Thanks, October

Thanks, October...

...for fall break and road trips,
for rain falling with a soothing din on a train car roof,
for a new route to work that gives me a view of the slowly-changing leaves,
for letting me pull out a few favorite sweaters and flannels (if only to pull them off again on these oddly hot days),
for Taylor Swift's new album; buying that CD and exploring the fun contents of the liner notes made me feel like I was in middle school again, poring over the CD liner of my favorite bands until I had every lyric and "thank you" memorized,
for my favorite soups in the crockpot,
for costumes and candy,
for friends, old and new,
for cat-birthdays (mine turned 7 this month :)),
for cat kisses,
for completed checklists,
for fall festivals,
for Halloween.