Our First November Fire

Yesterday, we awoke to a chill in the air, as twin cold fronts swooped down at the close of the weekend and chased away our late springlike weather. For the first time in oh-so-long, we awoke to a morning where we were completely cocooned in our blankets, and it was the temp of the house that kept us from rising early.

We spent all day in light sweaters.

Audrey probably asked 112 times if it was cold enough to have a fire in the fireplace.

We ran our errands, gathered our groceries, and harvested everything that was ready out in the garden, expecting a frost in the night. Such a standard part of this beautiful season, yet something that comes with such excitement around here... frost! In early-mid November! The chatter all day focused on the weather and the season...

"Mama, when it gets cold, we have to close aaaaaaall the windows, and Bubba and I wear socks when we go to bed!" (Henry in the background: "Cocks? Cocks? Cocks on!")

"Hey, Henny, we put firewood in the fireplace, and it's gonna be cold and we can put fire on it!"

"Our family has fireplaces in their houses, too, and when they get cold they put fires there, too. And it is supposed to be cold in the fall. Can we have a fire in our fireplace, too?"

"Hey, Mama, when it stays cold, it's winter, but it's not cold yet, so it's fall.... but it's not hot, so it's not summer. But it's supposed to be cold."

...and all day long, accompanied by quips and questions about weather, seasons, and holidays, we breathed the crispness of Yankee air (as my mom would put it).

By dinner time, we were chilled enough to have a fire in the fireplace, much to the kiddos' delight... and what made our first November fire even better was when Mama cracked out the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars.

Our fall- and winter-like weather may be fleeting, but oh, how we love to savor it... and in these early days where magic lies in everything, to see these seasons through the eyes of my babes... there is nothing better.