though, after a blustery weekend, the trees that greeted me Monday morning looked much more naked, but were still proud and holding on to those last few leaves. Now the wind comes stronger and the rain is heavier, and the forecast says snow in a couple of days.

Fall is all too short, but it remains the season that makes me happiest. This autumn was particularly special, with our wedding in September and us settling into our new home. There was something about the cool air and the dim golden light at dusk that always made the house seem that much cozier.

Our first fall in our new home also brought other firsts. It was the first Halloween that we could pass out candy from a front door that was our own, and even though it didn’t quite live up to the Romantic concept I had in my mind, I loved it. Candy shopping was a bit of a challenge; I guess I was a bit late, and some of the stores had already begun to stock . . . gasp . . . Christmas stuff. (I could go on, but I’ll save that for another post.) Then I filled my Disney Villain ice bucket (the Evil Queen always points outward when displayed – she is, after all, The Best Villain Ever), put away my own private stash of candy (at least I know Steve will leave it alone) lit the candles in the pumpkins on the porch, turned the porch light on, and waited. I imagine I looked like a toddler on Christmas morning, standing on tiptoe to peep out the windows in our front door for the first visitors. I didn’t have to wait long; they started to come early. We saw many little Batmen, Darth Vaders, and princesses. One little girl, probably about four, explained when I opened the door for her, in a voice that was both exasperated and matter-of-fact beyond her years, "I can’t reach your doorbell." She was still stretching for it when I dropped a Kit Kat into her bucket. I gave her a DumDum sucker, too, because I liked her so much; it was little ones like her who were my favorites. I realized that, while there weren’t many like her, weren’t many who said both "Trick-or-Treat" and "thank you," weren’t many who seemed to enjoy the getting of the candy as much as the candy itself, it was the ones like her that made it worth it – even when I had to dip into my private stash when the ice bucket was empty.

Steve and I also got to vote together for the first time, finally living in the same district. We drove the whole minute and a half down to the park lodge that was named on my little voting card. There, walking in, I was reminded that voting is so important, so responsible, so . . . quaint. The lodge smelled like the kindling stacked next to the fireplace, and also a bit like my grandmother’s house. Nice little old ladies asked for our names and directed us into curtained booths, where, carefully and responsibly, we cast our votes. Then said little old ladies dropped our punched ballots, sans hanging chads (which we had dutifully removed per the sign inside the booth), into locking boxes . . . that were unlocked. We at once felt both proud of ourselves for having done our civic duty and sadly pedestrian.

In honor of the passing season, I was going to attach some photographs that I took a few weeks ago when Steve and I went apple picking, but I'm having technical difficulties. But apple pictures will be posted as soon as I figure out what's going wrong. But in the meantime . . . anyone want a pie? I have plenty of apples left . . .