October- my favorite month of the year! Cool weather tiptoes in as a welcome smile. Like a comforting shawl, the shorter days hold us closer. This is the time of year where we enjoy seasonal foods of butternut squash and apple butter. Summer salads are replaced by soothing warm soups.

One of favorite memories is when I was living in Virginia as a child. With my father off in Vietnam, my mother would rake the fall leaves into a sheet, wrap them into an enormous bundle, and drag them through the yard to burn the leaves in a smoky pit. My sister and I would run and jump in the piles. Leaves flew up like firecrackers and our screams of laughter and joy would swirl high into the bare trees.

Celebrate the season- past and present and future! Share your thoughts with us at 55andchange!!