2009 September » Stop, Drop and Blog

Fall is Upon Us

Sep 212009

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall. The leaves were already changing this past weekend as I drove along the Pennsylvania turnpike. The pictures I snapped this weekend at the wedding contained the blue of a September sky, unique to this month only. They also featured the beauty of potted mums. I love mums.

Everyone talks about how the Spring season brings us a chance at starting anew, about how Spring offers us a clean slate. We are to bloom once again after being dormant for however long. While I recognize the beauty of Spring, Fall offers us that same chance. Flowers that contain such beauty, such color and are still hardy, able to withstand harsh winds and the literal change of time, bloom during these early Fall days. Deep rich colors, colors that stick with you long after they’ve faded.

Mums in the Sun

White Mums

More Mums

I love the Fall. I love the sights and smells and changes the season brings. I love sweatshirts and jeans. I love jackets and boots. I love pumpkins and the color orange. (But not spices.) I love it all, I really do. I also love how it reminds me that beauty comes even after people stop expecting it. The newness of Spring has already come and gone. The long Summer days with their multitude of flowers have come to an end. And yet, beauty remains. Beauty always remains.

This year, Fall has brought about some extra changes in my life, in our collective life as a unique family unit. When I first learned of the changes, I felt uneasy. Change is not always an easy feeling, an easy thing to accept. I can now say, like the hardy mum, I am ready for wherever this new path on our journey takes us. I am happy to be experiencing it along with those that I love and trust. I am happy to be in the midst of this beautiful life, this beautiful mess. (You can read more about the changes, the beauty, here. Mums photographed above are just a sampling of the beauty from the wedding.)

Welcome, Fall. Shine your beauty upon us all.

Missing My Boys

Parenting Comments Off

Sep 182009

I am in Philadelphia to attend my daughter’s mom’s wedding. Yesterday I traipsed into NYC for Swagapalooza (which I will be bringing you a series of videos all next week via MomTV). I will be staying with my uncle and aunt tomorrow evening after the wedding. I don’t plan on heading home until noon on Sunday, placing me back in our house sometime around bedtime that day.

And I’m miserable.

Don’t get me wrong. Swagapalooza was amazing. And not even just the swag (though I have some great reviews for you). I met some great people (bloggers, reporters and PR reps alike). And I had an amazing cupcake. I didn’t indulge in the open bar because I don’t drink much. But the cupcake, oh, the cupcake. And, of course, the visit I am having with Munchkin’s family is amazing. (More on Chronicles later today.) I always love spending time with them and, yes, I’m taking pictures.

But, oh, I miss my boys.

I don’t spend much time away from them, away from home. I do things for and by myself (show choir, Bible study) but I’m just not gone for long periods of time. This is made evident by the following discussion with BigBrother on the phone today:

BigBrother: Are you at coffee? (I go for coffee once a week with friends.)
Me: No.
BigBrother: Where you are?
Me: I’m visiting Munchkin and JD.
BigBrother: Oh… *pause* I miss you.

The pause in his voice kind of broke my heart. The fact that he thought that I was only right down the street was kind of sad as well. Of course, these realizations have also made me feel grateful. The fact that I get to have so much time with my children makes me a very, very lucky mother. (And hopefully my children very, very lucky children.) While I have earned and deserved and am enjoying this time away, I miss them. That’s allowed, right?

I’m hoping that this lovely, whirlwind weekend will give me a slight reprieve. I’m hoping that I’ll be a well-relaxed Mommy when I return. Mostly I’m hoping to make it home before they’re asleep so I can have tons and tons of hugs. I miss the hugs. Maybe not the meltdowns and the smart mouths. But the hugs, oh the hugs. And nose kisses. And… and… and.