Thoughts on a fall day

Wow, I am so bad at thinking up of good post names :)

As the leaves on the trees are slowly turning from green to yellow and orange and red and the temperatures are dropping (fluctuating might be a more apt term here in ND), I find our lives starting a new chapter.

This week was our first full week of everything.  Literally everything.  First Monday of the year (it was so weird to think we had gone 2 weeks without having to go to school on a Monday), first Faith Formation class, first choir practice for me, first football practice....first trying to make sure we could fit everything in without mom's brain exploding.  :)  As you can see my brain hasn't exploded (at least not that I've noticed...there might be some leakage).

I am definitely one of those people who enjoys being busy and I feel a lot more accomplished when I am busy.  That being said, I also hate being too busy or having every single day jam packed with things to do.  I have to find that balance otherwise I start opting out of things or forgetting or becoming this strange disheveled mess that gets annoyed because she's disheveled.  In setting up my daughter's doctor appt I was looking at my calendar and noticed that it's of a nice flow.  Monday through Thursday is a little packed but in neat little chunks.  Then Fri-Sun is pretty clear.  Which means I can start my week off running and by the time Thursday is here I can start slowing down and relaxing.  Having piano lessons right after school means I can enjoy my dinner before doing that last one thing for the day.

So far the best parts about my week have been my class on Monday night and choir practice last night.  Through my church I am participating in a Living Your Strengths program.  You take a test which then tells you what your top 5 strengths are (out of a list of 34) and then there is a book which dives into what those strengths mean for you and how you can apply them to your life and recognize them in your daily living.  For instance my number 1 was communication.  And based off of how much I blog, journal, email family among other things, it is fairly obvious why that was up there.  It was neat seeing how many other people had many of the same strengths I did but for different reasons.  Another one was adaptability.  I can easily adapt (this doesn't mean always, but more often than not) because a lot of times other people have fixed points and a lot of times I can be either way.  I notice this when I have to change kids' piano lessons.  I realize they are all in sports and that sports schedules are crazy and if I can I will be as accommodating as I can.  Or when it comes to family functions.  My own (extended) family is pretty...all over the place when it comes to planning.  Having taken many cues from my dad my own little family now just plans to show up and say "Just let me know what to bring, if I can help and when to show up abouts".  That has worked really well especially with so many people and so many little kids running wild.

Last night at choir practice I felt really happy.  Growing up I was in my middle school choir, high school choir, high school girls' singing group, church choir with my mom and I even tried out for college choir (although too late...!).  It is one of those places that I love to be.  Those moments when as a choir you feel the cohesiveness of all the parts and you get goosebumps on your arms because it's so beautiful.  So I am truly excited to be part of it.  The only downside is that my husband is not exactly excited to be alone with the kids in church...so we will see how that pans out.  I've told him to sit by the moms from my Bible Study but I think he is too shy for that.

Looking at the weather for the next week it is supposed to be in the 50's and 60's which is perfect for sweaters, stews and playing in leaves.  I am very much looking forward to it!