Heard from the other end of the couch last night:

“Y’know Mom, this school and eleventh grade are almost worth getting up for in the morning.”

My son? Liking something that I said he would? My work as a mother is complete.

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It’s October. We’re getting ready for Autumn in the midwest. I get to bring my sweaters back out. I get to hang Frank on the front door. I think I’ll get the pumpkins and corn stalks when we go shopping tonight.

Growing up here, Summer has always been my favorite season. It’s too short. It’s too hot. It’s humid and sticky and the mosquitoes are fuckin’ unbelievable. But, Michigan in the Summer is a novelty that you wait for when the sun goes into hiding in January and doesn’t come back until May.

Autumn was back to school and away from freedom. It was dresses instead of shorts. (The seventies y’all. Bell bottom polyester hip huggers or dresses. It’s what you wore to school. I don’t think I owned jeans.)

Now, though, I love the Fall. The colors and the different blue of the sky. It’s the smell of leaves burning and hay and pumpkin lattes. I watch the geese from my office here in the middle of the wetlands. Huge flocks flying further south. We’ll drive to East Lansing tomorrow to watch the Spartans play (and beat!) Northwestern. The leaves will have changed more the closer we get to campus. Maybe we’ll stop and grab a pumpkin or two from one of the farms on the way.

I could get all philosophical on y’all and say it’s because I’m also getting older - and the Fall is symbolic of the passing of time and my maturing view on life and love.

Snort) That would be, um, so not me.

We all know the fact of the matter is that it’s football season, and brats, beer and football ONLY happen in the Fall. And it’s the only time of the year that you can get fresh apple cider and right out of the fryer donuts. (Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.)

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Jen tagged me for another Meme. This one is Four by Four. So, here goes:

4 Jobs I’ve had

1. Parks & Recreation Leader (a glorified babysitter),
2. College Instructor (Computer Science 101),
3. Human Resources Specialist (Soooo bad at this - I wanted to hire everyone),
4. I.T. Executive (And resident Hotfessional)

4 Movies I could watch over and over

1. The Wizard of Oz (I want my own Flying Monkeys)
2. Anything with Stephen Seagal (I so love him)
3. The Sound of Music (and I’ll always cry)
4. Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (Yes, the Gene Wilder version although Johnny Depp is cute!)

4 TV Shows I watch

1. Entourage (HBO, WTF? The season is too short)
2. Dream Team (On Fox Sports Network - it’s a British show)
3. Football (pretty much every freakin’ night this week, in fact)
4. Countdown with Keith Olbermann

4 Places I’ve lived

1. Royal Oak, Michigan
2. Ann Arbor, Michigan
3. St. Albans, WV
4. Huntington, WV (Yes, only Michigan and WV. Booooooring)

4 Favorite Foods

1. Gnocchi (Italian potato dumplings)
2. Salmon (Grilled, then chilled)
3. Banana Pudding (My mom’s)
4. Lamb with Hummus with pine nuts (although I rarely, rarely eat this because I gave up on red meat)

4 Favorite Colors

1. Forest green
2. Garnet red
3. Royal blue
4. Orange (yes, seriously. I don’t know why)

4 Places I’d love to be right now

1. Amsterdam
2. San Francisco
3. Any Spa
4. In bed napping

4 Names I love but could/would not use for my children

1. Jane (because if I had a girl, I’d have to give her my middle name and it wouldn’t work with Jane.)
2. Emma (because it’s too close to Mr. Hot’s ex-wife’s name.)
3. Philip (wouldn’t work with my last name)
4. Omar (again, would not go with the last name)

And now I’m tagging: Lacey Bean, Alex’s Mom, Shelly and Alyndabear. Play if you’d like.

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—- Here’s the latest visitor to my window. Appropriate for October, eh? —-

So, y’all? Personally, I think the fact that this guy brought a U of M seat cushion to the Spartan game says a lot (besides the fact that he’s going to put his ass on it - which, y’know, only seems right somehow). They seem to be deserting Ann Arbor. Looking for a winner? (Okay, so right now, they’re up on Notre Dame 31-0, but y’all? They.still.lost.to.Appalachian.State.

Michigan State 17. Pitt (is Shitt) 13. Close game dudes. Way too many penalties and stupidity on the field.

There was a family that sat next to us that had 4 kids under the age of 8. How they managed to last until halftime is beyond me. There were more hotdogs, popcorn, pop and candy flowing than a movie theatre filled with stoned college students. We did heave a sigh of relief though when they left. The climbing back and forth and the screaming for more - more - more was getting to be a bit much.

Now, if only my Beloved Marshall could figure out that they do.not.belong.in.Conference.USA.they.should.have.never.left.the.MAC. At the half. New Hampshire 24. Marshall 0. [sob]

Um. Notre Dame chicks? WTF?

Going to thaw out my toes now. And drink.

Oh. My. Do you think it was the green and white thong I wore into the Big House?

Today’s headline on the Ann Arbor News (Front Page): “What Just Happened?“

On the Sports Page: One and Done.

The shell-shocked Wolverine fans watched their “famed and destined” football team lose to lowly Appalachian State. My beloved Marshall used to beat up on Appy State for fun.

But I don’t want to wallow too much in their misfortune (well, yes, I do, but I have to take Shortman school clothes shopping today, so I can’t sit here all day). I did promise a couple of pictures and I need to tell Kristabella about what it was like in the Big House. I forgot to take the good camera, so they’re a bit blurry.

Outside the stadium. The best part? Check out the sky. This is the most perfect kind of opening day for football no matter where you are.

Um, fans. I guess. We did have three or four Appalachian State ex-players sitting down in front of us flashing their National 1-AA championship rings. Lots of really big BLING. I think Lloyd Carr should maybe use the sun shining off that bling as an excuse for dropped balls.

The yellow section on the left? Student section. This was the band coming out onto the field. All I can say is there was a hella lot of people.

There’s one thing about the Big House. The seats are ALL bleacher seats. No backs. And the space allotted per seat number will fit, oh maybe, a 1954 ass. Seriously you guys. I’m 5′9″. I weigh around - well, never mind. I have a weight. Anyway. My ass fit on my seat. I will say that much. The man in front of me? Not so much. He was using my knees as a backrest. Shortman was on my left, Mr. Hot on my right. Both over 6 foot tall. Neither one could sit with his knees out in front. They sat sideways. So, it was kinda like this: ///\\\ Three sets of legs. Can you imagine the claustrophobia? As if I wasn’t already a bit nauseous just being there.

We were in Row 14. There were 109,000 people there. CRAMMED.INTO.THE.STADIUM. If (and it’s a very, very big if) I ever go back, it will be to a top row seat. Where I can stand the entire time.

It was truly amazing though. We all believed that we would see U of M win and win BIG. They just didn’t take the little University from Boone, North Carolina very seriously. It’s going to make for a very interesting season in Ann Arbor.

—- Maybe in East Lansing, too? Spartans win 55-18 over UAB. Apparently they didn’t underestimate their opponent. —-

Go Sparty!