September, At Last

It's finally September, friends.

When I was little, my mum would read me this story all the time called A Bear for All Seasons. Basically, this bear and this fox are friends and they talk about the awesomeness of all of the different seasons while they try to decide which is best.

I feel like that bear.

I love the twinkling lights and sparkling snow and the bustle of Christmas, but once that dies down, winter in the 'Burgh is just...well, blah. It's grey and more rainy than anything with biting cold winds and random 65 degree days.

Spring comes and brings all of these gorgeous flowers and the long-missing sunshine, and it's great until it rains and I just want summer and sundresses and front porches and outdoor concerts.

Scarecrows on the shelf-- not too early :)

That wears out after a while too, and I find myself missing falling multicolored leaves, pumpkins, flannels, bonfires, and that hay/dirt/rain smell. I love fall. We aren't quite there yet, but as soon as it was September (the best of all months, and not just because it's my birth month), the weather seemed to know it was time to cool down. I had a hard time not busting out sweaters, and Shelley and I definitely got a little carried away with pumpkin-spice-scented pinecones and a little scarecrow girl who resembles me, right down to the overall dress.

I look forward to the possibilities that come with this autumn season. I've started my new jobs, and I have a classroom full of students to shape into better readers and writers, sure, but also just decent human beings. If they leave my room learning to connect to others and be compassionate, the literature has served its purpose-- and so have I.

Yesterday, I went out to Y-town with Shelley to see her younger sister and nephew, and we took them to a market and played around outside in the drizzle, then adventured to the park. It was so freeing to be able to run and explore (in spite of my frizzy braid) and enjoy the weather and nature together. I encourage you to get outside and just be. Winter rolls in pretty quickly in the mid-Atlantic states, so I'm taking advantage of the beautiful days as much as I can. Also, the photography options are great!

My best little pal

It was overcast or drizzling most of the day, so I left my hair curly and put my barn coat (a Kmart special from when I was 12) on over my flannel shirt and these most comfortable jeans from Dottie Couture Boutique. Dottie is my favorite store, and they also are doing something called Dottie Cares-- basically each month they donate proceeds to a different cause, which is super cool and another good reason to shop small versus at a chain.

It was a good day for Vans, even though as I was chasing Trent and Shelley over the loamy grass I wished I were barefoot. We were slaying dragons (aka Shelley) at the White House Fruit Farm and scouting out lions, sharks, and polar bears at the park. Also, while we were hiking we found a couple of different rocks. The first one I saw tucked into a tree's roots, painted blue and green like the Earth and it said "Peace," which made me smile. The second one, Shelley and Trent found. It's part of some social media campaign to brighten people's days, so we moved them somewhere else for people to find! It's definitely one of those things that sounds sort of cheesy until you experience it, believe me.

Happy Labor Day, everyone. Hopefully you're all enjoying the long weekend. I'll be trying (rather unsuccessfully) to refrain from all things apple/pumpkin/flannel as we segue into fall.