Pumpkin

I just popped my first pumpkin spice flavored Hershey’s Kiss in my mouth.  It was love at first bite.

I absolutely love pumpkin flavored anything, so every year I anxiously await the special pumpkin treats that appear in grocery stores in the fall, and this year, it seems, the pumpkin patch has exploded.  The options I now have available to satisfy my pumpkin cravings are mindboggling. 

The other day I nibbled on pumpkin muffins while sipping pumpkin flavored Chai tea.  Last week I woofed down an entire pack of almonds, which were coated in white chocolate and a lovely pumpkin spice flavor. Those babies were addicting.  I bought them at Costco so it was no small bag.

For lunch on Sunday I dove into the bag of pumpkin flavored pita chips because Saturday I’d finally polished off the enormous bag of pumpkin flavored corn chips.  I had pumpkin butter on my toast a few days ago - the same day I ate pumpkin bread at a friend’s house.  Yum.

I stopped by Panera Bakery a week ago and savored every bite of the pumpkin bagel they offer only this time of year.  It had a lovely cinnamon crunch topping that just made me want to go back for more – so I did.

It hasn’t been warm enough for me to actually stop anywhere for pumpkin flavored ice cream, but that flavor is high on my list of delights anytime of year.

Starbucks sells a fairly decent pumpkin scone, which must be chased down with a pumpkin spiced latte, since the scones are often drier than I like.  Maybe that’s part of their marketing plan.

I love pumpkin cake, which can easily be made by adding a can of pumpkin to any spice cake mix and baking it just the same.  I was treated to that last Thursday. I really love pumpkin cheesecake, too, but have yet to get my lips wrapped around a slice of that little piece of heaven this year.

At Trader Joe’s I did buy some pumpkin soup to have for lunch but I delayed gratification by not buying any of their pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin croissants, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin pancake mix, pumpkin flavored coffee, pumpkin macaroons, pumpkin bread pudding, pumpkin tarts and pumpkin yogurt.  I thought it was nice they also had pumpkin flavored dog treats, since surely we wouldn’t want our pets to miss out on this special time of year when our processed food choices have turned, like Cinderella’s coach, into all things pumpkin.

I was tempted to buy their pumpkin scented lotion, but decided after all the pumpkin flavored things I’ve been eating lately, my skin just might start smelling like pumpkins anyway.   

I almost bought my husband their pumpkin oatmeal though, but I was sure he wouldn’t go for it.  He likes his oatmeal to taste like oatmeal and just wants his pumpkin in the traditional pie.  Imagine that.

Decorations

It started with Christmas decorations.  My living room was gloriously transformed each year with visual reminders of the upcoming holiday. I bought so many decorations there just wasn’t a place to put them all.  I stopped short of buying Christmas themed toilet paper, but the desire to decorate for the holidays grew.

When Christmas was over, fortunately, Valentine’s Day was just around the corner, and Easter soon followed that.  Why not decorate for 4^th of July?  The wait was too long for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations to go up so I came up with a plan. I’d find a theme for all the months that didn’t have a holiday, and redecorate on the first of every month.

This was all before I became a mother, of course, so I had time for such things.  Changing the monthly decorations around was about the only thrill I had to shake things up in my little world.

Since January was the beginning of a new year, and our place looked horribly bare after removing Christmas decorations, I redecorated the space with a sun, moon and stars theme.  I bought lights and decorations to hang in the ficus tree, I set out placemats and towels with that design.  I went overboard, by anyone’s standards, on finding little things to set around the house with my “theme of the month.”

March came with four leaf clovers and leprechauns to celebrate the wee bit o’ Irish in me and in May our home was full of Norwegian flags to celebrate Norway’s national day commemorating their freedom from the Swedes.  In June I filled our house with every sunflower decoration I could find, since it was the month of my favorite grandma’s birth and she loved to garden.

August was a bit of a challenge to decide upon a theme, but watermelons felt like they accurately portrayed the warm summer days we had - or hoped for.  September brought out the apples and schoolhouse decorations just to remind me how thankful I was to NOT be going back to school.

After our son was born, I continued to put out a few decorations every month, but found I had less time for such trivial pursuits.  Somewhere between diaper changes and dealing with teenage hormones, the plug got pulled on my energy pool and the boxes of decorations just sit, undisturbed in the closet.  Or should I say, closets. 

It’s now halfway through October and I still don’t even have a pumpkin sitting on my porch.  The only theme we’re going with these days is the “homeschooling” one where loose papers cover every tabletop, pencils are scattered on the floor, and notebooks are stacked in every corner. The only “decorations” our living room has seen lately are the forever changing piles of library books and miscellaneous electronic paraphernalia that get left behind by a boy who is growing up all too quickly.  I’m happy to stick with this theme as long as I can.  

Influences

Years ago I started a compost pile because I had grand plans for an organic garden and I knew I’d need compost. Then my husband got involved.

The spot I intended for the garden, he’d intended for a workshop. We argued, and no one won. The plug got pulled on my big dreams and eventually I just pushed the pile of compost over the edge of the ridge.

A friend suggested I plant zucchini somewhere because they’ll grow without the least bit of fussing.  I had visions of  bug and slug-free raised beds and lots of order and purpose.  I didn’t want to just slap some zucchini seeds down somewhere - so I even let that idea slide.

But what I was most upset about was that I wouldn’t have any pumpkins. I really wanted my own pumpkin patch, for the fun of it, but also for the economical aspect.  My annual trips to Gordon Pumpkins is a budgetable item. When Kaleb was little, we’d go almost daily in October. I bought all the varieties and loved to decorate inside and out with them.  After the holidays, they found their new purpose in my compost pile.

When I came home from a long vacation, the year of this compost pile incident, the yard was a bit out of control. I walked around to check out how bad it was.  As I walked by the edge of the ridge, I noticed a type of leaf growing that I’d never seen in weeds before. 

Big broad leaves were everywhere, along with hidden yellowish orange flowers amidst the run-amuck morning glories and blackberry vines.  Zucchini plants came to mind, but I wasn’t sure, so I waited a few weeks to see what would appear.  And then, the most glorious sight to behold – my own pumpkin patch had emerged from the compost pile! I was thrilled.  I got my pumpkins after all – and with no effort whatsoever.

It wasn’t long before that whole gardening experience made me think of my then three-year-old son.  I’d worked hard at controlling Kaleb’s environment, creating the “perfect garden” for him to grow.  I kept sugar away so he wouldn’t develop a sweet tooth, televsion wasn’t in our home, but we read books and playing interactively. I spent a lot of energy keeping him “bug and slug free.”

I’m almost done with my “planting” years now, but what I’ve been most impressed by is seeing what is growing in Kaleb, that I didn’t really feel like I planted at all. With about the same energy as I extended taking compost out to the pile, I was affecting Kaleb in ways I didn’t even realize. He’s learned more by example, than words. What a nice surprise over the years to watch certain qualities develop in him.  The things I value most, are also growing in him.

Not everything about mothering has to be hard, and not everything about having a garden has to be perfect.  My unexpected pumpkin patch is proof of that.

College

Because he didn’t go to college, but worked hard nonetheless, my husband thinks college is a big waste of money.  Early on he analyzed the costs, not just of tuition, but the lost wages he’d suffer if he took the time out to go.  He figured he was better off investing the money he would have spent on college and since he was disciplined enough to do it, he made the right choice since his investments paid off.  For me, though, going to college paid off because it got me out of the minimum wage job pool and catapulted my earning potential.

Naturally, we don’t agree on whether college is necessary for our son, Kaleb, but at least we both agree we aren’t paying for it.  I went to college with kids whose parents paid their way and they partied way too much.  Those who worked their way through had no time for parties.  There should be a little sweat equity in a college education, I believe.  Scholarships are crucial, as I learned, so Kaleb knows the importance of grades, test scores and community involvement.  He knows the extra effort it takes to get them, but some days, it’s nearly impossible to apply that knowledge to the here and now.  He’d rather sit and read stacks of library books than do his homework.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  Delaying gratification is key to any long-term success.

We are leaving the decision to go to college up to him, but even if he doesn’t go, I’m comforted by the fact there are still many ways to learn and grow and expand his knowledge base.  

Personally, I’m addicted to TED.com.  TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a website full of lectures recorded from the annual TED conference where the brightest in their field, share what they know best.  I’ve learned much and often have Kaleb watch them with me.  

KhanAcademy.org is another great website where this brilliant man started posting simple video explanations to complex mathematical and scientific concepts.  It’s helped Kaleb more than once when he’s been stuck on a problem.  I’m so thankful to Mr. Khan for starting this as now I’m no longer the one Kaleb turns to for help, since I really couldn’t help him anyway.

My all time favorite website though, is Coursera.com.  It gives the world access to limitless college level courses from big name universities – for free.  Of course, I don’t earn college credit, but the point of any education is just to expand our knowledge base.  I’m now on the final week of a very useful six-week course on disaster preparedness.  The information was extremely practical and applicable to the here and now and since I did my homework, I’m finally well prepared for all types of disasters.

So whether Kaleb chooses to go to college or not, I’m just thankful there’s more than one way to get an education because from what I’ve experienced, this world really needs more educated people.

Clean Sheets

It’s hard to top the feeling of bliss I feel every time I crawl into bed between clean sheets.  I don’t quite understand why I get such a thrill out of it, but it makes me downright giddy.

In the summertime, there’s nothing like the feel and smell of cotton sheets that have been flapping in the wind to dry.  I can tell the difference when nature has done the drying, or the dryer’s been hard at work.  Although in wintertime, when I don’t have nature’s option, the fact I can switch from cotton to flannel sheets is a huge comfort.  In fact, I think flannel sheets are best dried in the dryer anyway so they supply me with that little extra softness –a tiny warm hug – I need on cold nights when I curl up in bed.

I love it when the Northwest weather cooperates enough that I can hang the sheets out to dry, and this past summer has been stellar, in that regard.  My son is not as thrilled, however, particularly when I also hang out the bath towels.  He doesn’t appreciate the sandpaper quality the sun and wind add to our otherwise plush towels.  It may be good to scratch an itch, but it’s a rude wake up call early in the morning.

One day last fall I overheard Kaleb in the bathroom drying off after his shower.  He made a large “Ahhhh” sound, followed by an exuberant squeal of “DRYER SEASON!”   I had to ask him later what he meant by “dryer season” and he said, “You know, when the towels get soft again because they’ve been dried in the dryer. “  Each “season” obviously has its benefits.  Towels are better in winter - sheets are best in summer.

An elderly woman I know talked about what life has been like since she’s become a widow.  There were many adjustments to make and life was a little more difficult, she said, but she did find one bright spot in it all.  She said she now sleeps on one side of the bed one week, then switches over to the other side the next week, so she only has to change the sheets every other week.  

I love fresh sheets so much I wish I had the energy to change them each and every day.  I guess if I did, that simple pleasure of the feel of crisp sheets might become too routine and get lost on me.  As it is, at least once a week I get the thrill of wrapping myself up in fresh clean luxury.

At our house, we don’t have to look outside the window to know that Fall has arrived, we know just by the feel of sheets and bath towels against our skin.  Summer is over and Dryer Season is upon us.