72 things I love about parenting in the fall

As I watch the temps drop and the leaves flutter to the ground, I get positively giddy. I love this time of year, especially as a mom. Here’s why:

We had a fantastic summer. Epic. But I do not miss it one bit. I was fully ready to say goodbye to all of this . Softening the blow is the fact that the lazy days are followed by fall, my favorite season. Last night, in honor of the arrival of autumn, Nick cranked up A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Vince Guaraldi Trio--nothing makes me feel cozier). We didn’t light a fire since it’s still quite warm here but I can definitely see the firelight at the end of the tunnel. And it's surrounded by a million other things I love about the shorter days and longer nights of fall. Here they are, stream-of-consciousness style:

Fires in the fireplace, the sound of Nick chopping firewood, the kids collecting kindling, food that’s cooked on a stove instead of a grill, sweaters, jeans, boots, walks with friends, darkness at bedtime, earlier bedtimes, hunkering down, homebodiness, football—watching it, playing it, eating footbally food while watching it (I would say baseball, which I prefer to football, but, well, I’m a Mets fan), Alex’s soccer games (“I’ll be crushing teams this season,” he says), Halloween and Thanksgiving, decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving, giving thanks, eating turkey, eating candy, trying new recipes, bourguignon, hot coffee instead of iced, the color orange, primetime TV (in no particular order, here’s what I’m most pumped for: Homeland, Revenge, Smash, 30 Rock, The Office, Modern Family, Up All Night, the return of Arrested Development), changing leaves, changing wardrobes, changing routines, good beer (in the hot weather, I do light beer but in the fall/winter, I love a Brooklyn Lager or Long Trail or Sam), brussels sprouts, mushroom risotto, kale chips, my dutch oven, cooking with apples, pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving, pumpkin eating (I adore anything pumpkin flavored—except coffee, which I prefer coffee flavored), The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, rosy cheeks instead of burnt ones, windows open, pools closed, playing outside, 70 degrees, 60 degrees, zero humidity, great hair days, bright blue skies, empty beaches to explore, off-season playground visits, fresh starts, beeswax candles, structure, schedules, school supplies, mums, wine tasting with friends, chilly mornings, chilly nights, the colors, the clothes, the holidays approaching, the feeling of having nowhere better to be than home. Oh, and did I mention darkness at bedtime? Can't get enough of that. 

So, what's in your love letter to fall? Do you adore the season as much as I do?