thoughts this new september day

The days keep flying by me, sunrise to sunset, over and over, again and again. Is it really September? How can that be? We did open new school books last week. And we are finding our way to ballet class and soccer practice and classical conversations with appropriate shoes for each, sometimes even on the right feet. Sometimes...

It is pouring outside as I sit here but these wild, afternoon rainstorms are coming less often, and while in my opinion it is still miserably hot, there is definitely a tinge of something different in the air. I stare longingly at the empty vegetable planter and barren flowerbeds outside my kitchen windows and realize that Florida and I have found something to agree on. This month we will garden.

The school buses are rolling by but my three little monkeys are home to stay, and I'm thankful for that. We wake up slowly over toast and coffee and spend mornings alternating between lessons at the table, stories on the couch, and wiggle breaks on the swing set (that is when we're not operating on a delay due to Starbucks run). We have new books to read, lessons to learn, gardens to plant, friends to play with, and so much more on the horizon. I need only begin to count these blessings to push the daily fears and worries and frustrations of mothering aside. These days are ordinary and routine with the occasional different thrown in but always new. Each and every one, a shiny new gift.