10 Reasons Why October is the Best Month Ever.

Presented in chronological order, because sometimes priority hurts the other reasons' feelings.

1. Summer is officially over, and it actually shows. Sometimes that nasty hot weather can creep into late September, but rarely does it sully the blessed season of Fall. Fall belongs to October. It's brief and precious; magical, fleeting, and delicious. The air takes on new energy, the sunlight kisses the earth with a cinnamon-honey glow, and the twilight hours whisper lazy nothings into your bloodstream. (Can you feel it? *buzz buzz buzz*) This season dances to warm soup, crisp leaves, fuzzy sweaters, and bite-size candy wrappers. :) Never is there a better time to curl up with a good book, a soft blanket, spiced cider and pumpkin cookies, and (last but certainly not least) a cuddly, burly, teddy bear of a MAN. (get your own.)

2. Glorious, beautiful, breathtaking new colors to behold at every turn. Northern Utah is probably the best place in the world to partake of nature's splendor. I'm entitled to be biased, because I live here on purpose. Also, my list = my rules.

3. (October 9) John Lennon's birthday. This probably only matters to a "freak" like me, but any excuse for a Beatle party is a good excuse. Music + cake + TV specials and/or video night = joy + joyness.

4. (October 15) My sister's birthday. "Shaap-een baskets" (It was all to pieces and my dad "but" it back together), "Bink Bants," and "Twawk-wit cake." Tricia was ever so gracious to share her special day with us 4 years ago, and I only hope she knows how grateful I am to her that she spent that day in celebration for us. The 15th of any month is a good day for birthdays and weddings in our family.

5. (October 15) Our wedding anniversary. John has a great story about our wedding day and I heartily encourage him to post it here. Best. Day. Ever. *heart*

6. (October 22) My "re-birth" day. On this day in 2002 I had my gastric bypass surgery and got a new lease on life. In many, many ways, I am a new person because of this. I don't regret it one bit. (I do regret taking it for granted, however--one 50-pound regain later, I constantly struggle to regain, instead, my inner strength and determination from those early post-op days. It's harder than I ever imagined it would be and has tested me in ways I never dreamed possible.) I still have major body issues, but learning from scratch to take care of myself and honor the gift of life is a task I now practice with conscience and great humility. Someday I hope to have more good days than bad. Some other day I hope to eradicate the bad days altogether. That will be a great day, and I have October 22, 2002 to thank for it.

7. (October 24) This may seem ill-fitting to a "Best Month Ever" list, but stay with me. Someday I will look back on this day with wistful gratitude for the lessons it brought into my life, and since you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, I figure the lessons learned are well worth the price I paid for them. Or will be. October 24, 2007 was the day of my 3rd miscarriage. It was a day of desperation, pain, frustration, prayerful bargaining, and anger. Mostly anger. Being childless and barren and witnessing only further defeciency and incompetence in her body (see above) can really make a girl wonder about life and her place in it. I was tested with patience, perseverance, faith in God's timing, and not being in control of my own (and my family's) destiny. Even the most righteous desires of our hearts cannot be negotiated or planned for, and they can indeed be taken away from us through no clear fault of our own. If I ever claimed to understand the workings of God's plan for me, I certainly had to find purpose and wisdom in the very literal "blood, sweat and tears" of this particluar loss. My whole life up to this point had been a matter of "good things come to those who wait," and it looks like this chapter is to be no different from the many others that required professional editing before hitting publication. (Release date pending.)

8. (October 30) My birthday. I have had many memorable birthdays, and none of them were bad. I'm always so grateful to my parents for making our birthdays special occasions. Their love is a precious gift that has more meaning to me than any trinket or material offering. I've saved every birthday card, and re-reading the sentiments and warm wishes buoys me up quite unlike anything else on a blue day. I can always count on having a nice heart-to-heart with my mom and dad on my birthday. Mom's voice fills me with such peace and comfort; it's amazing how she can still nurture me, even into my adulthood. My dad re-tells the story of my birth every year, and I relish every word. Just knowing how indelible that memory is to him is a testament to his true love for me and I appreciate that more than he'll know--particularly when I feel undeserving of his love.

9. Pumpkin pie. I just hope we get to eat food in the afterlife. Pumpkin pie features prominently in my view of heaven's grand buffet. Needless to say, this is on my birthday menu every year. I would eat it on a boat, with a goat, in a moat, or.. um... in my throat. whatever. It's good and I love it. :)

10. "Falling Back" from Daylight Savings Time = 1 extra hour of sleep! yesssssss! Granted, this sometimes lands in early November, but it usually belongs to October, and there are some golden years where it lands on my birthday, and it's a pretty sweet birthday present to a sleep junkie like me.

So that's ten, which is such a pretty little number for the tenth month of the year. You may be wondering how I managed to leave Halloween off of this list, but check the archives for my "Trick or Trunk" blog post, and you'll see why Halloween has fallen out of favor with me for the time being. I don't dislike Halloween. On the contrary, I have lots of cherished memories and even observe it with great fervor on occasion. It deserves honorable mention here, but all that I could say about it has already been said. So there. (Again: My blog, my rules.)