A Well Crafted Life

Autumn feels like she is truly here to stay. While out and about on my daily walk yesterday, I wore a fleece jacket and dare I say some thin gloves?! These are the days I've been dreaming about. The daily changes I see in nature are welcome and cozy. Leaves falling, squirrels acting insane with their darting about, same with the chipmunks but they seem more dignified about their scurrying.

This week more red leaves were falling joining the yellow ones that have been around for a week or so. Autumn is glorious!

I'm still adjusting to an empty house, even though my house has been empty of children for quite some time. Motherhood lasts forever, and evolves, never staying the same. But like the seasons, motherhood gives way to changes. Overall, I love having adult children and take comfort knowing they are own their own.

It seems like yesterday I was their age, being my own newly minted adult. I remember the feelings and uncertainty of what was to be or going to happen. We married earlier than others when we were in our mid twenties. We also moved all over the place every few years, towing the children, improving fringe benefits, buying and selling houses.

When the children entered school age, we stayed. We settled down and called this town our home. I distinctly remember wishing for time for myself. Sure I captured snippets of "me time" but I yearned for massive amounts of time for what I wanted to do. Maybe those thoughts were escapism from the mundane parts of motherhood. Endless little statements of: 'brush your teeth' 'did you brush your hair' 'no you cannot keep that insect in the house' ' yes, you have to take a bath' etc...

Now that the kids are adult age, I look back and reflect, I look forward and reflect. How do I want to define my time and my efforts. I'm still mom, answering questions, giving advice (trying hard not to opine...). My husband and I plan excursions and revel in the ease of just being the two of us while talking about the kids no matter where we go. They are never far from conversations.

Reading blog posts from all of you, reading your journeys gives me a broader perspective. Some of you are married, some are not, some married for a while. Some of you are childless, some have many children, some have one. Some of you are homeschooling and some are not. Some of you are my age or close to my age and some of you are young.

We are all creating a well crafted life. I enjoy reading your journeys and your reflections. The tireless nights with a sick baby, the endless work days without time to knit a single stitch, the eager anticipation of seeing adult children and yes, some of you are grandparents. All of you find joy and comfort in an ordinary day.