Fall~

Fall was in the air this evening as Jess and I went on our hour long walk.

I love the Fall. In fact, I am shocked I did not have a Fall wedding and opted for May.

Mom and Dad got married in the Fall, October 7th of 1977. My Mother loved the fall too because that always meant Halloween, one of her favorite events of the year. Our house was on the corner so we always got the most kids for trick or treating and in our neighborhood, Halloween was a really big deal. My parents always dressed up, well my Mother always dressed up..Dad would usually just throw on a quick mask or something to scare people. Mom's neighbor would come over and they would hand build this massive spider web connected from the tree to the house. My Mom loved this web! I often remember rolling my eyes at it over the past several years when I would come home and now I feel badly about it. And my Father and his pumpkins. Don't even get him started. He had to have the largest pumpkin in the neighborhood and perhaps in Allen Park. They generally weighed over 50lbs and Aydan was able to help pick them out the last few years with him and Mom. Mom made the best-biggest pumpkin seeds. Do you notice I talk about Holidays or events way before they come? I think I do that because I am dreading them as they make me sad thinking of spending it without Mom, Dad and Justin so I talk about them months in advance so when they come, they aren't as bad as I thought they would be. I do this a lot with Christmas lately. I am actually in fear of the Holidays.

Fall also means the smell of the 1st day of school. It's strange.....that one day you walk outside and it's that perfect Fall temperature will instantly bring you back to your 1st days of school or college.

Fall also means everything pumpkin and you know how much I love my pumpkin stuff. I seriously cannot wait until our breakfast place has on special "pumpkin french toast" or "pumpkin pancakes". Surely, I will go up to Greaters ice cream for the pumpkin flavor in October and most definitely Cheesecake factory for a slice of their seasonal pumpkin cheesecake. Oh and that cheesecake, that reminds me... my goal for Thanksgiving. Re-create Mom's famous pumpkin cheesecake that so many fell in love with. She tried sooo many times to teach me how to make her homemade crust. I wouldn't listen. I would say to her how good she was at it and how easy it was for her. I've watched many times so I think I will be able to do it but that crust will be hard. She made the coolest crust out of crushed saltines, butter, walnuts and a few secret ingredients. Ted loved her chocolate variety but my heart will always remain with her pumpkin. I was quite dramatic about this dessert, I would say over and over while I was eating it, "oh my gosh this is sooooo good...". She even got annoyed with me because I wouldn't stop telling her that as I was eating it. Now I am so happy she knew how much I loved it.

Mothers seems to always have at least one really, really yummy dessert that they're super good at. My Mom was a true baker and had so many that we all loved but I think the cheesecake ended up being her specialty looking back. I wonder what mine will be one day? I don't enjoy cooking, but I love, love Food. And I want to be the house that always entertains and has family gatherings and Holiday dinners, but I like the tradition that I was raised in. Dad did the main cooking, Mom was the appetizer and dessert pro. I think I can settle for that.

I miss your cheesecakes Mommy and most of all, I miss you making them.

Happy soon-to-be-Fall my friends.