Fall has always been my favorite season of the year. Part of that must stem from my self-acknowledged nerd-ism since autumn brings the start of school. Another part probably comes from my positive memories of marching band in high school and college. And yet another part connects to the beauty I see in the fiery-toned foliage and my memories of raking leaves in Ohio (all one can really rake in Georgia is pine straw!). To celebrate the arrival of fall, my family annually goes to North Georgia to pick out pumpkins, buy apples, and consume fried apple pies, cider, and boiled peanuts. The yearly trip is one of my favorite family traditions. My goal each year is to find the perfect pumpkin. It's a time-consuming process, but I always end up with a great looking pumpkin.
Our trip this year (a.k.a. The Great Pumpkin Chase) came the day after I took my family to see the short list of condos I'd chosen. I've been house-hunting for several weeks now and had finally narrowed the list to a few options. Each time I've been out looking with my Realtor, though, I ask to return to a particular neighborhood on the way back. I keep going back to the same location... and I think there is a reason for that.
I realized this weekend that I approach the selection of houses much like I approach the selection of pumpkins. I see the pumpkin I want after a short perusal of the options, but then I have to compare my selected pumpkin against the other pumpkins that might be better. Of course, none of them are better because I knew what I wanted from the beginning. For some reason, though, I still have to cart my chosen pumpkin around and hold it next to the others so I can see how it measures up against the other choices out there. Though the pumpkin I originally picked out is never truly "perfect," it is the one that I am most satisfied with - and I rarely change my mind once I've picked it out. Even so, I must compare it against all the other possibilities - just in case.The same goes for my potential condo. I have driven through the same neighborhood consistently over the past year and a half, just to see if I still like the area. When visiting condos with my Realtor, I kept comparing them to the one I saw first in the neighborhood I liked. If pumpkins truly are like condos, then I know which condo I want. My pumpkin is a beautiful, fat orange globe with a thick stem, and it looks just lovely on my coffee table (it's the round one with the dark stem next to the cash register in the picture). It may have some minor flaws, but they are ones I chose to ignore when I first picked it up. I think I selected the right pumpkin... maybe I've picked the right condo, too.
