Need to Slow Down!

The autumn leaves are beginning to turn and trickle down to the ground here in the City of Oaks, and I wait for the Maple trees to burst forth color over night. This is the time of year I will take an extra loop around the neighborhood before pulling into the driveway just to catch another glimpse of the reds and oranges. I love the slowness of fall - hovering over a crockpot of chili, planting bulbs and raking leaves, sitting on the back deck to stargaze - but for all it's slowness, Fall flies by entirely too quickly.

This October has been the busiest one in my personal history. It's been chock full of travel, weddings and adventures. Already we have been gone from home 30% of the month visiting family, and for home bodies, this is absolutely exhausting and has taken its toll on our bodies. This was intended to be my down week where I'd just have the baby and spend more time on pottery, writing, and my class. However, Daniel got an ear infection and has had a fever off and on for three days. The poor baby got his polio, rotavirus, and dtap immunizations yesterday and was fussing all night. Joe has been battling a sinus infection and now I have a cold. I don't mean to complain - this is what parenthood is all about, and these early years of basically only having time to be mom are precious and few.

We have one more push of activity this weekend as both of our families will be in town for Matthew's dedication at church. I think the last time we had both sides together in full was our wedding six years ago. This time there are two new brides and two new grandsons. I'm really excited about getting family pictures on Sunday by a photog friend. I doubt she realizes it, but our families are full of skilled amateur photographers - amateur only in that it is not what they do for a living. It's incredible how photos through the years reveal the changes in our lives. They act as mile-markers and only we know the life experiences that culminated in each shot. I have a family picture from Mother's Day 2009, where you see three of us in the picture, but I know there were actually four, one whom we would never meet. No doubt we all have these pictures, the ones where we know the secrets behind the smiles and sometimes the tears that would follow.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle, I find myself longing for simplicity - not only in my physical world, but spiritually and emotionally as well. I want to pause to watch the leaves fall, my boys grow, our marriage deepen. I want to reflect on heart issues. I want to clean out the clutter in my house and in my schedule. We need to slow down! Fortunately, the next big thing isn't until late November, and that trip will hopefully be slow and relaxing.

For those times when slowing down isn't an option, how do you cope? Do you find a couple minutes here and there to yourself? Do you take a day? Do you drop the house work?