I remember looking forward to Autumn and the first day of school going back to when I was 5 years old and starting Kindergarten. Then I had my brand-new maroon leather Mary Janes, my tiny brown corduroy bandbox style “purse/snack box” and insatiable curiosity. For the majority of my life, from age 5 to age 66, the year began in September. I was either in school, teaching school, sending my boys off to school or wishing I was going to school. Now I have the grandkids and most of them are going off to school or already started. Aside from Christmas and their birthdays, this is the time of year when I love to shop for them. I don’t get to buy school supplies for them anymore, although I still buy myself new notebooks when they are on sale. I do get to pick out some great clothing items that I think they will like and will complement their wardrobes or if that is not an option, I take one of them for a back to school mani-pedi & give some $$$ to the others, this used to be for new shoes, originally, when Jerry was with me. Sometimes we would go with Cheryl to the mall and buy the girls back to school shoes. So many memories of back to school shopping, which to me represents hope for the future.

Pumpkin Coffee is a relatively new phenomenon. While I always associated certain flavors with certain times of the year, it never was a trend or not one that I recognized until recently. I discovered pumpkin flavored coffee a number of years ago and it immediately gained my favor. I only like it hot, iced pumpkin coffee definitely does not “do it” for me. Along with the pumpkin coffee come the fall colors: orange, brown, gold and taupe. The entire world is decked out in these colors and I am no exception. I have bought leaves in orange and brown to adorn the wreath I will hang on the front door. I start thinking of butternut squash soup and roasted sweet potatoes.

The Hurricanes, while I guess they have always been around, have suddenly become as big news as the back to school sales…only much more devastating. I don’t mean to make light of them at all. I recognize the destruction and devastation they reek as well as the lives they destroy and the cost in both dollars and human emotion. I just don’t remember there being so many of them or of them being of such magnitude. My daughter in law is worried about me, she wants me to make specific preparations and plans in case of a hurricane. I consider checking the batteries on my flashlights and lanterns and storing up bottled water enough preparation. Who knows what the right thing to do is, only time will tell. I just don’t like this new item added to my list of things that come in the Fall.

Wordsmith647