This Mom’s Ode to October

The fictional character Anne of Green Gables said, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” And I couldn’t agree more.

As a desert dweller, October is finally the month when we can actually say summer is over and done with for another year. The triple digits are gone and we can begin to enjoy lots of time outdoors once again.

We can finally embrace all the fall things that many of our friends and families in other parts of the country have been bragging about for a while: decorated porches with hay bales and gourds, flannel shirts, and pumpkin spiced drinks.

Halloween is coming in hot and let’s be real – it’s most people’s favorite holiday. Kids and adults of all ages have an excuse to dress up and be scary or glamorous or funny. And even better, we have the perfect justification to enjoy some of our favorite candy from childhood. And no one feels an obligation to buy any gifts or send any cards or purchase expensive plane tickets to celebrate.

And for the baseball fans out there, there’s the World Series to enjoy. Multiple nights when you can serve hot dogs and popcorn for dinner and no one dare complain.

But the main reason that I love October is because it’s the month that both of my kids were born. In our house, we love the old Major League Baseball tagline, “Legends are born in October.”

So, even though my kids are off at college now, when I turn the calendar to October, I immediately think of birthday plans and how we’ll celebrate this year.

And I think back to the Octobers of the past. The years we traveled to Disneyland and took advantage of my best friend who lived so close and always let us stay with her.

The years my kids had Halloween costume-themed birthday parties, which made it so nice and easy for me.

The years of pumpkin carving contests, “Create the Best Toilet Paper Mummy” and “Guess How Many Candy Corns are in the Jar” games.

Those little kid party days are long gone, but the memories live on forever. And there are new memories to be made. I’m currently thinking about how to celebrate a milestone birthday for my son this year. Pinterest is calling my name.

Because no matter how old your kids get, you want to make their birthday special in some way. Even if you can’t be with them physically on that day, you can talk, text, and Face Time. You can re-tell the story of their birth and how the world changed because of their entrance into it.

October will always be the yearly anniversary of my status change to the best designation I’ve ever had– “Mom.”  

Cheers to fall leaves, pumpkins, home runs, and birthday candles.