The love affair we have with the entire month of October continues… it just never fails to deliver. It’s a magical time of year- the colors, the light, the weather, the long shadows- they are delightful. On top of it all, we are going through a time of growth within our family, each and every one of us. Despite the gradual slowing-down season, things in our household are shifting.
Milo, at nine, has become quite serious in one way, and funnier in another. The nuances of a more mature sense of humor push through; he laughs along more with the adults now, finds what we find funny about the little ones funnier than he did a year ago. He makes observations that tickle me. He is just a delight to be around.
Oliver grows in a different way. He is a social butterfly and comes alive with his peer group. We spent Saturday afternoon at Shaw Nature Reserve with Milo and Oliver’s classmates (they are in the same class for the second year in a row, with great success). I watched as they disappeared through the woods, a flash of color and then, gone. Running in a pack, or pairing off in two’s and three’s, these children just came alive in nature. And with each other.
And Emil. Oh, Emil. After falling waist-deep into the pond, he discarded his shoes and proceeded to rip his shorts open in the bum after sliding repeatedly down a dirt embankment into the stream below. Pure joy. There is nothing better to a five-year-old than a free afternoon in the mud, my friends.
And all of the other fall things — the walks around the neighborhood, observing how the leaves in the tops of the trees change before the bottom half, the pumpkin cream cheese muffins at Winslow’s Home, the candles and the gourds… I just love it all!
There is growth for me, too. I have accepted an unexpected and exciting job offer (part time) and am both thrilled to get started and apprehensive about the frustrating process of learning new things — a change Andrew reminds me (wisely, gently) is just different, not bad. I often experience fear surrounding newness and I seem to be eternally working to get past that feeling in order to drop into something more productive.
All these changes are so good, within our family and outside of it. It’s amazing what a new season can reveal!
I hope you are having a wonderful October.
Congrats on starting a new job! This made me smile because I’m always greeting newness and change with so much resistance. It can take me a lot my time to warm up to the idea of something life-altering, even when it’s positive, or a deliberate choice. I wish I were more adaptable or less fretful, but at least I can laugh at myself after the initial adjustment period!
Thank you, Brooke! Isn’t it funny that even as adults we can feel such strong emotions around newness! It’s true, laughing at one’s self is an important reaction to this. I’m going to keep that in mind. Thanks for commenting!
Transitions are tricky to navigate for me as well, especially in the professional world where I know a whole lot about a few things, but sometimes very little about a lot of things. I like to know things – not have to ask so many questions!
So maybe this should be a circular post. Look at how you embrace the change of seasons (and fall is such a good one, I agree!), and how you embrace the changes of boyhood, and give yourself the space to appreciate those changes in your professional life as well – all muddy, ripped bum, fall spiced muffin goodness.
Congrats, Lauren! I can’t wait to hear all the details of your new job!
Oh, and this weather….. I’m slowly dying over here. I need real fall…. 88 in mid October. Blah! I know everyone else is loving it, but bring on the boots and scarves.
Oh, you know I’m with you, Jamie! I like it a little cooler too. Bring on the sweater weather!