Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Its The Most Cozy Time of Year



No time of the year is the passing of time more prevalent the late fall when the leaves have turned to brilliant shades of orange and red, and have turned the world into a beautiful snowglobe of nature.  Halloween passes, and soon our thoughts are turned to Thanksgiving and the approaching holidays and we start to reflect on the year past and the new year to come. 

So it was in the midst of all this fanfare that this guy turned seven:



Which I am feeling pretty down about.  Of all the birthdays in the house (and by that I mean the kid's birthdays, I have all but forgotten that Jason and I have birthdays at all.), Teague's birthday always seem to fall at the most inconvenient of times.   Just days after the epic fiasco that is ALWAYS Halloween, and even fewer days after All Saints Day (a HUGE day of parties and room parenting madness when one's kids attend a Catholic school) and RIGHT when Nutcracker insanity has kicked into full swing.   It seems like I am always trying to schedule something for Teague's birthday AROUND the rest of the schedule, and on absolutely zero energy or motivation -- and this year was no different.   Thank God that Teague's greatest gift seems to be his positive outlook.  Teague is the kid who can play on a team with his ball hog brother and watch him score ten goals in a quarter.  Then run excitedly off the field and announce "Mom did you see Samuel?  My brother is the best player on the team!"   Teague never fails to see the good.  



We actually had a long talk about gifts the other day on one  of our many scenic drives to and from the studio.  Molly was proud that her director had called her "determined" in class, and Sam was inquiring as to whether that was a good thing and what it meant.  Upon hearing my explanation that yes, Molly was determined.  (In fact she is the single most driven human being I have ever met, in my life.)  and that that meant she was the kind of person, who once they made their minds up to do something, or get something, they did not stop until they made it happen, Samuel agreed that Molly IS determined.  He asked if he was determined too, and I Told him yes, though perhaps not quite as much as Molly.  



At which point we talked about how everyone has special gifts,  Molly and I explaining to Samuel that we think his gift is that he is incredibly empathetic. He really feels for other people, tries to understand their feelings.  He has a good heart.  



All of this brought with it a discussion about what whether I had any gifts.  When asked directly I just laughed and told the kids that I used to think I had some, but these days I just wasn't sure what they were anymore.  The kids seemed content with that answer and we drove along,  silently taking in the beauty of our rural route home, lulled to the quiet beauty of NPR classical radio when Molly finally piped up from the very back of the van "You're pretty good at keeping a schedule Mom."  



So there you have it, I'm a master scheduler.  And it's a good thing too because I fear some major changes are coming our way, some of them largely driven by finances and I'm just praying and hoping that we're doing what's right. 

Because at the end of the day, I now pass this sign in the hallway on the way to bed:


After all , it's easy to get caught up in the mundane, the stressful, the things we can't change.  To forget that at the end of the day, I get to pull down this street 


and cal it HOME.



Friday, November 1, 2013

All Hallow's Eve


Trick or Treat!  


There was a time when Halloween was my favorite holiday.  I love the all, the crunching of leaves underfoot on a cool, dark night -- the magic in the air as witches, and goblins, and princesses run amok.  (And yes that was a Hocus Pocus reference.  Best Halloween movie of all time, no offense intended It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown)



Notice I said "used to be?"  Yeah that was before I had to buy five costumes, and fight the "why is every female halloween costume from age 3 and up skanky.


Before last night when it rained.  A LOT.  



In the end, despite my best attempts to bribe my kids not to go we went anyway, though the end of an era - for the first time ever we did not all go together.  


Both Luke and Molly opted to go with friends, and though I felt the sting of it no longer being a "family thing", I got it.  I think I went with friends for the first time in fifth.  Of course this was in a time when kids could do that.  Go with no friends, go alone, walk the streets and fear nothing but the leftover candy cane and the old lady who gave out those chewy hard candies.  They went supervised, but with friends none the less. 



The littles and I went alone.  (Jason was at work, of course.)  We did a few houses and decided to head over to our old church's indoor event.  I have to say - it was the most well run thing of it's nature,  I've ever been too.