halloween, this year...

I want to wish you a Happy Halloween!

but..

I'm feeling like the Scrooge of Halloween.
BOOhumbug.
One is cleaning her room, and the other is working on a science project. And if these tasks are not completed soon?  No treats, no tricks, no argument.
I wish I had just put my foot down and told them they were just too old to go trick-or-treating... but I never got around to it. I only hoped that no talk of it meant they weren't planning on it.
And I'm wondering... if the pumpkin carving, or lack there of, is going to have the same outcome.
I'm kind of longing for the days where there were no questions, no wondering... just last minute creating.

But I guess, if their projects are completed, there will be plenty of that last minute creating...

accepting fall

It takes a while... for the fall air to makes its way to Southwest Florida. The summer heat drags on through September, the humidity hanging on and weighing us down.  And October may or may not feel like copying it's neighbor... but this year it seems as if October has decided to turn its back on steamy, sticky September, and do its own thing.  We may not have enjoyed the crisp fall days that I rememeber, that I dream of... but the air has been cooler and the humidity has been wisked away, making 86 feel downright beautiful.  The breeze has picked up and I find myself smiling... accepting this Florida fall.

The Florida winter is easy to embrace, with cool mornings and sun-warmed afternoons... but it is the fall that leaves me wanting.  Wanting apple picking and colored leaves.  Wanting the chill in the air along with the deepest blue sky.  Wanting steamy cider to warm my cold hands. 
This is our 14th Florida fall... and I am surprised my senses still ache for those things. 

But how many times have I told myself life is what you make it? 
And so I find myself creating fall.  Baking apple cakes and pumpkin cupcakes... stirring up pots of chili.  Sprinkling faux autumn leaves here & there, and enjoying the scent of that cinnamon broom (along with Yankee Candle's spiced pumpkin.)  This year, we trekked out to the pumpkin patch early... enjoying our orange treasures for weeks instead of days before the urge for carving sets in.

So here I am... accepting this season. 
Knowing that I can wish for something I cannot have, or choose to embrace what is right in front of me.  And time is flying... I've given up on the chance that it will all of a sudden slow to a meander.  All I have is the now.  And the now... is good.  Football games and Saturday band events, silk leaves and pumpkin coffee creamer, recipes from friends and cooling my warm hands on glasses of chilled apple cider.

I will still be envious of those perfect, crisp fall days... but my heart knows this is right where I am supposed to be.  Life is what you make it... and I will make it beautiful.  No matter what the season. 

buddy blessed

He brings me more than I give... more laughter and more love.
He shows me what it is to be joyful... in the big and small.
He is a part of my heart... my Buddy.  And I would walk anywhere for him.

We walked last Saturday morning... in the sunshine and crisp air.  And while those steps were towards a brighter tomorrow, I can hardly imagine a brighter today.  A dozen of us gathered as his guys, just moving along the path in conversation and laughter.  Gathered for him... and for the others who carry that designer gene that marks them with Down Syndrome.

This was the first Buddy Walk in our area... and our family was thrilled to be a part of it.  As we prepared for the day, I gently asked my kids if they knew our friend had Down Syndrome... because I don't know if we've ever talked about it... in all these 12 years.  Not because it was a subject taboo... but because it is not who he is; Down Syndrome does not define him, and I just can't imagine that it ever will.   He is simply our friend, simply himself.  Happy, funny, quirky, persistant, stubborn, unpredictable... and full of life.

There is just something about him... that makes you want to go over and above the call of duty, beyond the extra mile.  And if I was thrilled that Eric could join us, our Buddy was even more so.  Of course, it was way-cool that Best Friend Eric was there on segway, just for him.  Because he knows that he is a special kid... the same way that every other kid knows that they are special.  Love and time, laughter and tears... in sunshine and in rain. 

And these two... could not have more fun together if they tried.   Two friends showing the world that the differences are not obstacles, the differences are meaningless... non-existent in the eyes of a true friend.
And they don't even know they are doing it. 

in my heart

I thought I was back... where I belong, as my dear friend Richella told me. But the days have passed... and I have had no success putting pen to paper, turning thoughts into words. But there is joy here in my heart. And laughter. And relief. And maybe... the inspiration is slowly making its way to the surface.

I'm looking forward to the weekend... and the love that will reside in it.  The craziness that will drive it.  And in that crazy, I am confident that there will be... contentment.  I'm not sure how or why I can find peace in chaos... but I have come to count on it, rely on it, and live in the laughter.