Fall is absolutely my favorite season and over the years I have decided that October is my favorite month of the year. October is when we feel the first cool breeze. That first hint of fall is indescribably refreshing after a long hot summer. You can smell it in the air. The leaves begin changing colors and falling to the ground. It’s funny how the death of something can be so enchanting. Sunsets are one of my favorite things and they are most remarkable in the fall. They seem to be more vibrant and beautiful. Deep oranges, hot pinks and warm reds fill the evening October skies. Looking down my dirt road and seeing the gorgeous sunset up above my great-granddad’s old barn gives me a peace and comfort that is like no other. I just love to see the artwork God shares with us in the sky at the end of the day. I do not understand how anyone could experience such a magnificent thing and not believe that there is a Creator. Many people love spring because nature is coming alive and new growth is seen everywhere, but the colors of autumn and the sights, smells and feelings it brings, to me, are better than any other.
The activities and traditions that take place in the fall bring families together and make it an even more exciting time of the year. Football season is back and there is nothing like going to a college football game on a Saturday afternoon. With the weather getting cooler, being outside tailgating and cheering on your favorite team brings family and friends together for entertainment and competitive fun. And, of course, there is nothing more important in the south than Alabama and Auburn football!
The fair is another tradition that is enjoyed by many families, including mine. My family has always enjoyed going to the Alabama National Fair every year in October. My dad follows in my great-grandmother’s footsteps and enters different crafts and homemade items into the fair’s creative living center. My sister has grown to love entering drawings and paintings. I just enjoy the smell of the fair. As soon as I walk into the fair, I start to smell the many different scents and am reminded that fall is here. It just gives me a good feeling. I can smell the corn dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and funnel cakes. Lights from the different rides fill the midway as evening falls and the ferris wheel lights can be seen from miles around. I try and stay away from the livestock area because those smells aren’t quite as pleasant. Of course, seeing the swimming pigs is always a thrill and the circus never ceases to amaze me. My family and I always spend a good deal of time walking through the creative living center. We take our time as we look for the items we entered to see if any of us won a ribbon. The time spent at the fair with family and friends is carefree and rejuvenating.
Camping is another activity that is extremely enjoyable in the fall. My family loves to camp; however, as my parents have gotten older, they’ve learned that recovering from sleeping on the hard ground is not as easy as it once was. I do remember many hikes through the mountains in the fall with my family. The weather is perfect and the trees fill the forests with orange, brown and red hues. Sitting around a campfire at night roasting marshmallows for smores is one of my favorite parts of camping. It gets cool enough at night to be able to huddle around the campfire. Something about a group of people circled around a campfire somehow draws the group closer to one another.
The Holiday Market is an event that takes place in October every year in Montgomery. Venders from all around come and set up booths in the Montgomery civic center. There are novelty items, food, clothing, gifts, and Christmas decorations. My dad first took me to the Holiday Market when I was in Kindergarten. I remember him checking me out of class in the middle of nap time. I was so excited because I hated nap time and thought I was so cool to get to leave while everyone else had to sleep. My dad and I have been attending the Holiday Market for about fourteen years now. I love going to the Holiday Market with my dad because it’s really the only time out of the year that my dad and I ever go shopping together and we have a ball!
At the end of the month of October is an exciting and spooky holiday. Halloween has always been fun for me and my family. After summer coming to an end, we all need a holiday to bring some festivity back into the everyday routine. Of course, we do not celebrate Halloween as Satan’s holiday or take part in any form of devil worship. My family simply uses Halloween as a day to let go and have fun; and maybe pull a few pranks on each other. Many times we have a bonfire and a hayride. We usually go to our church’s fall festival and participate in the activities held there. For me, Halloween is a time for creativity, fun, celebrating the fall season and lots and lots of candy!
Also, October is a special month to me because thirteen years ago, on the fourteenth of this month my sister was born. My sister and I have grown closer over the past few years – closer than I’d ever really expected. I remember thinking what it would be like having a sister, but now I can’t imagine my life without her.
October is the precursor to the festive Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. It is the last signs of summer and the faint whispers of winter. While the memories of summer are still fresh in our minds, the excitement and anticipation for the holidays keeps us from longing for summer to remain. The aspect I love about fall is how I can see and feel God through the marvelous natural world around me; but perhaps my most favorite feature of the fall season is seeing the harvest moon for the first time each year. It never ceases to amaze me. All of a sudden, without any notice, the moon will appear ten times the size it normally does. This enormous orange moon will suddenly fill the sky before me. It seems so close I almost want to reach out and touch it. But then, just as abruptly as it appeared, the moon returns to normal size as if it had been that way all along. This awesome sight reminds me that my God is more powerful and mighty than I often give Him credit for. I serve a God who made the earth I live in and the universe around the earth. Simply seeing the harvest moon helps me realize that my God is watching over me and has not forgotten about me. Just like He gives us the bright sunshine for the summer, He gives us the harvest moon for the fall. My God will never leave or forsake us and His perfectly aligned seasons are just one way that show His meticulous and abounding love for us.
