October…A Special Month

October has long been a special month for me. After all, it is my birth month, and I share that with one of our sons. Growing up, two of my best girlfriends also had October birthdays.

It’s a month that is not too hot or cold, vibrant in colors as the trees change from green to yellow, orange, and red, set — if we are lucky — against a cobalt blue sky. It is a season of transition, captured in a month.

School is in full swing, with students and teachers settling into a calm routine. Midterms for those in college test their most recent acquisition of knowledge. It is a time I fondly remember as both a student and a college instructor. Learning is still ripe and enthusiastically approached before the dreary days and drudgery set in.

Since the pandemic, October has become a month of travel for us. Now, it is usually the time for our “overseas” trip, but we’ve not set…