It is the greatest time of the year!  I have never grown out of my childhood joy that fall brings.  Maybe because the best art projects at school were this time of year, perhaps it was jumping in leaves and kicking through the piles as I walked home or because it meant my birthday was just around the corner and Thanksgiving would soon follow.  My exuberance for the season is almost spazy.  I try to recreate the excitement I felt as a kid with my children, so much so that they no longer look up to oblige me when we are driving along and I shout with every ounce of enthusiasm “Oh my gosh, look at that gorgeous tree, have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”  I receive a dull “nope” in response with barely a glance.  That’s okay; I will do it every year so that one day when I am gone they will look at the trees and remember me.  They will know at that very moment that I am thinking of them and missing them deeply.  As a mom you have to do these kinds of things to ensure they will miss you too one day and that this will become a tradition forced on them to share with their kids.  In the mean time, I take every opportunity to point out the streets lined in trees.  I go out of my way to find locations that I know will have an abundant display of color, I visit all my favorite trees from years prior and the fall parade never disappoints….well it may aggravate my kids a bit but as for me, I am in a blissful state.

The brilliant colors coupled with a balmy afternoon.  Windy blustery days scattering leaves every which way like confetti to create a spontaneous celebration of fall!   Today, I happily answered that invitation to party with the season.  I started with a craft activity, followed by a warm comforting dinner and a hearty glass of red wine, just enough to toast the honorary recipient, Autumn.

Unfortunately my craft efforts do not match my passion for the greatest season of the year (spring will inspire the same wonder and spirit but I can’t think about that right now – today it is all about fall).  I think at one point I was top mom when it came to crafts but somewhere that title has been demoted to a lesser position.  I am content with our tiny pumpkins, glitter and some glue.  Nowhere near the extravaganza that I used to pull off.  Pinterest would crash if I posted the pitiful craft project I settled on but it was just right for Jackie and I.   The creation was enough of a mess that guarantees glitter residue finding its way onto our clothes and faces for weeks to come yet easy enough that we can be done within an hour so as not to cut into homework.   To complete the night there is a forecast for high winds and heavy rain –  oh happy fall!!