Hallmark is a sponsor of VelveteenMind.com through the end of 2011.
As part of their Life Is a Special Occasion campaign for October, they invited us to write about Fall and what it means to us.
I have been waiting for this.
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Temperatures drop and my mind opens. I live all year for the Fall.
Summers in the South are oppressive, mind-blurring experiences. Everything I try to write is muddled by sweat and stickiness. I am anywhere but in the moment.
Cool breezes don’t begin rolling off of the Gulf of Mexico until well into October, but at the first demure nudge of cool, we know what to do.
Nothing compares to walking barefoot on cold sand, white caps building on the Gulf behind children running along the shore, salt infusing everything. No one saying “stop.” October comes and we finally, finally, fall back in love with our beach.
Collect fragments from the water, make up stories about where these bits of treasure came from, and run until we collapse. The sand is so cool, so soft, a dream. Fall arrives and sweeps us away on flights of fancy.
Fall arrives and we pile into the car with friends and head into New Orleans. We were married in the French Quarter in November, ten years ago this year. November in New Orleans is unparalleled in beauty, except perhaps by the shroud of fantasy that envelopes the city in October.
We walk the streets, wrapped in cardigans and chunky sweaters, the boys sporting “cool” new hats, Iris tugging at the knit torture device on her head, the one we considered heart wrenchingly darling and were sure she would love. Everyone looks more stylish in layers.
Everyone with hot cocoa or coffee. Even if it is still in the low 70’s. It’s Fall enough for us.
It’s so much easier to say “yes” when it’s cool. Nothing is harsh. Everything is easier. You draw warmth from your friends, from your family, and everything is simply “yes.”
Our leaves don’t change color, no, but our mindset glows amber and gold. Cool beach breezes and windy city walks draw out the creativity in me, breathing to life the inspiration I’ve been searching for all summer.
If I ever write a book, I’ll write it in the Fall.
If I ever catch up on all of our family scrapbooking, I’ll design it in the Fall.
All of those beautiful cards in my drawer? They are sent in the Fall, written in flourishes of brown LePen, every inch of design adored, every unfulfilled promise to friends, adorned.
I smile more in the Fall. Laugh more. Read more. Expect less and forgive more. Patience finds me in the Fall. Something falls open for me, in the Fall.
I have been waiting for this.
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Thanks to Hallmark for pushing me to take a closer look at the small moments of our lives this year. Sign up for their newsletter for discounts and tips on how you can celebrate everyday moments as a special occasion.
And check out one of their new mini-commercials below, starring an old family friend (the girl).
That moment of softening hearts? That’s why I wanted to work with Hallmark.
Opinions are always my own, usually long-founded and stubborn. ;)
Do visit Life Is A Special Occasion and scroll down to the bottom of the page to "Featured Bloggers" to read more stories from the campaign's writers.
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Writer. Mother.
