Not my favorite season, but.....

I may be changing my mind.

Fall has never been a favorite of mine.  I am more of a spring and summer girl!  I like flowers and sunshine and warmer weather and not wearing coats.  I live breezes through open windows and the smell of grass just mown.

I like the freedom from the school schedule that summer offers.  I always enjoyed not having to fuss at the girls to do their homework or to study or to get to bed at a certain time because that alarm would ring earlier than any of us would like.

Some of that freedom of summer evaporated when I taught 15 summers for Purdue.  It really vanished when I went to Ivy Tech and it was expected that full-time faculty teach at least 50% in the summer.  I realized that the 50% contract was over and above my regular pay and was a nice addition to our bank account.  Plus the summer classes seemed more relaxed and successful than the normal semesters.

But still.....I liked summer best of all.

After retirement (and maybe even before that) I came to enjoy the harvest season.  There was a time before the girls when I would drive to The Farm, change my clothes, and go into the combine with Gary for the evening.

When the girls were in school, those days vanished because (recall the previous paragraphs) we had to do homework and get to bed at a decent time for school the next day.  Then they became more active in after school activities and sports and that time in the combine didn't happen.

When I went to Ivy Tech, it was worse because my schedule often included night classes or those that would run until 5:30, and by the time I got home, changed, and drove to The Farm, Gary would be finishing for the night

All that changed when I retired.  I could ride with him.  I could help in other ways.  But mainly I enjoyed our time together, the crisp fall air, the sound of the stalks being snapped off and the ears popping off, then stripped and the hopper filling with the dry kernals of corn.

We saw deer, we watched sunsets, and we were exhausted, but I felt once again like I was a Farm Wife, helping her farmer husband with the harvest.

Now all of that is gone too.  The Farm is in the process of being sold.  We are cash renting our land plus the land in the trust.  We sold all of our equipment at the end of August.  We moved to Colburn from Pulaski and the fields around us have been harvested.

And now I feel like I can enjoy Fall in a different way.

Saturday Megan asked me to go with her to do some shopping.  We looked at Fall decor at Kohls for the tables.  We went to a nursery west of Rossville and picked up some huge mums for just $6.  We stopped at an orchard for apples, cider, and pumpkins.

For the first time in a LONG time I was excited about decorating for fall.

As Gary and I have been cleaning out the blue bedroom and the garage, we found my collection of decorative wreaths and several have fall themes and colors.  I now have doors and a hook about the fireplace where they can be displayed.  Plus we received several mums for housewarming gifts last weekend.

I remember one time when Karen Whelan and I were talking about apparel and I said that I liked sweatshirts, sweaters, long pants, and boots better than shorts and sleeveless tops.  She said my modesty was showing through.  That may be part of it (plus I think my legs are ugly and my arms fat), but I do like the look of fall and winter clothing much better than that of spring and summer.

Slowly I am transforming to a Fall person.  I am not sure I can give up spring and summer totally as my favorite seasons, but it is getting close!

Bring on the changing colors and cooler temps, bonfires, and S'Mores, boots and sweatshirts!