One of Those Happy Posts.

I can floss my teeth ... VERY WELL ... in the time it takes Blogger to upload four pictures. I mean floss 'em like the dentist teaches. No crevice spared. Not even the faaaarrrrr back ones. So, by the time I'm thru w/ the marathon flossing and uploading, I'm worn out. And I wanted to be fresh for this post because this IS. THE. MOST. WONDERFUL. TIME. OF. YEAR. I could argue the same for Spring what w/ the flowers and capri pants and sandals and all. Or for winter because of the boots. Or for summer because of no school. Or for Christmas. Well, because of presents, of course. But, fall is my best. My very, very best.

And I've really no intense childhood connection that makes it so. Since my birthday falls THE DAY BEFORE HALLOWEEN (helloooo, another shameless birthday plug for meeeee), my parties were usually costume parties back when store-bought costumes were plastic and masks were held w/a piece of elastic and the air holes were never in the right places for nose and mouth and should "Witchy Poo" get to breathing too fast in all the excitement, she's going DOWN in the middle of the party for lack o' oxygen. But, no real memory stands out til adulthood. Because a child can't appreciate a drop in temperature from 98 to 94 or GASP! 89 like a mommy can. 89 feels so much more like fall.

If I was in grade school and had to paint a picture of "Why I Like Fall," I'd use a lot of happy paint colors to brush me and The Big One, my first born, walking a million miles thru our neighborhood ... me pushing his blue, Graco "Travel System" stroller that weighed close to 1,000 pounds. He was nine months old, babbling non-stop, reaching, kicking happy feet, ALMOST walking, and usually falling asleep before too long into the walk if I timed it just right. One day, the one I remember best, the fall decorations were at their peak, the temperature was mild, a breeze was blowing his baby hair, and I think I told him, "You are so going to love fall. Pumpkins and cider and mazes made out of hay bales. You're going to love Halloween. And candy. And costumes ... but not scary ones ... promise me you'll never ask for a scythe and fake blood. Promise me? 'K? Promise me you won't trick or treat all the way 'til you're 18 and collect your candy in a pillow case? 'K? 'Cuz that's just a different kind of scary. 'K? You little cuteypatootyhootiescootierootie ..." And then I just got goofy and we took a nap. But, for some reason that's the day when I decided fall was my best.

And fall clothes and fall food and fall colors ... they're just all better. Football games and homecoming mums and blue jean jackets. OKTOBERFEST. Fests of ALL shapes and sizes.

For a family of elementary-schoolers, THIS time of year is far busier than any other time of year. Valentine's Day is a close second. And I guess because there is little religious observance to either of the holidays, public schools can let it all hang out. And they do. With crafts and cupcakes and frosting and sprinkles and glue and glitter. WHY is glitter still legal for use by children under 10? I think it should be locked up in store cases w/ the Sharpies and spray paint. It's a TOXIC, TOXIC substance ... didn't you know that? 'Specially when it meets w/ carpet and hair.

But, now I've lapsed into something I DON'T like about fall. And I didn't think there WAS anything. So I think glitter must be about it. Glitter and those plastic, jack-o'lantern leaf bags. I think I don't mind the bags so much BEFORE Halloween, it's just that they sometimes sit carelessly in yards until Christmas and that makes me tired.

I also like acorns. I like the way they crunch under my feet and bike tires. And I DO go out of my way to step on them or ride over them. Especially the empty little acorn "hats." Those crunch best. The Short One loves a good acorn, too. So much so that he insists his school shorts have pockets so he can collect acorns at recess. Not one or two. Not the perfect 'corns w/ no blemishes. Not the ones still wearing their "hats." Any and all. We've a forest of acorns in various containers in his room right now. He's stopped collecting because he wants to "leave SOMETHING for the squirrels to eat, Mommy." Thank GOD!! But, he won't part w/ the ones he already has. So, the Gatorade bottles full of acorns are a sprouting, moldy mess.

I love that the boys still look forward to the afternoon in fall when we go to "The Pumpkin Store" to select our pumpkins. They really, really work hard finding, "a tall one, a short one, and one that's not orange." One pumpkin for each boy to "carve" on Halloween afternoon and one to cut into just to see what color lives inside. And they "carve" those pumpkins by watching ME carve those pumpkins because NEITHER boy will touch the pumpkin "GUTS" and that leaves me to scrape and slop the sticky, stringy pulp, and EACH YEAR our neighbor walks over to inspect our carvings and EACH YEAR says the same thing as she gazes on the piles of orange, wet innards laying on newspaper and driveway and stuck to my forearms and hair ... "You KNOW you can roast those seeds, dontcha?"

"You want 'em??" I want to say. "Helllp yourrrrselllfff. Oh, and HAPPY FALL!"