Season of Change

I have always wanted to spend a chunk of time in the Adirondacks just as the leaves are changing. To really appreciate and photograph the beauty of this season and devote some uninterrupted time to writing. Most years during foliage season, we plan a weekend trip around the busy school schedules that coincide with the arrival of fall and cross our fingers, hoping for some pretty fall color - but, often times, not getting the timing quite right. It seems Mother Nature has her own timetable and we can only predict so much. 

But, this year, as I was looking at the calendar, I realized our youngest son (we're down to just one kid that's not in college yet) had a 4 day weekend that coincided with the late September/early October timeline that is often the prettiest time of year in "our" part of the mountains. And so I thought, what if I stayed the week at the cabin, sandwiched between the long weekend and the next?

I've stayed a night alone up here quite often but usually I'll ask a girlfriend or family to join me. There is almost always a kid or two around. Would my family even survive back home in NJ without me? No doubt! How would I feel if it were just me with all that quiet? Now, THAT was the real question. My husband encouraged me to stay. After all, he often spends days up here alone getting work done around the cabin. He could easily hold down the fort at home for a few days before he came back up on the weekend.

I've mainly been a mom for over 21(!) years, since a few days after my 24th birthday. I am grateful to have been home with them - I've (almost) always very fulfilled in my roles as a wife and mother. And thankful for this little blog of mine that has brought so many opportunities into my life. So I could feel like I was also growing along side of them as they grew. And grow they did! They aren't done quite yet and, although I know parenting is the work of a lifetime, they don't need me quite as much as they once did. As all moms know, if we've done a decent job, we are supposed to move from their main view into their periphery.

And so, I can't help but notice as I am surrounded by such glorious color, the season of Autumn is literally showing me, preparing me really, for how beautiful it is to let go and move onto a new season in life. I'm not quite there yet - but I can see it in the not so distant future. It's beautiful and a bit frightening too. Bittersweet. Just like the fleeting moment that is Fall.

I'll be back with our Fall decor in our living room tomorrow.  Although posts like this are a little outside my comfort zone, I think it's important to share a little bit about the seasons of life along with the changing seasons in my home decor because we all go through them and I believe they inspire so much of what we all do.