I love it. I love the cooler weather, long sleeves, crunchy walks, and all the gorgeous colors of the Northeast. It’s my favorite time of year. The crazy weather has meant that some days we’re outside a lot, and other days we’re huddled at home with tea and hot chocolate. The coats are out, the mittens dropped everywhere, but thankfully without the muddy wet boots so far :).
Fynn’s schoolwork at the park the other day …I’m thinking a lot about thankfulness lately, and not just because Thanksgiving is just around the corner for us here, but as a means to joy. My little set of intentions has been lurking in the header for 2 weeks now, and I’ve had a bit better time as I consciously strive for peace. But striving and peace don’t really belong in the same sentence, nor is it something I can force. I think the circumstances that generally produce it need to be cultivated, so I’m starting with that. We got to cello 25 minutes early yesterday, with lots of snacks along, and Fynn had the best lesson he’s had in months. Not that it was the direct result of not hurrying, but it sure helped!
The thankfulness thing is coming from a book my cousin lent me, and after finding a paragraph early on in it that described my mornings to a T (waking up already behind, frustrated, etc) I decided to dig in a bit deeper. The premise is that thankfulness has to be there to produce joy. The two are inextricably linked. Thankful for everything, not just the big things. The little things, the daily things, the unseen-because-I’m-too-busy things. It’s not an idea that comes easily to me, but it does resonate as true. If I look for beauty I can find it. Everywhere. If I look for things to correct in my kids, I’ll find that everywhere too. It’s a matter of perspective.
One of my beauties. To be fair he was looking at my husband in this pic, I’ve never gotten that expression out of him … yet :). It’s something worth thinking about, even after the holiday. Every day. What can I be thankful for today? I’ve noticed a lot more of the little things the last few days, and it does do a number on my typical mood. It’s a lot easy to be happy! Some FB friends have been putting something they’re thankful for as their daily status the last few weeks, leading up to the holiday, and it’s put a smile on my face.
Another shot by my husband …
Speaking of thankfulness … I failed to mention that not 36 hours after this post went up a couple of weeks ago, with its closing and slightly-wistful paragraph about my rekindled love for photography and desire for a new camera, I received an email telling me that funds were on the way to purchase a new one! It was from someone who does NOT read my blog, and had absolutely no knowledge of that post. Talk about amazing! Tickled pink was putting it mildly … I did my research and the following weekend became the delighted owner of a refurbished Canon Rebel T3 that’s kicking my butt with it’s versatility and overall awesomeness. I think you might be subjected to more pics around this blog in the near future, hope it’s not a big pain to wade through. I’m having almost too much fun :) and really hope my hard drive can handle the massive influx of pix, at much larger file sizes. Backing up every weekend, I am.
Wishing you a peaceful weekend, and hope you find some joy and some thankfulness in the weekend. I’m on the hunt :).