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"I love the instant carpet of red, yellow and green leaves on the grass outside my bedroom window. I love sleeping with the window open, feeling a quick chill and hearing the shhhhhhhh of dancing leaves. I love how the sky lights up early when the sun sets. The neon streaks of yellow and pink are magical (Magical, I tell JD on our night walk). I love seeing misshapen pumpkins outside on stoops. I love how cute JD looks in his jean jacket and bite-size hoodies. This is my first Fall as a mommy. You know what that means--pumpkin picking. Sure, JD is one day shy of seven weeks, but lil&amp;#x27; guy needs a great, big, first pumpkin, ay? I was so excited to take him to the farm to see the horsies and chicks...I couldn&amp;#x27;t wait to browse the green market with him on my hip...weave in and out of the orange-dotted patch. I was also a little apprehensive. The farm is in Wayne, my current address and hometown--surely I&amp;#x27;d bump into everyone. And I did. First up, a guy I dated in high school. JD was sleeping, glued to my chest. I saw him from a distance. His hair was still messy on purpose and his smile, still kind. He saw me, and so we approached each other. We exchanged a kiss on the cheek and he asked me what was new? I blurted out (in typical Christine fashion): Had a baby--this is him! He smiled and replied he hadn&amp;#x27;t heard, but wished me a quick congrats. His brow wrinkled a bit and I knew he was curious. I&amp;#x27;m not married. Not getting married. He smiled and said: &amp;quot;Cool.&amp;quot; Check out his website: www.turcomagic.com. He&amp;#x27;s literally magical! It was easier than I thought. I noticed a post the other day from someone who told me I wasn&amp;#x27;t getting to the core emotions of a single mom (really?), so let me explain. Since you asked if I was &amp;quot;getting crooked looks&amp;quot; per my ringless finger, I&amp;#x27;ll be honest, No--at least not from others. I&amp;#x27;m my biggest critic. I sometimes feel really bad about it. How could I have let this happen? First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the...There are times when I do want a husband and why not? Of course I get lonely, overwhelmed, scared...but I also chose to do this solo, so I put on my game face and change a diaper, read a story, sing a song. I never let JD see the sadness I feel...and I don&amp;#x27;t feel it often. I was scared of running into people at the farm, but no one seemed to notice I was missing my emerald cut. A random woman offered to snap some pictures and another gal from high school with her own little one on her hip ran up to me and gushed: &amp;quot;He&amp;#x27;s so tiny! Enjoy it. It goes so fast!&amp;quot; She didn&amp;#x27;t recognize me, until I said hello and enthused what a lovely name her daughter has (Emma Jane). As I looked around the farm, I realized how much I did fit in. I had a baby in my arms, a purse inching off my shoulder (about to fall to my wrist, then the ground) and a pumpkin in my free grip. At the petting farm, I gushed just like the other moms--Look at the horsie! I may not be married, but I&amp;#x27;m a mom, just like the rest. Pumpkins, chickies, kids--pretty textbook. I&amp;#x27;m beginning to realize you don&amp;#x27;t need an invitation to join the mom club--members are welcome and in my case, very welcomed! Oh, btw, I failed to mention JD was asleep for most of our special day. Still, we had a great day and I can&amp;#x27;t wait to shop for Christmas stuff with him--so much fun to be had! Hope you enjoy these photos. Happy Fall and be sure to tell me what you love about Fall! XO "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/storked/2007/10/what-do-you-love-about-fall>