We emerge from winter desperate for sunshine and warm weather because we know the depth and duration of winter. We celebrate each and every day of summer, treasuring it and maximizing it to the utmost level. And when the water is too chilly even for our toes, my favorite season in motherhood has arrived.
The first taste of fall brings with it more of a slap than a comforting hug. We rail against the reality that summer really has left us. A new school year brings structure that feels like kryptonite and something you battle on the daily. Between packing lunches, ensuring homework is done and forms are filled, you realize that you are stuffing their backpacks with sweaters. Unmanageable mornings, shuffles out the door and logistical nightmares, start to ease. Slowly, you warm up to fall.
Fall makes me happy to be a mom.
I don’t feel a rush to absorb fall. The season slows me down. It opens my time when I felt like I had none.
Walking in the neighborhood and spotting special leaves.
Sipping a pumpkin coffee while the kids play at the park.
Lifting my child to reach an apple on the tree at the orchard.
Curling under a blanket reading our favorite books.
Sharing a family dinner of squash soup and homemade bread at the table.
Sitting around a campfire making S’mores.
Snuggling on the hayride, sniffing my child’s hair as they hold me tight.
Watching a football game, eating snacks and just being still.
Cleaning leaves for the kids to jump in.
These seasonal fall activities are things I love but most importantly, they serve as reminders of the quiet and loving moments in my motherhood. My motherhood in other seasons seems to be clouded with rushed schedules and attempts to do too much. I don’t feel rushed to soak in fall. I feel happy to let it just happen. Fall makes me happy to be a mom because I feel the opportunity to reconnect with the slowness I desperately need in my motherhood.
The school year is a new start, a new beginning for our children. Fall feels like my fresh start in motherhood. I breathe deeper, I’m present and slow in my motherhood in the fall.
Fall makes me happy to be a mom because I’m slow in my motherhood but most importantly, it is my new beginning.
