I love that there are four seasons. There are reasons I like parts of each. My favorite, however, is autumn plus the last weeks of December, which belong to winter. Living on the coast, four distinct seasons is a stretch. There is a joke about North Carolina weather and how almost every day is a different season from the one you’re actually in. I’d say we have more summer days than those on the calendar. However, when the humidity is low, there is a lovely soft breeze and the sun is shining in a bright blue sky, there is no better place to be.

So, besides the weather, why do I love the fall? It has to do with my grandchildren. Schools are back in which means they are usually around. There are soccer games to watch on the weekends, school fall fests, dance recitals, apple picking and corn mazes. But, the best part is the three holidays that occur. 

I guess I am still a child at heart because I love Halloween. I still decorate our home, even though we live on a private road and don’t get any trick-or-treaters. I like to think that my grandchildren see me as someone still enjoying celebrating this holiday. Their grandfather and I used to rotate between going to Charlotte to be with our grandchildren there and staying home to be with the other four. The Charlotte kids don’t need adults walking around with them anymore, but we still have a few more years to be with the younger ones who live here. It’s fun to see all the different costumes and decorations while getting in a good walk.

The Halloween decor gets packed away, but some autumn items stay with the addition of turkeys and cornucopias. This year, our youngest daughter was the hostess with the mostest. As usual, it was wonderful! For years, the day after Thanksgiving, we would head up to the mountains to get our Christmas tree. We would go to a wonderful restaurant for lunch and, while waiting for our food, my father-in-law would pass out paper, pens and envelopes. We would all write down what we were thankful for, put it in the envelope and give it back to him. The next year, we would read the one from the year before and then write a new one. This went on for years. We tried to keep it going, but once our daughters were married, it was hard to always spend Thanksgiving together. We do, however, still go to the mountains the Saturday after Thanksgiving with our Charlotte family to get a Christmas tree, buy beautiful wreaths and eat lunch. 

Now comes my favorite holiday – Christmas! I start listening to Christmas music as soon as Halloween is over. I love decorating the house and will keep our tree up until January 6th. Even then, I don’t like taking it down. This year, we will be in Charlotte, as we rotate celebrating between families. I love that we are fortunate enough to have everyone living in North Carolina and that we can FaceTime everyone. So, even though we’re not there in person, we can still see the smiles on our other grandchildren’s faces as they open gifts and show us what Santa brought. 

This year, I have gone shopping with one granddaughter that lives here before Thanksgiving to buy food to donate to the local Food Bank. I will go with my other granddaughter to do the same thing before Christmas. We are all so blessed, and I think it’s important for them 

to help, in some way, others who are less fortunate. I am proud of our community, schools and churches for taking donations throughout the year to help those in need.

However you celebrate the season, may you ever be remindful of the needs of others and help in whatever way you can. Have a wonderful, safe holiday and a very blessed 2026!