The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love the fall.  Love it!  It makes me so incredibly happy! Everything about this time of year makes me happy.  The smells, the weather, the events, they all add up to what I consider to be unequivocally the most wonderful time of the year.

Frankly, I think that the holiday season starts with Homecoming.  Which, by the way, seems to happen earlier and earlier every year.  I guess that it's no wonder that the Homecoming attire has changed so drastically to, um, minimalistic fashion, shall we say. I mean, we wouldn't want those poor little darlings to get over heated so of course they should wear skin tight strapless dresses with barely there hemlines.  Back in my day, pardon me while I conjure up the spirit of my grandmother.  Ahem, back in my day we used to wear something a bit more demure.  I remember only too well what I wore to my junior year Homecoming, which, by the way, I attended with Jacksonville's own Mayor Ezard!  Ah, memories.  If you want more details than that you'll have to ask me in person.  Because I do NOT kiss and tell!  Anyways, I wore a plaid wool skirt with a coordinating wool sweater with tights and cute little flats, but, that pretty much sums up what every girl wore to Homecoming back then. We thought we were hot stuff.  We were something, for sure.  Something straight out of the Preppy Handbook.  Not that that is a bad thing!  Preppy has made a resurgence.  However, as one of my girlfriends put it, "Why did we think it was hot to look like little old ladies?" I mean preppy has it's time and place.  Maybe we could have put a little more effort into it.  Why not bring back the cocktail dress, girls?  A la "Mad Men".  Now, THAT would be fabulous!  But, I digress...

Nothing beats a good Homecoming parade, either!  I think I look forward to them as much as my boys do.  I love scouting out our spot and plopping down on the curb to wait for the excitement to begin.  Before you know it there is a round of gunfire shot off by a handful of soldiers announcing the start of the parade.  They proudly display Old Glory as they march by. I am such a simple fool because I get a bit weepy at this site, every dang time.  Next comes the police car and fire truck. I think it is such a hoot to watch the faces of the youngest parade goers debating whether they are going to laugh in delight or scream in pure terror at the wailing sirens. C'mon, you know that's funny!  I remember once watching some poor dog right at the moment the fire truck started blaring its' sirens.  The sweet little thing was manically chasing its' tail and then it suddenly stopped to vomit. And, then it began chasing its' tail again.  So, it's not for everyone.  Again, I digress.  I think that quite possibly the best part of the Homecoming parade is the marching band.  Who doesn't love a marching band?  Well, probably not that little dog, but I sure do!  It's the part of the parade that I wait for in baited breath.  Well, that and banana Laffy Taffy.  My boys both know that if they happen to come across banana Laffy Taffy in their parade loot that it is mine.  It's a rule. 

Football.  Now, admittedly I am not a true "fan".  But, I enjoy a game every once in a blue moon.  And, football truly is the sport of the fall season.  When most people, and by people I mean men, think of fall they think of football.  I will be a bit of a football patron this fall.  My oldest is playing flag football at the YMCA for the first time.  It actually is adorable watching these little squirts learning to play the sport that will someday leave them with broken bones and concussions and arthritis.  I kid!  Now, my son is the one who "runs with the herd".  He's built like a line backer but he's got the demeanor of Nelson Mandela.  So, he just runs when everyone else runs.  It may not be in his future but it's fun for now.

Coming up in October I get to go to a REAL football game.  I will be joining a fabulous group of ladies that I have not seen since college on a little reunion weekend in Tallahassee, Florida.  Home of..........

        FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY!!!!!    GO NOLES!!!!  >>>>>>>--------------------->

So, that should be fun!  Ya THINK?  I can not wait.  I am certain that I will have lots of stories to tell after that weekend. But, most of what happens in Tally will stay in Tally.  For a fee. :)

It's only been 20 years since I've been there.  And, there is something just so incredibly awesome about seeing a big university football game.  I remember taking my parents to a game when they came to visit me on a parent's weekend.  My dad was in complete awe.  He was like a kid in a candy store.  And, just when he thought it couldn't possibly get any better, he got to do "the wave".  Never mind that he was watching the National Champs play at home.  And, never mind that alum Burt Reynolds speared the field that day.  He got to do the wave!

Fall fashion has always made me weak in the knees.  This is the time of the year when the fashion mags are thick and loaded with all of the hottest and trendiest fall looks.  I pour through them looking for clues of how to make it work with my wardrobe.  I can not wait to layer sweaters over long sleeved tees and boots over leggings.  I had a preemptive fall fashion strike one day last week.  I could wait no longer to wear opaque tights with a skirt and long sleeved top.  The thermometer topped out at 88 degrees that day.  Needless to say I was a bit warm.  And, I would have looked super cute had it not been for the flop sweat that melted away any recognition of makeup or hair product that I applied that morning. But, then, I've never really been known for my patience.


The air outside right now could not get anymore perfect.  I love days that consist of a temperate high of 78 degrees and low of 58 degrees.  I adore actually needing to put on a jacket or light sweater in the evening because it's "chilly". I would be completely content to have that type of weather year round.  But, then, we wouldn't have the change of seasons to look forward to. 

This is the season that I missed the most when I went to school in Florida.  I missed the fall.  I missed the leaves turning their gorgeous fall colors. I missed the harvest and the pumpkins.  So, I am going to enjoy every possible second of this gorgeous fall season that we are having.  Because, before we know it, it will be, well, freaking cold.