The Autumn Shift
Over the years I have become increasingly aware of the way my mind compartmentalizes our days and months along with the seasons. After reading this post, it dawned on me that my internal calendar runs from autumn to autumn. While it’s not the official end to the year, each October ushers in an ending of its own, or perhaps a returning. It’s a subtle shift in our home but a tangible one nonetheless. Each autumn, our focus shifts heavily to family and togetherness, resting and nesting, all with a side of adventure tucked in.
We celebrate birthdays, holidays, our wedding anniversary, and bask in the beautiful fall weather. There are multiple camping trips, day hikes, apple pickings, bonfires, leaf piles and pumpkin patches. We place tiny wool pumpkins around the house that then give way to twinkle lights and homemade orange garlands. We make things by hand simply to make them or gift them, exposing our love for simplicity and the little joys of life – beeswax candles, nature art, pumpkin bread, baking mixes, festive wreaths + garlands.
And while togetherness is always a family value of ours, I look forward to the autumn shift each year. It’s as though the universe is giving us an opportunity to foster togetherness, ushering us into a season of so much potential for chasing slow. We can over fill our days with hectic schedules and miss the simple, beautiful things, or we can welcome the shift with open arms, experiencing every day and every adventure fully present.
I pray that our traditions hold a special place in the hearts of my boys, that they remember this season fondly and hold the same sweet anticipation for autumn that I feel. Whether it’s the thick knit throw that we place on the couch, the scents of cinnamon and clove that we diffuse, or the joy of hand-rolled candles and evening fires, I love sharing these things with them. And I can already see that the simple celebrations, the handmade traditions, the family adventures of this season are writing love and family on their tiny hearts.
