Our morning and evening walks with the dogs have that "feeling" in the air. There are acorns covering our driveway everyday and things are starting to fade around the edges. I confess, I am feeling a little melancholy about it. I have moved beyond rushing through seasons because I just want time to stand still. High school parenting will do that to you.
This year there will not be school field trips to the apple orchard, or girl scout meetings in the park to make etchings of leaves and carving pumpkins. There will be homecoming parades, tennis matches, football games and the thrill of newly becoming a part of old traditions. It feels different this year - nostalgia there for those school years that I loved, now experiencing them from the sidelines.
More than ever, I feel like my roll is to create the soft spot. I've been leaning into my homemaker roll this season (even as a full-time working mom) - dinner on the table, laundry clean and put away (still working on that...), cookies in the cookie jar, ice cream in the freezer, the good snacks for last minute friends, comfy spots to watch shows at night, slow Sunday dinners, lamps on, quiet and comfortable - all of those cozy moments of home. After a day out in the real world, creating this comforting place to land has become my focus.
I almost feels like nesting all over again. But this time it feels like doing it for the last time and trying to hold on very tightly. Time is marching on too quickly. I will be savoring each season as slowly as I can and stretching out all of the moments - beginning with fall.
