Of the four seasons, fall is easily the busiest one for my family. There’s the back-to-school buzz and all the activities that surround that, plus Halloween and Thanksgiving. In addition to that, my daughter’s, my husband’s, and my birthdays are all within three weeks of one another during the fall months. So, there’s a lot of celebrating in our house throughout this entire season.

October, the month of the turning. The turning of the seasons, the turning of the leaves, the turning of the light moving its way into the darkness. 

Nothing is ever static and the only constant in our lives is change. 

This past weekend, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere marked the Fall Equinox, the official turning of the seasons, where the hours of sunlight and darkness became completely equal before steadily moving to shorter days leading up to the Winter Solstice.

There’s a buzz in the air. Moms are busily texting one another: “Which teacher did your kid get?” “Mr. X? Oh no! We got Ms. Y! That’s alright, they can still play with each other at recess time!” New backpacks are being bought (or last year’s backpacks are being cleaned out). Waterproof name labels are being pressed against new water bottles and BPA-free bento lunch boxes.

After a long, rainy winter, the spring warmth and sun has arrived.

Flowers are blooming all around. On trees, on hills overlooking our freeways, in my garden. Tulips and daffodils smile brightly at grocery stores, and we buy them for Easter parties.