Coffee Chat: End of October

The weather has been lovely, truly lovely, the past two weeks.  We came home from church and a long afternoon at Katie's on Sunday and as we topped the hill before the River Valley, there was the patchwork of autumn colors spread before us.  It was breathtaking. It hasn't come into its full glory yet, but a few trees have decided the season is now prime for their most brilliant display.  The majority usually reserve their best colors for November.

I've been enjoying this season, this blessed season, that we've been in.  I am not referring to just the weather but the life season we've come upon.  It's been lovely to not be beset with concerns, worries and problems.  It's been lovely to see things come together for my family members.   I'm very grateful for the opportunity to experience this.

I had time with 7 grandchildren over the past weekend.  Friday night through Saturday after lunch, I had the three from across the field.  They made me laugh and smile and challenged my thinking and aggravated me.  It was a good time overall.  The kids were acting like kids.  Josh, (and Taylor) both have an added maturity they didn't have two years ago.  I see them already making the transition to what their more mature selves will be.  

On the other hand, my favorite years are and always shall be the 'personality' years as I refer to them.  Children in their toddler years change rapidly and yet their personality truly becomes more and more clearly set.  Millie, Caleb, and Bella are in that stage still.  Isaac is just at that in between stage of not yet having reached the coming maturity and no longer toddler.  

Speaking of Isaac, he's quite the reader.  The same child who told me this summer that he didn't like to read and didn't want to get books at the library has suddenly developed a voracious appetite for books.  His tablet (heaven forbid I should call them Kindles!) is full of books that he's asked his Papa to buy for him.  The last time we went to the library, he was the first in the door and the first one to grab a book to read.  He read to me and John both, several times, during this last visit.  And he reads very well.  He doesn't miss words. I hope he continues to love reading.

On Sunday, we went to Katie's after church.  Bella shows improvement every time we see her.  She has had delayed speech (as did Caleb) but I noted that more and more she is speaking coherently and well, especially if she thinks she's talking to herself.    She and Caleb are so close in age (barely a year between them) that they very much act like siblings.   However, I noted that Caleb is also protective of her, often taking the lead as the older child.  Bella is easy to love.  She is enthusiastic about us and yelled, "It's the Grampa!" when John walked in which made us all laugh.  

Caleb climbed into my lap at one time yesterday and allowed me to hold him and rock him.  I said, "Oh it's been a long time since you were my baby...Won't you be my baby once more?"  "No, Gramma, I can't.  I'm a big brother now." He said this very seriously.   Well, he's quite right.  It isn't just Henry he's a big brother to, it's Bella as well and he's taking his role on wholeheartedly.

Taylor reminds me of Violet on Willie Wonka.  Not that she's mean, but because she's athletic.  She spends her days flipping cartwheels, bending over backwards, standing on her head.  She's joined a volleyball team.  And as I said earlier, I see a growing maturity.  She's a lovely girl.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with all of the children, but I was tired when we got home, understandably so.   Nevertheless, I texted Mama and told her I'd come visit her this week on Tuesday and so yesterday I was off doing that.

She and I drove a decent distance to view the autumn colors, but we didn't see much of anything until we turned west, heading back home and then we saw plenty of color on the trees.  It wasn't a long journey by any means, but it was a nice, pleasant day for driving and worth getting out to see the lovely colors while we can.  If Autumn remains true to its usual pattern, we've about two weeks to appreciate the leaves and then they will all drop away, and we'll just see bare trees for months to come.

The weeks have passed pleasantly by.  I won't tell you they've been productive.  Since we returned from vacation, life has been a slow living process and by that I don't mean we're homesteading but that we're just not pushing ourselves as we have the past few months.  Perhaps it's the time of year, or the knowledge that so many are facing some very hard things in so many states just now.  It's certainly not cool weather here but somehow, we've snugged into our home and here we've been most happy to stay.  

So life might be what others might call 'dull' but for me it's been just right.  We've had so many years, and I do mean literally years, of drama and trauma and hard things to face.  To have had these last few months free of difficult things to deal with has left us craving slow days, long naps, early nights, and little else.  

One day last week I made a rather complicated meal for supper and when I was about half through the process, I realized that just now I'm not up to fussy meals.  "We need simpler foods..." I told myself and from there on I've tried to make easy meals that require less prep time, have fewer steps to get to the finished product.  I'm fine with shopping less often lately and making do with what we have on hand.  

The truth is that I'm far more tired that even I suspected I might be and I need this season of rest we appear to be in at present.  I need it on the physical level, the mental and emotional levels.  At first I berated myself for all the things I let slide, all the jobs I failed to do.  But here of late, I've given in to my body's demands for rest.  

All of that said, there are so many things I want to do, as well as things I see that I ought to do.  I feel I should be cleaning the patio and porches for winter.  I ought to be clearing up the mess of summer that is left behind.  I want pretty pots for winter.  I want to plant for spring blooms.  I want to get jobs done and do this and do that...but I'm not doing any of it.  At least not yet.  

And that's where I am here at the end of October.  Just gliding along, floating really, in these lovely days of autumn.