This was such a delightfully normal week after a few weeks of craziness.  There’s always something, it seems.  Scott’s traveling often and gone every other week, so there’s that.  I was tutoring 3 nights a week which was great, but it meant hurrying around for bath and dinner and clean-up blah blah blah to get out the door on time.  There was the birthday carnival which was a blast, but the preparation and clean up takes a lot of energy and time.

So this week was so lovely and quiet and normal. Just the rhythm of the day.  Scott was in town all week.  I was home every weeknight.  No parties to plan or recover from.  Funny that at times in my life I would have been so incredibly bored with all of this, but life isn’t boring at all when you really pay attention.  There are so many things I’m loving right now.

…..cooler temperatures, finally Atlanta….a trip to the library where we pick up a little something for me and a little something for Jude …. someone’s new fascination with the refrigerator magnets…..

…..finding my own recipe for pumpkin spiced coffee ….. watching those first few unsteady steps and seeing the thought process of should I crawl there or try walking? before he moves an inch ….. homemade cinnamon bread ….. enjoying fall vegetables from my own little private CSA, so lucky I am …… trying a new recipe on a whim, loving the results and making two extra portions to freeze for later this season.  My December self will thank my October self for these ……

….the hum of football on the television, even though I so don’t care at all; it means fall …..warm sheets in a cold house ….shorter days and cooler mornings when summer seemed far too long this year …. the need for warm slippers ….. the promise of Thanksgiving and food and cozy family time soon …… making a list of Christmas gifts and what to buy for whom ….. watching chubby little hands take a puzzle apart and study how to put it together again …… It’s so crazy to see him really play with something when this time last year, he couldn’t unfold his legs or hold his head up……

…..that first sip of coffee on a morning when you really need it ….. watching tv with Scott and a huge fuzzy blanket ….. the way the woods behind our house look in the fall, so much yellow ….. having a house that feels like home, even when it’s cluttered or crazy …… my sleepy dogs …… being in the same room with The Dalai Lama and Alice Walker  (True Story!  I went last week) ….. watching Jude discover Indian food and enjoy Chicken Kurma and Bollywood music, my little world traveler right here at home  …… grilling a steak for no reason at all in the middle of the week ….. having time for a leisurely morning with news and coffee and lazy dogs and a bed-headed Jude ….. seeing him turn down a full basket of toys and reach for his books instead …..

So yes, there is so much to be thankful for now and everyday, I suppose. Every season has its charm – the newness of springtime, the sunny fun of summer, maybe even the cozy cold and hibernation mode we turn to in winter, but there’s especially a lot to love about now.  Especially in a place where we always get a late start on autumn.  I’m trying to remember the same is true for my own life – gratitude in every season.

And the season of a cuddly baby I can tuck in a carrier and take anywhere?  That’s over.  And sometimes a babbling, reaching, mobile little one is a challenge, but it’s a short season, and I know there are so many little details of it that I’ll miss one day soon.  And the season of doing what I want when I want and buying what I want whenever I feel like it?  That’s over too, for a while at least.  But this feels good right now.  And the season of hurrying out the door every morning to teach a room full of kids about irony and characterization and dependent clauses and life lessons?  That’s gone too, for a long while I think.  But for right now and right here, one student feels so nice.

Gratitude in every season – little things and big things. So that’s my list for today. What are you loving?  Give me three things.