Autumn Blessings

This year has been quite the year. So much crazy. So much uncertainty. So many things cancelled. So many disappointments. Sometimes I feel like it would be so easy to slip into an endless spiral of woe-is-me. 

However.

When I find myself edging toward the slippery slope of self pity, I try to focus on things I am grateful for. 

We are all healthy.

Hubby still has a job. The kids are doing alright.

I'm able to find free time to be creative and explore new things. 

It's October in Chicagoland and I can still ride my bike. (though, each time feels like it will probably be the last one, so it always feels special)

And Chicago's autumn has been so very beautiful this year. 

Typically, we always joke that we get two weeks of autumn squeezed between high summer and full-blown winter. This year, it's been a glorious, gradual transformation. 

And some years, the prettiest leaves have been hiding out in the forest preserves. 

But this year, they are all around town. Every drive, every bike ride, I see some fabulous color that gives me pause and I say a little prayer of thanks. 

Truthfully, it feels like a tender mercy. This year has been such a dumpster fire, and I'm really not looking forward to winter. Being able to go outside has been one of the good points keeping us sane this summer; all that will be more difficult with the onset of winter. 

And though the holidays will undoubtedly look different, and what is "typical" or "normal" will continue to shift and change, we will get through the winter. 

It might be more challenging, but we will figure out ways to make it fun. 

In the meantime, I am going to conscientiously savor this beautiful autumn we're having.. and keep on counting my blessings and practicing gratitude. 

'Cuz we got this. 

Communing with Nature

During the last few months, my church worship has had some pretty dramatic changes; we haven't met as a congregation since March. Some areas are starting to venture back but, as far as I've heard, my area is not making any moves any time soon. So, as a family, we do our lessons, we read our scriptures and pray. Those things are great, but I also find that on Sundays, we tend to try to be outside more.

Nature is God's creation and I find great peace when I go out hiking, or stand near great bodies of water.. I love the fresh air and the time I have to appreciate this beautiful world of ours. Also, standing near big things that make me feel diminutive, often gives me pause and I think about my place in the grand scheme of things. Kind of like in this song.

This week, I had the chance to take the boys and meet up with some friends for a (socially distant) get together. It had been a good while since we'd hung out, so that was an exciting prospect. Plus, they'd been talking to me for a while about the joys of flying kites and I'd recently gotten me one and was eager to try it out! As it happened, the weather was right on Sunday afternoon and we seized the day. 

It was a great day for it. We'd finally gotten a break in our never-ending heatwave; it was still sunny but it was a nice temperature to be outside. The park wasn't very crowded, which was a relief. And, of course, that which brought us out - the lovely breeze. These folks are fond of flying kites and they had several they got going pretty quickly. 

While the kids held fast to their strings, my friends helped me get mine off the ground. I hadn't done much kite flying to this point but, happily, I'd been led right at the store and this kite caught the wind well and was nice and easy to get going. 

Kites are funny things. When you look at them, the colors are often garish and overly bright. However, when you get them up into the sky, and the sun shines through them.. it's a little like stained glass. And finding a good breeze is a little like fishing, not that I'm much of a fisher, but when you find a good current and your kite is sailing smoothly, it's calming and meditative. Standing, holding the string, back on the ground, you can watch the kite bob and soar, and it gives you a moment to appreciate the beauty around you, and take a moment to see the goodness in the now and, really, just contemplate lots of things.

While we were standing around, being contemplative, my friend and I chatted a while about how kites can be like faith or testimony. How you have to really be watching the kite, keeping track of the tension on the string, or else it will fall. Or how to you have to seek to find the good currents that take you up. And sometimes you kite will plop right down, but then you pick it up and go again. 

Anyway, it was a lovely afternoon; good friends, good conversation (even thought provoking), and the kids got to run and play. I came away feeling uplifted and fed.... and like I just might need to get another kite.

To See the Trains

Trains have sort of become The Thing over here, for my kids. Everything is a train. Everything. And the excitement of riding or seeing real ones, at least for now, is unrivaled.

So, the other week, we were enjoying some unseasonably warm temperatures here in the Chicago area, so we decided to take a walk to see some trains. It's about 7 blocks to a walking bridge that goes over the nearby highway. This is an excellent place to watch trains because you can see them coming from either direction AND they can see you and, much of the time, they will beep hello!

However, 7 blocks is a bit of a trek with a 5 year old who enjoys detours, races and rests... So, while it took us a good long while to go there and back again, we made it.

Hiking Fun

This summer has been a funny thing that didn't want to end. The hot, hot temperatures have just been hanging on. Consequently, I have not been able to get out into the woods nearly as often as I might have liked.

However, this past week, the heat finally broke and Chicago is, at last, enjoying a more reasonable autumn. Hooray! So, we invited some friends to join us, out in the woods. I figure, we'd best enjoy it while it lasts 'cuz Chicago's fall weather is notoriously short-lived. So, into the woods!

While we were out, there weren't many changing colors yet. Sadly, all the heat will likely make for a most unimpressive leaf show for this year, which is a bummer. Still, there's still something wonderful in being outside, hiking through nature and the woods.

This is a place we go with some regularity but, what I love, is that the trails are expansive and I'm still finding new paths. Today we went to a new spot I'd never seen before. We found a train bridge which had been decorated. It was a cool juxtaposition - the green of nature and the colorful tagging.

But, as is the case when hiking with kids, we eventually came to a point where they were very much done, so back we went. We finished up at the nature center's play area, had a picnic lunch and headed home.

Hooray for cooler temperatures and finding time to be outdoors!

Marking the End of Summer

I know it's not technically Fall yet, but Labor Day weekend always feels like things are officially winding down. So, the last few years, we've tried to do something to mark the end of summer.

This year, we went with some friends to explore a forest preserve not too far from us. We recently got a bike trailer for the boys and the draw of this preserve was that it has a bike trail loop. It's nearly 8 miles around, which was a lot to bite off for us, but we made it! I took the first half, and Hubby finished. It's amazing how different the ride was with and without the trailer!

The trail was paved, which was lovely. It went past a range of scenery; woods, ponds, a river, prairie flowers, and highways and there were a few bridges, which the kids enjoyed.

In this park, there's an area for elk; a small herd lives there. From the map, it looked like a good sized grove for them to roam around in and I expected that we'd probably not see any. So it was cool when, at the bottom of one of the bridges, there were some elk sitting near the fence; this inspired us to take a welcome break to appreciate the lovely creatures.

After our trip around the loop, we had a picnic lunch. Then, we brought out some kites and a ball to kick around. We didn't stay for too much longer; nap time loomed as well as a storm, so we called it a day.

Still, such a good time! It's always exciting to find a new place to explore and I'm glad to have another place to take out the bikes; riding around the neighborhood streets isn't nearly so fun or picturesque. We'll definitely be going back again.

Fighting Cabin-Fever

While this has been a rather mild Chicago winter, it's still winter; too cold to go outside much, but you can only stay inside so long.

The good news is that the little guy is getting big enough that we can be out longer and even condense our weekly errands a bit. This has made it possible to have more free mornings to do fun things!

Here are some favorites from recent days:

There's a conservatory that lets you enjoy the sunshine without the windchill. It's like a slice of summer. I'm always glad for our sunny visits:

Though, just 'cuz it's chilly doesn't mean we hafta say inside! Here we braved the cool (though, unseasonably warm for February) temperatures. What is it that they say, there's no bad weather, only bad clothing, right?

And of course, a favorite for the boys, the zoo! And our zoo has some lovely indoor exhibits that are fun to visit, especially this time of year. I always have to tear them away.. though, I tell myself that one day we'll be able to stay long enough they'll be ready to go when it's time. Still, fun!

mending the animals in the veterinary clinic

give this boy a broom and he's happy for hours

"i'm watering every plant, they are so thirsty."

All the same... I am *so* ready for Spring!!!