Pumpkins

Hey, A,

Last night before I settled in to the debate I got a chance to talk to S, and C--who is now old enough to want to talk to me on the phone as well. We made final plans for this weekend. Today I really started looking forward to them.

Every year since since my Sunshine was 3, I would spend an overnight at L's in early fall and take S out to breakfast and then for pumpkins. There's a nice orchard and farm stand close by L's and every year they have a pumpkin patch and haystack maze. They provide Radio Flyers and it's a lot of fun. Sometimes we pick apples too, or buy a pie to take home, but always we get pumpkins--one for everyone in her family, including me. In the last couple of years what used to take half a day for me and a 3 or 4 year old now takes 2 hours max. A couple of years ago we stretched our day and went shopping for a Halloween costume; last year we went to the craft store after then came home and did some scrap booking. It was our thing. But now C is 3, the age I started taking S.... and I left it to her if she wanted it to continue to be our thing or if she wanted to include her little brother this time.

With L's gentle prodding (You know how much he loves pumpkins! If you left him home it would be cruel! lol) S decided to share the tradition with her brother. I am so excited!! On many levels--for one that S would be mature and secure enough to share this, knowing that she and I have other things that can be just for us. To hear C on the phone last night was so freakin' adorable! I think we're going to have such a good day. I'm definitely going to get all photog on them. (Put them in the wagon and have them say cheese!) I hope to make up for my artist's date that went bust and more. The leaves are prettier than they were just a couple of days ago, and the weather for the weekend looks nice. Most of all though, I haven't seen them in a while and I miss them both. I am definitely overdue for some of their hugs and kisses, for some auntie time.
Since I have a long weekend coming up it'll be perfect--I'll get me time and auntie time.

I'm not sure why I thought of that...maybe because I saw pumpkins adorning yards on my way home and it made me get excited as I did last night at the sounds of their voices.

I'm excited tonight just to kick up my feet and read a new magazine that came in the mail, and flip through some holiday catalogs. (What is wrong with me?!?!? Wasn't I crying just a month ago about summer ending and going back to school?) Of course Food network and the political shows are a given, too.

Hope you are having a good day too. Love, Barb