Remember doing this?

I have a lot of memories from my childhood. Some are vivid, some are vague. Not surprisingly it's the memories that not only have pictures associated with them, but smells, sounds, tastes, and tactile sensations that tend to stand out.

I've said before that Fall is my favorite season of the year. Largely, that's because it suits who I am today. I don't think I've ever really thought about it in these terms, but many of my best and most vivid childhood memories are from the fall as well. I remember walking through the cemetery next to my grandparents' house in Pittsburgh in the fall, climbing leafless trees and coming back and throwing a football in their back yard with my dad. I remember Fall camping trips with my aunts, uncles and cousins. Most of all, I remember raking huge piles of fallen maple leaves in my friend Chris' front yard and then running down the hill to jump in them. Rake, run, repeat. I can't imagine anything I would have chosen to do instead had there been leaves available for collecting.

I imagine this might have been something like what we looked like all those years ago on Highland Avenue.



I love the fact that my kids choose to go outside and play. They weren't at Mandi's grandmother's house more than 10 minutes yesterday before they started clamoring to go outside and play. Everything seems a little bit more right in the world when kids choose to go pick flowers and run around when there's a perfectly good TV inside to watch. Kids come together in the outdoors. All the things that make them incompatible with each other when they're inside the four walls of a house seem to disappear when they step outside.



Avery and I went camping overnight Saturday too. The battery in my camera conked out after about an hour, so there aren't a ton of pictures to share. Sunday, after everyone else had gone home, we spent a few hours hiking around the park and just enjoying the beautiful Fall day. I really don't like cliches, but Avery is really in her element outside in the elements. We picked berries, wondered about fallen trees, scavenged for wild pecans, and generally just enjoyed our time together. This picture pretty much sums it all up . . Avery, in her pajamas and a warm coat, halfway up a tree.


And we got this Fall fun in just in the nick of time . . tomorrow's forecast high temperature is in the mid-40's. Yikes . . I guess I won't be wearing shorts to work.