Autumnal Musings

The past few days we have been having that crisp, beautiful autumn weather that makes living in MO worthwhile. These sorts of days are why we put up with hot and humid summers, and icy cold winters (with not enough snow to be useful). Fall has always been my favorite time of year, which probably goes back to childhood when I actually LIKED school starting (yes, nerd nerd nerd) and getting out the sweaters, cooking casseroles, the leaves changing colors and so on.

Today I took my youngest son and 2 daughters of friends to a pumpkin patch just west of town. We rode on a hay wagon, fed the animals, did face painting, petted soft baby bunnies, went through the hay maze, and of course, picked out pumpkins! The only criterion was that each child had to be able to carry the pumpkin that they chose. I "used" to do this sort of thing with my boys, at least when the 2 oldest ones were younger, on a more regular basis. It made sad to realize that the youngest has probably "missed out" on this kind of outing, because we'd already "been there, done that" either before he was born or too young to really remember.

Sports are starting to wind down; hallelujah!! Fall baseball is done, there are 2 more RBHS football games and 2 more CYFL games still to be played and then there is a hiatus, unless someone gets on a basketball team (that would be child number 2!!). I am still determined to run a half marathon this year. My plan for the July race was side tracked by a trip to IA for baseball; the race in St Louis in Sept occurred the same day as the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through; so now I am planning for a race in Springfield in late Dec (should we place bets on the likelihood of an ice storm that weekend?).

I did some traveling in September, first to Albuquerque to visit my mom and sisters, then to Phoenix to give Oral Board exams. The first part was way more fun than the second! Lots more margarita and guacamole consumption, with other forms of relaxation going on, while in NM than in AZ. The boys and I are traveling back to Albuquerque for Thanksgiving week which should prove to be a more inexpensive trip than the last few Thanksgivings, which have been spent in NYC, Hawaii and Cancun. All of these locations were awesome vacations but certainly not the most economical. Who knows, I might even try skiing again this year, something I haven't done since... oh, 1995, I think!

There are so many changes "pending" in our lives, at present. Of course, I (having been short changed in the patience department) want it all to happen NOW. Part of me knows that it will all unfold, in the appropriate time frame, in whatever manner it is supposed to "happen". And all my wishing and wanting and "hurrying" will not change it one iota. Maybe we (I?) need to have this autumn of settling down and regrouping, and then wait for things to be new/different in the spring??