Apples

Ohio does fall really well.  I think it's what this state does best, actually.  We don't have the best sports teams, we don't have the best economy, we don't have the best health, but man, October 1st rolls around and we have leaves turning every color, bright blue skies and lush green grass.  We have warm days and chilly nights.  We have bonfires and tailgating and trips to the pumpkin patch.  And we have apples.  Oh baby, do we have apples.

When I was a kid in Dallas, Texas, we had two kinds of apples: red and green. (There were also those mealy gross yellow apples, but did anybody ever actually eat them?)  Then we moved to Ohio, and I remember during our first autumn going with my dad to the orchard.  We pulled up and a sign boasted way more than two kinds of apples for sale.  I had no idea what I'd been missing.  Even better than a tart Granny Smith, there were Empires, Jonagolds, Pink Ladies.  These apples were juicy, crisp, sweet and tart at the same time.  Oh, fall became my favorite season.

It was fortunate that I was once again living in Ohio when I became pregnant for the first time, and fortunate that fall marked the onset of a voracious craving for apples.  I went to the same orchard my dad had taken me to all those years ago at least once a week, grabbing the biggest bag of apples for sale.  I ate 3-5 apples a day.  I can still remember the pleasure my hormonally-charged body got from each bite, the juicy apples thrilling my taste buds.  It was no surprise the next fall when that sweet baby boy eagerly grabbed an apple to munch with his four tiny teeth.  And so my love of tasty apples has passed to the next generation, with each of my boys LOVING our trips to the orchard and the bounty of delicious apples we bring home.  It's become my favorite as well, because once I distribute an apple to each of them, our boisterous car becomes gloriously silent.  All I can hear are the quiet crunchings of teeth and apples.  And I usually eat one too.  I love fall!!