New England in October

The leaves are still changing here. As I drive around, I find myself taking in the colors and monitoring the progress of my favorite trees along my routes, while hoping that the fall rains and wind won't take down the leaves before the foliage reaches its peak.

So imagine my shock when I reached past the pumpkins on my coffee table to grab a tissue and looked up to the TV and saw news footage of snow falling in Connecticut. On October 15. Though not unheard of, snow is rare here in October--but boy was it coming down!

After my initial WTF?! response, I started thinking…about what a hassle it was to leave lesson plans so that I could stay home to blow my nose ad nauseum, and about how nice it would be to have a day off that requires no planning—or catch-up the day after... And even though I had just decorated with pumpkins and autumn leaves, and my pumpkin spice jar candle is only half gone, and I want to see the fall foliage reach its peak, I admit that I thought ahead to my first snow day--the wistful way I would, on the first warm day in April, dream of sitting by the pool in July.

But I’m over it. It was snowing yesterday morning on my way to school and it was far too bizarre to see the flakes coming down on orange leaves. I decided I could wait for my first snow day, for my first tee hee of the season. The next season.