I remember once when I was very young, looking out on the big pumpkin patches filled with big, round orange pumpkins.

A large commercial truck bused people back and forth from the gateway to the patch itself. When we arrived, my grandma took the hands of my sister and me, and we eagerly bounced along at her sides without a care in the world.

Through the excitement, however, I remember one thing distinctly: There were only a few people wandering in the patch. The rows of vines from newly planted to overly ripe were filled with the bright orange gourd, but there were only a few people dotting the gardened and seasoned grounds. It was an appalling sight to me. How could anyone miss out on something so beautiful and exciting?

This question still haunts me today. Are pumpkin patch visits a dead tradition? Among other family traditions?

Pumpkin patch visits are a tradition similar to that of choosing a Christmas tree, which is certainly not a dead art. But is going out in nature once a year too much for the common family? Do we not have time in our busy schedules to visit a pumpkin patch?

It is possible that our children, and their children, and generations beyond that will never experience the feeling of the brisk wind, the hay and dirt inching its way into your clothing, especially your shoes and socks. Could the hot chocolate that always follows become a dead tradition as well?

There are so many possible tragedies that can follow if choosing a pumpkin each year stops being experienced. It is one of the keystones of fall and is very enticing, if only people are willing to venture beyond their indoor-only mindset. As generations become more and more inclined to stay home and skip activities, traditions such as these fall out of the ordinary day-to-day life.

My sisters have never been to a pumpkin patch. The adults in their lives are busy with their careers and things that they need to get finished or their next deadline. Not to say that this is a bad thing, of course, because that is the nature of life. However, it makes me wonder if by virtue of the fact that my sisters haven’t been to a pumpkin patch, they may not be able to experience other wonders that I was able to experience when I was a child.

Many things happen in the fall that we may not get the chance to experience again. Go to a haunted house, curl up and read a good book by the fireplace, watch the leaves flutter off of the trees, sit outside and watch the sun set over the horizon, drink hot chocolate, eat warm food, but most of all, find time to spend with your family.

Whether or not you get the chance to do any of those things, make time for the ones you love the most. It is vital to spend as much time as you can with your family, because therein you find memories that will last a lifetime.

There is so much to see and do at a pumpkin patch, rather than just buying a pumpkin at the grocery store. It’s about the experience. It’s about seeing the beauty of rows and rows filled with pumpkins of every shape and size. It’s about seeing the looks on the little children’s faces when they finally find the pumpkin that really hits home and makes them feel like it was made for them. It’s about being able to choose a pumpkin out of the hundreds of thousands with someone you love and saying, “This is the perfect one for the porch this year.”

Although the pumpkin patch tradition may or may not be dead, there are still things we can do to preserve the culture and traditions that our family still has. We can keep practicing traditions even when it may seem like we don’t have the time or the energy. Give up a little time for your work and put it toward your family. There is so much to do and see in this world, and so little time to live it.

As John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

Don’t let your financial and career-oriented worries get in the way of what matters most. Instead of simply focusing on your goals professionally, focus doubly on the things that matter to you outside of school or work.

Fall is a time that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Much can come of the fall season if we simply take the time to let it. There are so many great things we can see and do — like choosing the best pumpkin from a pumpkin patch.