Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Oh, Fall, let's hug.

I'm embracing fall this year, more than ever before.

I used to really love fall. It starts off with a bang on my birthday. School begins, and the year feels new. (You can tell it's been a while since I've loved fall.)

But then I experienced a bit of disappointment with fall, when I married a hunter and learned that the turning of the leaves meant the disappearance of my husband.

Fall hit an all-time low for me last year, when Brian left for Montana and I spent a largely lonely 17 days alone with a fifteen-month-old in our new, empty house. Then, he spent what felt like a lot of time hunting over the net couple of months. Then came winter and the polar vortex and now everyone that I know has Winter-PTSD. And when you mention "fall", you see a shudder because that means that that jerk Winter is coming back again. And so all summer long, I've been dreading this season I once loved.

But I have decided to love fall again. Brian's second trip, this year, wasn't nearly as lonely. My kids are growing and getting to be more fun and interactive all the time, and I'm no longer accustomed to living with my parents and sister, as I'd become after ten months of staying with them last year (which made the move to our house a bit lonely). Which made it all the more exciting when Erin came to stay this time! And I feel like I've hit more of a stride of doing things on my own. If Brian told me he'd be hunting late one evening last year, I'd be bitterly disappointed. This year, I think I'll just see it as an opportunity to delay dinner and soak up a bit of relaxing time with the kids.

Plus, to my shame, I've avoided spending lots of time outdoors this summer because of the mosquitoes. I hate to admit that - I was sure I'd be soaking it up - but it's really hard to enjoy it when I've got those buggers feasting on my little baby, who's too young to get Deeted. (Can anyone suggest an alternative that really WORKS?)

So here comes fall, and it's been gorgeous. Sunny, temperate, fun. We're spending so much time outside, mosquito-free. And the icing on the cake: Brian has promised me that the month of October is mine. No hunting. Family time. So we're going to have people over, visit the zoo, and take family walks. We've already been to the cider mill, and by golly, we're gonna go again. At night, I whisk through the dishes so we can dash outside for the evening. We're having a blast.

And yesterday, I did something for the first time EVER: played soccer with my little boy. He's never been interested before this. It was so much fun! I wore Barrett on my front and hugged him tightly as I ran. I kissed his chubby cheeks and breathed in his baby smell. The colors of some of the trees are really becoming brilliant, especially set against the blue spruce trees.

My phone camera really did an awful job of capturing it. And I'm not seemingly able to upload them in full size consistently. Very unfortunate.

Holding his mini soccer ball
Brian's clover field is super green!

  

Baby selfies, ain't gettin old

Will shot up from his afternoon nap yesterday and asked, "Oh, go outside and play soccer?" I promised him we would after dinner, and we did! Do you think we will again today? Well, let's see. The sun's shining, and it's October, so, YEP.

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