Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Fall

I love fall. I'm not going to lie. The cooler temperatures. The changing leaves. Sweaters. Boots. I love it all. But then again, there are things about every season that I love too. I think what I love most about fall, is that it's nature's way of preparing itself for the dormancy and chill of winter before the rebirth of spring. It makes me think about some of the things we do around here, in our own lives, to prepare for the cold months ahead. Things like staying outside as long as we can, keeping the windows open, canning spaghetti sauce from the last of the summer's tomatoes, adding more soups to our weekly menu, growing our lists of books to read and movies to watch when we can't go outside.

This fall has brought some change too (don't you love the leaves above on my neighbor's tree). C started preschool last week. It's her last year. She goes for a half day, every day. This means One Ordinary Dad and B get a lot of one-on-one time.

She is reading. She is starting to understand simple addition. She is learning so much. Like the leaves changing colors, my sweet girl is changing too and will this time next year, will be a kindergartener.

B is changing too. He talks. A lot. He tries so hard to repeat everything you say. He loves book like his sister. Unlike his sister, he is into everything. Every drawer and cabinet and shelf at his level has either been emptied or emptied and then refilled with things that won't hurt him-- plastic plates, strainers, the salad spinner, junk mail. More than just about anything, my boy loves to be outside.

One Ordinary Dad is settling back into the stay-at-home parent life again. He is also back working at the beer distributor where he worked last holiday season. At that point in our lives, we could only handle his working on a temporary basis as the hours were different and we felt like passing ships. Now, the hours are better, he gets to work at something he enjoys, and we get a little extra spending money.

Which means Mommy gets some solo time with the kiddos every evening. Which is why I haven't spent as much time online updating this blog, Facebook, etc. To be honest though, I feel like I'm kind of "over" social media right now. Not in a permanent way. But, I've been having more face to face conversations and long phone calls with friends. When One Ordinary Dad is home and the kids are in bed, we've been working our way through The West Wing on DVD (I think neither of us was mature enough to care about a TV drama when it was actually on TV-- that period of our lives was consumed by Survivor, Friends, American Idol, and Seinfeld). Or we talk. Or read (and we're geeks and read parts of books and articles aloud to one another when we find them entertaining or thought-provoking). We used to sit side by side, sort of watching TV, sort of scrolling through our phones. Not so much now. It was a change that happened subtly. And one we didn't even realize was happening until we talked about it today.

Yes, I'll still update here. Yes, I still manage to scroll through Facebook once a day or so. And yes, thanks to Google Reader and Flipboard, I'm staying current with all of your blogs. But my own updates here and elsewhere are sometimes spaced far apart, the space in between filled with dance class, and reading (to the kids and my own books for me), teaching, walking, running (I'm easing back in), yoga (I've got a pretty regular at-home practice going on right now in addition to my once a week class, coffee, and conversation. It's wonderful, friends.

And I'll come right out and say it-- while everything isn't sunshine and rainbows every day, we're just at a good place right now. The changes are doing us all some good, subtle though they mostly have been-- a book picked up one night and read by a 4 year old is 5 books she can read by the end of the week; a toddler vocabulary of 20 words expands to several dozen in a matter of weeks; the fall decorations are up in the house; the Halloween shirts for the kids are purchased; dance classes have started; we're preferring warm cookies to cold ice cream for dessert. We all feel well (despite the colds and allergies that crop up this time of year), we're blessed with rest each night, we're happy most days, and well, we're just plain happy with where God has us in this season of life right now.
Ummm...my boy LOVES that Mickey is on his shirt. :-) Yes, "Mickey" is one of his words.

So happy fall to you all. Enjoy the cooler weather. The changing leaves. And if fall brings a change or two to you, may it be a blessed one.

~One Ordinary Mom :-)

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