It’s already Thanksgiving here in Canada, and while I reflect on all that we have to be thankful for, it’s also a reminder of all the things we haven’t yet done this Fall as a family. I started this blog a few months ago now, and fully intended to have all the enticing posts and pinterest-worthy pics I see swirling around my feeds, but life kind of just squashed those well intentioned plans.
Hockey schedules, birthdays, decluttering our home and just the every day grind of managing a large brood hasn’t left much opportunity to do all the things we typically would. My porch is lifeless – would usually be pinterest-proper with pumpkins, hay and mums perfectly staged. There is no modern centerpiece on our dining room table, and I wasn’t able to find a new Fall wreath large enough for the door on our new home. On the bright side, I’ll have less stuff to put away at the end of the month.
Farm visits, themed activities in town for kids, apple-picking and pumpkin patch photo shoots are all things we’ve enjoyed through the years. Fitting them all in, I know, is the parenting pressure I put on myself, not something the kids expect or need. We hoped to get apple picking in at the farm we hosted Easton’s birthday this year, but it poured rain once the guests left, and well, so much for that.
While there won’t be many ticks off our family Fall bucket list this year, we are soaking in the beauty of the season in other ways – drives down open roads surrounded by lush trees with changing leaves, getting silly in piles of leaves, and getting out in nature for walks and impromptu play at our local parks. And so far, the kids aren’t vocalizing any lack in their life. Phew!
I know this season of parenting we are in is challenging, and adding to our already heaping plate would leave me frazzled and unfocused on what really matters. Simplifying and removing some of the “busyness” is how we are saving our sanity right now. I know we’ll return to all of those things we love and enjoy about the season one day, but right now I’m okay with letting go and letting be. Right now, it feels more functional to program less, remove some parenting pressure, and let our down time (which isn’t much during hockey season!) be flexible.
That being said, I am stubborn, and really enjoy photography, so I insisted we stop by the Pumpkin patch on the way to Nana & Papa’s for dinner to get some drive by Fall-ish photos. Getting dolled up doesn’t happen often anymore so we took advantage.
On this long weekend, our home is loud, the kids out of sorts from lack of routine, and 2 are plagued with the viruses of the season. It’s safe to say our parenting patience is running dry, but the chaos means we have four healthy little humans (and an excuse for and extra glass of vino!) and at the end of this day we have grateful hearts and are beyond thankful for life’s blessings.
A very Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. What are you thankful for this year?
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