Sometimes the start of October puts me on a trip down memory lane.
Way back when, I recall every year the Chicago Tribune would repeat the same picture on the front of their Sunday Magazine. One half featured a picture of piles of brightly colored leaves burning and the other half had visions of tipis with Native Americans dancing. I believe it was a salute to the period of dry, unseasonably warm weather in late October that William Shakespeare referred to as “All-Hallown Summer.”
Unfortunately, we don’t see that distinction in seasons where I live in Texas.
When I was growing up, my family lived in a house that was surrounded by trees. You could look out and see the colorful leaves cascading to the ground. At that time, we would rake the leaves to the street and start burning them. I realize that the smoke did add to pollution, but I loved the smell and the sight of the burning leaves.
My husband, Terry, and I bought our first house in 1976 and once again I was raking leaves. The first year in the house, I was nine months pregnant, and the size of my stomach kept interfering with my range of motion. It seemed to take forever and a day to get our small yard raked. And, of course, the next day, it needed to be done again.
Where I live now, it’s the end of September, and we’re still seeing temperatures in the 90s. I miss autumn’s crisp mornings and cool evenings. I also remember hoping for nice weather so kids could enjoy trick or treating on Halloween. It was fun watching them run from house to house to see how much candy they could collect.
Now I live in a 55-plus community that doesn’t get trick or treaters. I think of the years my neighbors and I sat on our driveways while enjoying an evening of fun as we passed out candy. I miss those good old days.
I hope you have a fun Halloween! Buy lots of treats and pray for nice weather.
