31 Things I Don’t Hate about Fall

Even though I proclaim myself an autumn grinch, I am really an all-four-seasons kind of gal. While I do rue many harvest-time trappings, some things inadvertently swell my heart into an oversized gourd. So in the spirit of October, here are 31 things I don’t hate about fall:

1. The way sunshine passes through the trees as they shake their leaves free
2. The golden slant of light that dances along the walls of our home
3. Not dissolving into a sweaty mess when I blow my hair dry
4. Tea in the afternoon with my daughters on the porch
5. Maple Leaf cookies from Aldi (with the above tea)
6. Hoodies—to hide whatever ratty old clothes I’m wearing to pick up my kid from school
7. Geese honking as they fly in V formations overhead
8. “Do you remember? The 21^st night of September”—never gets old!
9. Sleeping with the windows open (however, my face hates it—my eyes are practically swollen shut right now from allergies)
10. Relishing the last red garden tomatoes
11. Da Bears
12. Sneakers—no fretting over chipped toenail polish
13. As the days get shorter, our kids don’t fight so much about going to bed at night, and I go to bed earlier, too!
14. Soup and chili season—anything savory that requires a bowl and spoon!
15. Fall foliage (duh)
16. Crunching along on a crisp, sunny morning walk in the park
17. Feathered friends and scurrying critters gathered around the birdfeeder fattening up for winter
18. A reprieve from yardwork
19. Fondue parties
20. Visiting the quaint pumpkin patch in the country we go to with the girls
21. Fall-scented candles
22. Evening fires in our backyard chiminea
23. The smell of woodsmoke
24. Pants—no one can tell if I’ve shaved or not (wink)
25. A bowl full of crimson apples
26. Oktoberfests
27. Watching favorite fall films like Dead Poets Society and You’ve Got Mail
28. Reading a book with a knit blanket
29. Mushrooms. Cream of mushroom soup, mushroom pizza, mushroom pasta, fried mushrooms. I am the Bubba Gump of mushrooms, but sadly, I am the only mushroom lover in this house, so I try to get them when we go to restaurants.
30. Seeing spectacular sunrises and sunsets over ever-thinning treetops
31. Embracing the reflective, slower pace of life indoors

What would be on your fall list?