For the Love of Fall

On a recent camping trip, we were blessed to time our mini vacation along with the beginning of fall. The cooler night temps, waking up to cook breakfast in the brisk morning air, the grass at home finally slowing down its need to be mowed every four days - it was all quite pleasant! Fall makes me ready to embrace change. My thoughts run wild with ideas on how to change my home decor to include warm, fall colors and my dinner menu to incorporate hearty soups followed by warm desserts like apple crisp. I'm ready for a change of wardrobe and cozy boots. I want to snuggle under blankets in the evening with my hubby and carve pumpkins with my children (well, maybe just paint pumpkins - no one likes to pull out the pumpkin guts and I always get stuck with that job).

This year, fall also makes me feel old. Fall is when my first born child came into this world. It's when my life was forever changed by my beautiful baby boy that is growing into a handsome young man right before my eyes. This year brings the thirteenth anniversary of that blessed event. *GASP* Even as I type the words, I can hardly believe it myself. The same boy that once told me, "Don't cry, Mommy. If you cry; I'll cry" still holds my heart in the palm of his adult sized hand. (By the way, that comment was made after I got a speeding ticket. In case you didn't already know, I am sooooooo not a rebel.)

I wake up every morning waiting to see if the son I now literally see eye to eye with has surpassed me in height and to hear if his voice has grown any deeper. While I absolutely love watching him grow and mature, every once in a while, I long for the times he used to curl up in my lap and need me to comfort him. I long to kiss the top of his head and breathe in his sweet scent without him sighing "Mooooooom". I think I should spend the next month enjoying every second I can before he enters his teens and figures out it's not cool to been seen in public with your mom. Maybe I'll even put a brick on top of his head.