Peer Pressure

I should learn to be very careful not to fall prey to peer pressure. Let yourself be influenced by others and the next thing you know you are dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and parading around your office on what would normally be a typical Wednesday at work. I will learn this time and say "NO" to peer pressure next year when Halloween planning begins. (I think we will win the Best Group category in the contest though for the second year in a row so at least we get a prize for being so ridiculous!)

Apple Hill Substitute

For those of you from Nor Cal you will likely understand how the changing of the seasons brings about a desire to pack in the car and head to Apple Hill for the day to enjoy all the benefits of Fall. For us in So Cal we don't have tons of options for enjoying the seasons but we do have a few. This month a group of us spent the day enjoying apple picking, great food, and searching for the perfect pumpkin. It was a great day and it did a fabulous job of fulfilling my Apple Hill longings for this year. Hope you all get a chance to enjoy Fall! Here is a photo of some of my crazy friends enjoying the pumpkin patch.

October

Those who know me well probably know Fall is my favorite season, and more specifically, October is my favorite month. I love most things that symbalize October: leaves changing color, cool windy weather, sweaters and jeans, and of course, candy corn. This is also the time of year that I shelf my distaste for Starbucks and enjoy their beloved Pumpkin Scones.

So take some time to toast a nice warm latte and have some candy corn in honor of October, my most favorite month of all.

Nona

I met a woman this week and she has been stuck in my thoughts ever since. Her name is Nona and she is in her 60's. She wore a florescent yellow t-shirt and had the best "live life to the fullest and don't worry what other people think" mentality. What started out as a friendly conversation outside of Dairy Queen, bantering back and forth about jazz music, with my friends turned into a tearful conversation as she shared about her estranged son. He had spoken harsh words to her and she was crushed. I was struck by how heavy of a burden she carried for the damaged relationships in her life and how it affected her so profoundly that her words and tears spilled out to total strangers. She really just needed someone else to hear how heavy her heart was and to share the burden for even just a brief conversation. It makes me wonder how many people I come across are carrying those heavy burdens but they just haven't spilled out yet. How much are we willing to carry and what is it that brings us to that point where we let it all spill out?