Ahhh...Autumn

October is my favorite month. But don’t tell March, June or December. They might get jealous. I whole heartedly love cooler nights, sunny crisp days and decorating for fall. I love cooking for coziness, the scary winds that blow, and the need for cute fall sweaters. Yes I am that shallow. This weekend the 5 year old and I hauled out the decorations from the closet. We set out fall candles, a cornucopia, and some bears with pumpkins, and autumn towels. I also relented and put out my cute ghosts and fiber optic kitty and pumpkin I usually reserve until the week before Halloween. The 2 year old is enamored with the lights, and they aren’t scary, just cute. Too much Halloween is a discussion for another day.
I think my mom loved the fall when I was a kid because there was always that cathartic feeling around the house when we got home that she wasn’t frazzled, AND there were cookies, and a roast. She loved the Home Sweet Home candle from Yankee and burned the wax disks in a little pot. Bach Brandenburg Concertos and baroque music played in the tape deck, a far cry from the summer Beach Boys and rock and roll. She created a very cozy warm atmosphere; it was a time of renewal for her.
To me, fall is a renewal and the true start of a promise. God’s promise to us was truly fulfilled at what seemed like an ending: The death of Christ. Fall is the reminder that even though things seem to be ending, the truth is that like Christ rising, spring will come and new life will begin. Not that I enjoy the death, but remembering and being strengthened for the hard winter ahead is the joy of these shorter brilliant days.