November

I have always loved November, not simply because my mom and I share this birthday month so there's always something to look forward to, nor because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, though those are both good reasons.  Perhaps it's because, after the brashness and business of October, November arrives with cooler weather and calm before the Christmas chaos.  I've seen some of my favorite bloggers beginning their Christmas decorating, and I totally get it: especially this year, I understand the desire to kick off the coziness and merriness .as soon as possible.  When I switched on the Hallmark channel this morning in hopes of catching some gentle food and decorating tips from their morning show, I discovered we are already well into the 24 hour Christmas movie extravaganza.  

But I love the fall, so we won't be shifting away from fall celebrations until December 1, at least.   Time for sitting out at nighttime firepits, and an Oktoberfest inspired gathering, and switching out Halloween decorations for Thanksgiving ones.  For looking at recipes, even though this year is marked by questions about who will want and be able to gather, and even though I always cook the same things, anyway.

The start of November also marks the last third of the fall term.  I am always surprised to be so far into the year at this point, and grateful to have made it this far.  This year, especially, I am happy to not have needed to cancel any classes, keeping fingers crossed that the next three weeks will be the same (once the Thanksgiving holiday has passed, it becomes easier to be more flexible).  This has been a strange year so far, trying to get footing again after a year teaching from home.  Often my ambition has outstripped my energy, and the shift back into something that resembles normal, but is not normal, has been difficult. I've been trying to take each week as it comes, to remember to pray, to be grateful.

The picture above was taken years ago at a nearby u-pick farm.  We didn't make it there this year--in fact, it has been a couple of years since we've gone. I miss that.  Having young children gives you access, for a short time, to so many fin and simple things, like picking strawberries or going to a pumpkin patch.  I'm glad we took advantage of those outings when my kids were little, and that I can still wrangle them into a few of those as time permits. As I make my calendar for the month today, I'll try to make sure to plan for at least one simple outing.