Fall makes me reflective and nostalgic. I suspect it does so to many of us. For me it stirs to the forefront of my mind the activities I enjoyed as a child during this season- playing in the freshly fallen leaves and hearing them crunch underfoot; the smells of the leaves on the ground and first fires lit and wafting through chimneys. The hours spent outside enjoying the brilliant blue skies and rainbow sunsets, knowing all too well they would soon be replaced by the dreary greys of winter. And who can ever forget the smells and tastes of hot apple cider or cocoa and fresh baked pumpkin pies? These are things that probably 100 of us can relate to and smile at the memories.
For me there's a few more that are probably not so familiar, like taking a day to go to old book stores with my mom and sisters and being mesmerized by the beauty of the written word and the scent that is unique only to an old book store. Or spending weekends with my family with a football game on in one room, a game of dominoes or rook happening in another and a constant revolving door of food through the kitchen. Meanwhile I'd roam from one to another during the day, joining in a few rounds of dominoes or deliberately cheering for the "other" team in the football game. Always at some point I'd find myself outside. Sometimes alone but usually hot on the heels of my cousins who were all at least ten years older than I. Oh the trouble we got into! But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I can credit these cousins along with my brothers for my love of sports and family. We may not always (or ever) cheer for the same team, but we are still going to gather together and watch the amazing plays and hear the clash of helmets and pads while we continue to grow and learn about life. Ya know, there's a lot of life lessons taught between plays that stick long after we forget the score of the game.
Enjoy some fall nostalgia of your own and make some new memories this year.
