Defending Autumn

I was telling my husband tonight all about my feelings regarding fall while eating pumpkin pancakes at our local Ihop.  It was a lengthy conversation, one I will spare you, but it all came down to this: People say all the time we don't get "fall" in Florida. We don't get the leaves changing color (ok, some do...but mostly not until winter). We don't get the crisp, chilly air (it gets cooler at night, but it's still warm during the day). **Edited to add since writing this post: It dipped into the 50's and 60's during the day here in Orlando this past week. It was nice.**  We don't get the "fall smell". Those in northern states know what I'm talking about, right?

Here's the thing folks. They are wrong. We DO get fall. Seasons are not marked solely by weather. When you think of fall..what do you think of? Sure, crisp air, dead leaves and "that" smell comes to mind. But, really, for me it's about pumpkins and apples. Hayrides and corn mazes. It's buying all the pumpkin flavored items I can get my hands on. It's about fun crafts and Halloween. Apple cider and caramel apples. Candy corn and Thanksgiving. Scary movies and campfires. You can get these things ANYWHERE. Anywhere, folks. It might be 80 degrees in the shade here in Central Florida, but all those things I mentioned? They are here.

So, you can tell me all day long that your fall is better than my fall, because it's in Michigan or Pennsylvania or New York. I get it. I was born and raised in northeast Pennsylvania.  You know what though? My fall? The fall in my own home. In my town. In Florida. It's pretty awesome, too. While you are creating your fall wherever you are, I am creating mine. My kids will look back and remember fall being about pumpkin patches, trick or treating and cooler weather. Just like yours. Sure, it will be greener and warmer than some but it's all my kids have known.  Inside our home, the seasons change because we make it happen for our children. My husband and I step it up a notch in the holiday and special occasions department for our kids because we want to create wonderful memories for them. We can't give them cold, crisp air or crunchy, dead leaves, but we can give them memories that will conjure up "fall" for them years down the road. They will know what fall is all about..because it's not about weather. Oh no. It's about family, traditions and love. Oh, and pumpkins, too.

"The story my kids will tell someday depends on me. I am writing their book, and I want their childhood chapters full of traditions and stories and memories of the comforts of home."--Kelle Hampton.

And don't even get me started about Christmas!