A World with Octobers
Monday, October 8, 2012 at 6:40PM 
October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.
Anne reveled in the world of color about her.
"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs" 'I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them."
"Messy things," said Marilla, whose aesthetic sense was not noticeably developed. "You clutter up your room entirely too much with out-of-doors stuff, Anne. Bedrooms were made to sleep in."
"Oh, and dream in too, Marilla. And you know one can dream so much better in a room where there are pretty things. I'm going to put these boughs in the old blue jug and set them on my table."
~Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery
I'm rereading the Anne of Green Gables series for the first time in decades. I'm only a wee bit of the way into the first book, but already I feel like I'm visiting old friends whom I haven't seen in years (but who've never been far from me).
When I dig down into my core values and think about the way I want to be in this world, I always come back to two little words: joy and wonder. I think of Anne as my role model and kindred spirit in this regard.
October is my favorite month, despite the early darkening of the evenings and the need to start wearing socks. This month I'm filling myself up with the color and mystery of the delightful days that separate September from November.
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