Here’s where fall has arrived here–taking the dog out in between my house and the neighbor’s house at 6:30 a.m.–before the sun rises when, if I close my eyes as the breeze sweeps in, I can imagine I’m in a Michigan apple orchard wearing the perfect cable knit sweater and not cowering in the one sliver of my yard where neighbors can’t see me in Brett’s Margaritaville t-shirt and my underwear.
I’m not complaining though because I’ve figured this out. While yes, there are some seasonal delights exclusive to location, the creative process of interpreting those delights is a delight itself as most creative processes are. So come fall, we create.
New games (an early morning round of toss-the-pumpkin)…
New rituals (coffee and news you can hold in your hand–news that isn’t pulled off social media!)…
New traditions (dress the dog like a human baby because he is a human baby).
We create cozy fall feelings with music and candles and cinnamon and clove scents, soup making, bread baking and huddling in bed at night to read stories of scarecrows that dance in moonlit fields and tiny mice that sip mugs of hot acorn coffee inside their tree stump homes.
We create excitement with lists we scrawl out on scraps of paper–lists of holiday ideas and recipes we want to try and items we need for the decorating idea we saw on Pinterest–lists we will likely lose before we need them, but it doesn’t really matter because there’s delight in the list making process.
We create wonder with twinkle lights, and memories with little check marks on our fall bucket list–the kitschy jack-o-lantern socks we bought that make us smile, the spooky stories we told on the moon walk, the cider and sugared donuts we made sure to have ready before Saturday morning because we wanted to check off that box.
We create adventure with spontaneous trips to explore our town…the food truck park we’ve been meaning to try…
…and a new fall pumpkin field that is not a church parking lot.
We create grace for ourselves when lists don’t get checked and kitchens don’t get cleaned and books don’t get read.
There is more time, more moments, more tomorrows, more opportunities, more delights, more creativity in store in the abundant heap of good that never runs out.
And when we trust that there is more, there’s less stress, less guilt, less trying to fit it all in.
Have a happy Wednesday full of delights to all of you!
Michelle says
Ok, seriously, I have doodle envy. Besides having a singing voice that would allow me to rock every karaoke bar, the second talent I wish I had was to be able to draw. I can barely get out a stick figure. So, that being said, can you add to your own to do list: publishing your own clipart that the non artistic world can download and you can have all the credit?!
Love, love, love it all!
Christine Powers says
I absolutely love reading your posts and this one is so inspiring. Fall is my favorite time of year and this post makes me want to rush out to a pumpkin patch, make soup and sip hot apple cider! How do you fit it all in and find the time with 3 kids?! I have 3 young kids and life is so busy! Also, I love these pj’s, where did you get them?
Jennifer Reil says
Thanks again for your lovely inspiration. Especially, for the creating grace for ourselves. My oldest twin babes are seniors this year and I wanted to make every moment of this year magical…but we have 7 kids and we just moved houses last week and my life feels like chaos instead of magic. I have to keep reminding myself that life is long, there is lots more time for great times together and memory making (even after my first babes leave the nest, they will always be my babes!).
Rebekah Ruth Smith says
Where are the jammies from and your shirt and your daughters shirt? LOVE YOUR MOTHER! SO CUTE.
Laura Ortiz says
I love the pics in the pumpkin patch. I recently moved from New York and I miss Fall but at the same time I’m so exciting to be here and discover more, more new places to visit, more beach time, more new friends and more experiences now living in the South.
Thank you for that reminder.