Calendar seasons are one thing - just follow the dates posted on your fridge. I'll admit I'm not ready for colder weather, but I am ready to pull the summer flowers (all the red and pink and purple) and replace them with colorful mums! I am ready for oranges and yellows. I'm ready to walk in the crisp air and stop by the cider mill. But I also don't want time to go too fast because we all know that after autumn comes cold and snow and sometimes ice!
There are also the different seasons in our lives, depending on our ages. There's our teenage years, there's the college days, and the years of independence. For many there are the years of parenthood, the years we spend building our careers, and the years we work toward empty nests and retirement. There were the years we were caregivers to our mothers or fathers and all that it entailed.
If someone were to ask me what season I am currently in I would have to say the season of floundering and discovery. I've always been the type of person to work toward the future, to make lists, and plan ahead ... often forgetting to savor the moments of today. My heart knows I need to find a better balance, but my mind tends to get in the way and make things more difficult than they need to be.
My husband and I are parents to two adults and grandparents to four awesome grandkids, we're empty nesters, we're no longer caregivers, and we both still work full time. Somehow we're just as busy now as we always have been, but we do try take some time for ourselves. We each have hobbies that we find intriguing, creative, and relaxing to us. But truth be told some times we can go weeks before we are able to carve some time out of our responsibilities to make time for ourselves. That is my goal for this week. We both had a really busy month of August and so far September hasn't seemed to slow down any. You get to the point that you're not just physically tired, but you're also mentally drained.
I am finally taking a couple of overdue days off. Of course I plan to finish cleaning out my summer flower gardens and get into the autumn spirit with fall décor including mums and pumpkins. I always try to do the MUST DO'S first so I won't feel guilty about doing the WANNA DO'S. Pathetic I know. My fun plans? Some reading, some shopping, and some painting. Hopefully a little ME time will get me back on track and feeling re-energized once again.
Hopefully my season of floundering and feeling a little lost and off kilter will lead the way to a better season filled with hope and joy and rest and contentment.
What season do you find yourself currently in?
Is it what you thought it would be or is it different somehow?
