Blue jeans and leather jackets. Long cotton scarves and boots. Red highlights. The crock pot. Full bodied red wine with hearty beef stew--don't forget the crusty bread.
I love all four seasons. I have decided that it's important to me to live in a place where I can experience all of them. Flowing with Mother Nature and her rhythms is comfortable to me. I have always been the type of person who looks forward to the next big thing, always ready to move forward. The past few years I have really been working to live more in the present. Daydreams of what lies ahead are useful to get me through some of the monotony of my everyday life as a stay-at-home mom in the suburbs. But being fully aware of what is happening right now can be so rewarding--especially in times of change.
I have always thought of fall as a time to reconnect with the Earth, to set new goals, and to reflect on where I am. I like New Years resolutions, but they are never as meaningful to me as the work I do in early September. I would think that maybe springtime would be a more likely time to be called to start anew, like nature. Summertime is so free...it's hot (especially here in Georgia), clothes are lose and light, a dip in the pool can substitute for a day's shower, a salad and a pinot grigio won't weigh me down. Then I feel that slight chill in the air. We've had some rain, we've raked some leaves, and we don't mind so much if the kids leave the doors hanging open. Things are changing, and it calls me to ponder what is changing in me.
I've been snooping around for goal setting programs online. Getting organized with my thoughts is important in me accomplishing things. For several years I have been focused on raising the kids. Carving out time for me was one of my goals, and I've been successful at that! Now I'm finding that, with all 3 kids in elementary school, I have plenty of time "for me"--now what am I going to do with it? Like nature in autumn, it's time for me to shed my old leaves, gently. It's time to go within and start settling in for deeper growth. No hibernating, no dormancy...there is serious work to be done. The flightiness and "distractability" of summer must take heed in the attentiveness of fall.
To think of next summer, it seems so far away. We still have a full fall, winter, and spring to experience and accomplish before those long, muggy days return (although I'm sure we're not done with them this year yet!). I'm excited about the work that I can do between now and then. I'm excited to light up a fire in our fire pit. I'm excited to go barefoot on the cool Earth on the evening of a full moon. Get motivated, get organized, get focused. Get cooking! Fall vegetables, soups and stews, hot tea in the afternoon. So much to do! I'd better get on it!
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