Changing Seasons

A change of season is upon us, with September passing through like an old friend. Pumpkins & apples decorate the grocery stores, the scent of fresh rain lingers in the air after a morning thunderstorm. The busyness of summer is beginning to slow its pace & settle into a comfortable stride. We may pause & catch our breath, enjoying the view of where we’ve arrived, thus far.

For myself, I offer the change in seasons an especially warm welcome. The past several months have felt like sprinting uphill. However, I’m learning that nothing we go through is forever & that pure, hard work creates change. And remembering why we do what we do every day helps. The reason behind the ‘why’ is where motivation lies.

Turning this house into a home has been our driving force. To create a place where ourselves & others feel comfortable & welcome is what nudges me back down into the depths of countess items; sorting, stacking, cleaning, hauling, clearing. Gavin & I working through dinner & past our time for bed, just to get a little closer into turning that garage into his workshop. It’s watching him take shovel after shovel full of heavy gravel, preparing the foundation to set the propane tank after he’s already worked a 12 hour day in the sun. “The shovel is a humbling tool,” he says, sweat dripping from his brow. And I’m thankful for the man that he is.

It’s in those certain instances where I move past the fatigue & the drudgery to a place of appreciation, grateful for these fleeting moments in time, here & gone as quickly as the summer fireflies vanish into the dark.

It’s difficult to see the bigger picture when you’re in the process of painting it. Nothing looks different, nothing feels much different either. But then, there’s a moment when you can step back & take a breath. To look upon your effort with appreciative eyes, recalling the obstacles that were overcome along the way.

For Gavin & I, we are beginning to see those changes in the house & the land. While there is much ahead of us, we can look back at where we started & feel grateful for the progress that’s been made so far.

And September reflects that for us in the changing of seasons – it’s a soft exhale, a letting go of what was, a gentle acknowledgment of what will be. It’s pausing to not look past, but truly see, all of the beautiful changes that time brings forth.

May you allow Autumn to be that for you too.