October Fest — The Wee Wanderer

Let’s talk for a moment about the month of October. Despite the hype about sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes, I have mixed emotions about this month. 1) As a school teacher, this is when things get real. The September honeymoon is over, and we are expected to engage for reals. 2) Here in the Pacific Northwest, it has begun to rain in earnest. Everyone and everything is a little wet and a little cold. 3) October also signals the time when we can go back inside. We’ve been outside since April. This month, the Seattleite’s compulsion to be directly beneath the sun dies down, and we can finally retreat to our coffeehouses and book shops, which citizens of this region consider our birthright.

September was a whirlwind of last-chance activities, and even the die-hard outdoor enthusiasts are now officially over it. We’re done obsessing over Vitamin D, camping, and farmers markets. We’re exhausted.

Now I love outdoor pursuits as much as anybody, but before becoming a parent, I thought nothing of spending the majority of October indoors. Reading on the couch would be appealing again. Knitting would become a thing. I would pass up every opportunity to go running, and head to a yoga studio instead. What I used to love about October was the collective retreat. The month-long pause between the multitude of warm-weather summer activities and ski season. But post-baby, unless I want to read one of Levi’s books over and over and over again, an afternoon on the couch is out of the question. (For the record, Levi is just like his mom. He enjoys reading as much as running around outside. His current favorites books include My Big Boy Potty Book and Little Toot. (They sound related but they’re not.) Both are very, very boring for the average adult reader, so get off the couch we must.) And, as it turns out, October can be quite the busy month. It is, as Levi would say, “a wittle crazy.”

Every time I think the pace of outdoor adventuring with a child will slow down, I run into 15 things I want to do outdoors with Levi. In October, when my spirit is on the couch, I am faced with these super fun outside opportunities, and I just have to give in and get out:

Salmon. These amazing creatures are running now, and they might not run forever. Can I call myself a true Northwest mom if I don’t bring my toddler to witness this fantastic feat of nature? I can handle one more week of outdoor activity. Totally worth it.
Pumpkin patches. There will be a hole in my picture album forever if I don’t take a photo of my child on or near a pumpkin this month. Skip this? Heck no, gotta go. Plus, apple cider donuts and hay rides and petting zoos. And Travis is really good at those pumpkin slingshot thingies.

Apple picking. Shoot. Didn't I just go to a pumpkin patch? But apples are Washington’s State Fruit, and Farmers Markets won’t be back til Springtime. Applesauce for Armageddon is on my to-do list. So. . . weekend 3, check.
Octoberfest. With a child? Well. . . of course! It’s the only thing on this list that includes, by definition, beer. Oh, and Levi loves brats. So, no brainer.

The dancehall at Leavenworth Oktoberfest.

Halloween. I know, I know. I can’t skip this one, even though there’s preparation involved. The key is deciding how many Halloween activities are really necessary. Last year, we went to two trick-or-treating events and one “fun run.” That was too many. It rained. Travis refused to wear his costume in the end. We all suffered.

Trick or treating in West Seattle, year 1

I remember the first October after Levi was born, Travis and I were headed out to a pumpkin patch, and I said, “It’s amazing how much fun stuff we get to do now that we have a baby!” Travis’s response was, “Get to?” So, ok. I know that for parents, this month can be a lot. I have a couple of mom friends who hit up 3 or more pumpkin patches, stay up til midnight canning apple pie filling (get ready for some late nights, Trav!), and hand-make intricate costumes for their babes. This flurry of activity can result in some very tired mothers and fathers, who slog through Halloween as if it is mile 26 of a particularly excruciating marathon that no amount of candy or apple cider donuts can make up for. You don’t want that. But you don’t want to completely hibernate this month either. So, go out there. Wear a sweater if that’s fun for you. Go on a P.S.L. bender. And then you can go back inside in November. I promise.