Reasons I Love Fall

Cool weather.
Colorful leaves.
Football (even if I don't really pay much attention to it, there's something comforting about the drone of it on the TV).
Pumpkins.
Apples.
How clear the stars are at night.
How blue the sky is during the day.
How the sunlight is golden and mellow, especially in the afternoon.
School events.
Sweaters and jeans.
Not having to shave my legs every single day.
Snuggling with my kids on the couch in the mornings because it's cold in the house.
Pretty much everything!

Well, I've made a resolution to myself. I realized that I complain too much, even when I cloak my complaints in humor. I want to start counting my blessings a lot more, not just when I say prayers at night, but all day long. That way, when some jerk cuts me off in traffic or jumps ahead of me in line (as some guy did in Chic Fil A yesterday), I won't immediately go off. I want to be a nicer person. I guess I am a fairly nice person - most people would say that I am - but sometimes I just don't feel nice. I feel downright mean. I think my kids probably think all I ever do is yell about bad drivers (although we honestly do almost get hit by senile or just plain reckless drivers at least once a week).
Today for instance, I was crossing the parking lot at Piggly Wiggly and this lady who was busy smoking started backing up as I was walking nearby. She didn't see me apparently, so I quickened my pace to get out of her way. However, she wasn't looking AT ALL, because as fast as I walked out of the way, she just kept backing up fast and almost hit me! I really couldn't believe it. When she FINALLY looked and saw that she'd almost hit me, she had the nerve to give me a dirty look, like I was inconveniencing her. So sorry, but last time I checked, watching for pedestrians while backing out is pretty darn important. How about let's put down the cigarette and just drive??
Really, though, when my kids look back on our time together, I don't want them to say, "You know, Mom sure did yell a lot."
I guess a wake up call should have been the time last year when Skylar was reading "The Secret Garden" in the car. At one point, she looked up and said, "Mom, I don't know if you want me to read this book or not. There's a bad word in it."
Well, sometimes, Skylar (thank goodness) has a very naive idea of what constitutes a bad word. For instance, she reported to me once that her friend's brother had called her friend the "i" word. "The 'i' word?" I had echoed. What the heck is the "i" word?? So I had told her to whisper it to me. This terrible word turned out to be "idiot", which is incidentally one of my favorite mutterings while driving.
So back to the "Secret Garden" incident.
With the above "i word" occasion in mind, I asked Skylar what the bad word started with. She replied "j", to which I laughed, relieved, "Oh, you mean 'jerk'." Also part of my driving mantra.
"No, mom. That's not it. It's the other word for 'donkey'."
Well. I was thoroughly rebuked. I clearly remembered the instance in the book when gruff old Ben Weatherstaff says "jackass." And yes, I am guilty of uttering that one, too, but I always thought I had done it under my breath. Apparently, children have marvelous hearing on occasion. Such as when candy is mentioned, or Christmas presents discussed, or the word ice cream spelled out. Ditto their memories when dessert or a trip to the park is promised.
So I am not mom of the year. Sometimes I yell. Sometimes I spank. Sometimes I promise a trip to the park and then realize there isn't time. And you may be asking what the heck any of this has to do with the reasons I love fall time. Well, I really don't know. Just like I don't know sometimes how it ends up being 1pm and all I've accomplished for the day is building a Lego tower, changing three poopy diapers, and putting on deodorant. And what, my husband asks me, did you do all day? Well, again, I really don't know, but whatever it was sure made me tired.
I am also apparently a puke magnet.
Last week, we were elated to put Lucy down for bed at 9:30 pm and have her sleep until 6:30 am. Nine whole hours! She woke up just long enough to eat, drench me and the Boppy with everything she had just eaten, eat again, keep it down this time, and go back to sleep. She then slept from 7:30 am to 10:30 am. I have no complaints in the sleep area.
Last night, after Young Women, Lucy puked all over me again while I was feeding her. She was lying against my shoulder while I was trying to burp her. Therefore, the Boppy got off without so much as a drop spilled, but my neck and shirt got the brunt of it. It's pretty gross having cold puke making your clothes cling to your skin.
Tonight I had my first Charmed Moments show since Lucy's birth. It was at my friend Jamie's house. She lives in Fairfield Harbour, about thirty minutes away, even though it's still in New Bern. I had plenty of time to get there. I was nursing Lucy about fifteen minutes before we needed to leave when - blahhhh - she puked everywhere. Everything she had just eaten, loads of it, all over me. It doused my new black shirt and my new jeans. It puddled on the sofa (thank goodness for leather) and I think some dripped down into the cushions. It soaked her, too, so I had to change both of us. Of course, once we were cleaned up and dressed in dry clothes, I had to feed her all over again. And then drag her out to the show. I was pretty stressed out, and more than a little sick of getting vomited on. I was also twenty minutes late getting out of the house.
I'm not sure why Lucy keeps puking up enormous amounts of her milk. I'm trying to stay away from dairy products, since almost everyone in our house has some degree of lactose intolerance, but sometimes I sneak in some or just plain forget. Two of her worst episodes have been after I have eaten a Big Mac for lunch, so I speculate whether it is the combination of the onions and the cheese, since she doesn't seem to mind when I eat a plain cheeseburger. One slice of cheese is usually OK, but ice cream or straight up milk seem to really tear her up. She's also been pretty congested lately, so I've wondered whether mucus may be making her gag and throw up her milk.
I do know that after puking, Lucy usually cracks an ear-to-ear smile. Either she is feeling loads better, or the sight of mommy covered in regurgitated milk is quite funny.
Oh, and there's another reason I love fall: cold and flu season.
(Just the tiniest bit of sarcasm, there).