Why I love fall

Some leaves outside my window inspired me, here is a ten minute jaunt down memory lane.

I love autumn so much. I love the warm days with crisp nights. Its wonderful to walk around and hear the familiar crunch of leaves. The trees are in full splendor, but it only takes a gust to knock them to the ground. Warm cider warms my soul and tickles my nose. A crunchy, chewy caramel apple make my day.

Looking at the leaves reminds me of grade school days when I would collect leaves. I would bring them to my mom and she would smile at each revelation. And when dad would rake the leaves, it was the best! I would jump on the tarp as he moved the leaves across the yard. He would break out in a run and I would squeal in delight. My sister, brother, and I would jump into his perfect piles throwing leaves everywhere. When my brother was younger, my sister and I would bury him in the leaves.

And when Halloween came around we would carefully gather those leaves and put them in these giant plastic bag pumpkins. Halloween of course, was a celebration in of itself. Carving pumpkins was always a family activity. I was so happy when we carved pumpkins while I was home over fall break. It's hard to forget the costumes and trick or treating in the neighborhood.

But the best part of fall is apples. We would start off with going to Johnny Appleseed Festival. What a treat that was! Sometimes we would even go to the apple orchard. My mom was patient as we ran around picking as many apples as we could. My mom made everything imaginable from those apple! I still remember making the applesauce.

Now that I'm in college, I don't have to worry about raking the leaves. My apple selection is reduced to what the dining court provides. But if I could, I would rake up the leaves just to jump in them. I would love to travel back in time and re-live some of these childhood memories. Those memories are why I love this season so much.