From the lazy hazy days of summer, to the quiet frost in winter, nature’s beautiful transition during autumn is short-lived when we don’t stop to breathe. Our calendars naturally fill with school functions, birthday and Halloween parties, and mile-high to-do lists. And though we thoughtfully intend to internalize nature’s glory during this season of golden afternoons and crimson colored leaves, all too often, we find ourselves indoors with the heater on, complaining about all of the leaves in the backyard that we now have to rake.

Without being able to reconfigure the school calendar, parent-teacher conferences, and family obligations, however, how do we ensure that we are able to create idyllic autumnal memories?

My advice is simple.  Get out your calendar now, and pencil in one tiny task.  I will, too.  Here are a few ideas, please leave us yours in the comments section:

1. Open your windows. I know, not everyone likes to sleep with the windows open.  However, even if it is just for a few hours in the evening, or first thing in the morning, open your windows and let the breeze inside.  The feel of the crisp air and the sounds of the rustling leaves brings such a peace inside your home.  Let it in, even just for a little while.

2. Pick a pumpkin.  If you have the time to take the tractor ride to the pumpkin patch, choose, and carve your own pumpkin, give yourself an A+, or a Pumpkin Spice Latte!  However, to all of my girls who pick one up at the supermarket, I feel ya, sista!  Bringing home one fall pumpkin will bring a little of the season into your home, and it really doesn’t matter where it came from.  

3. Attend a fall festival. Whether it is the Fall Festival at your child’s school, a neighborhood block party, or your town’s Chili-Cook off, take an afternoon or evening to be with others.  Throw on a sweater, grab your favorite drink, and fall into some seasonal fun. 

4. Make a new recipe.  Have you pinned that crock pot meal on Pinterest, but never actually created it?  I know you saw that pumpkin flavored dessert that your friend shared on Facebook, doesn’t it look easy?  Put those ingredients on your grocery list and set aside one afternoon to make a fall recipe.  

5. Make a new tradition.  Visit some place you always go in the summer, in the autumn.  Perhaps your local zoo puts on a fun fall event you’ve never attended before.  Can you and your significant other make time for a day date to a winery? Grab some girl friends and meet for lunch and shopping in a picturesque small town near you.  Whatever new idea strikes you, pencil it in and make it happen. 

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”  L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

~Think on These Things~

Natalie

Photograph by Michael Yamashita