Goodbye Pumpkin Pie

You know what I love? Pumpkin pie. And candy corn and kids in sweaters and red and orange and yellow leaves swirling down from wind-blown trees to crunch beneath my feet. You may have guessed amidst all those "ands" that my favorite season is fall. And you may have guessed from my blog title that I will be skipping that beloved season this year. That's right, no back-to-school shopping, no Halloween costumes, no Thanksgiving feast, not even Columbus Day for Pete's sake.

How, you may ask, is that possible? Easy, I'm moving to the Southern Hemisphere, or more specifically that long, skinny country in South America called Chile. You may remember from Physical Science 101 that seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth. Closer to the sun = summer; further away = winter. Hence the seasons are opposite for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Astounding. So as we arrive at our destination on September 19th, members of our old homestead will be draining their swimming pools, shutting their shaved ice shacks and marking all their neon plastic tableware to 50% off at Walmart while our new residence will be doing what Chileans do to get ready for Spring. Whatever it is, I hope it tastes good.

My husband and I are embarking on this adventure with our 5 children ages 8, 7, 5, 3, and 2 months. We will be living on an Olive Farm owned by a company called Farmland Reserves, which is owned by the LDS church. The assignment will last for 3-4 months, meaning we will probably be back by Christmas and unfortunately I don't get to skip winter. Rats.

So as I walk down the rows of Costco and look forlornly at the jumbo bags of Halloween candy and the way too big red and gold faux-leaf wreaths I remind myself that Spring is pretty awesome too. Besides, I have always wondered if Santa wears bermuda shorts to deliver toys in South America, and perhaps I will finally get to find out.