Autumn Wishes

Oh, Portrait Gallery.... The government has shut you down.

 I have to admit that I totally did not realize yesterday morning that the federal government had shut down. It somehow slipped from my realm of awareness what with all of the accidentally sleeping through my alarm and wandering the hallways of my office building in search of coffee, and then a few hours into the day, I browsed the Washington Post website and went, "Huh. Okay. Missed that."

Yeah.... Not everyone who lives in DC works for the government. I am one of those people.

There are so many reasons why this shutdown makes my head hurt (now that I realize it exists), but once it started to sink in that monuments are now closed, museums are now shuttered, and the panda-cam is offline (Noooooooo!!!!!!!!), I had the sudden urge to rush to all of those places and burst through the barriers. What is it about something being placed off-limits that makes you want to grab it all?

Since my Project DC list will face some challenges if this shutdown persists, I started thinking about the other ways I can enjoy the area as autumn drifts our way. I might not be able to do a proper tour of the National Portrait Gallery, but surely there are lovely seasonal activities that will hit the spot. Pumpkin and apple picking are still on my list, though I will probably need to round up a crew soon for those ventures. That, of course, opens up the possibility of wandering through a corn maze, which, after our weekend in Lancaster, is my new favorite life activity (especially if there are prizes involved--- I really like prizes).

Then there are autumn foods. Butternut squash, pumpkin, apple spice... Mmmm. Autumn dishes are all about comfort and warmth, and I want to start incorporating the season produce into my cooking ventures. More visits to the farmers market? Maybe even exploring a new market?

There are some good possibilities for adventures here, and I hope that I get to experience at least some of them. October just might be one of my favorite months, and I think that more than anything, I just wish for enjoyment. I wish for savoring and being happy and being present.

What do you wish for this fall? How do you savor this season?

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