I can't wait for Fall. I don't mind the absence of 100 degree temperatures. Fall and Spring are my two favorite seasons. I don't mind summer or winter, but I like that in the Fall and Spring, you can go outside and feel comfortable without a jacket or coat and without producing enough sweat to create your own lake. Perfection. I also like Fall because I get to put pretty things up around the house. We take down Christmas decorations when Epiphany rolls around. I had a few of Allyssa's art projects on the mantel around Easter, but those are long gone as well. Now that Fall has arrived, I'll pull out my Fall garland and other decorations that I've somehow acquired along the way. I'll wait on the cornucopia until closer to Thanksgiving, but some things will be making their way out soon. I can't wait for the hundreds and hundreds of lights (our tree could light up a whole neighborhood) on the tree come Advent, the lights reminding me that Christ (the Light of the World) came and will come again. Beautiful.
For now, I wait. Not because I have to, but when I rush one season out and another in before due time, do I miss something? Some joy in that last hot day, lost forever? Maybe not, but it gives me something wonderful to look forward to when I come back.
Did you catch that? The kids and I are leaving town next week. They don't know it yet. David wouldn't really understand if I told him, and Allyssa would understand too much. Allyssa has a lot of myself in her. Allow me to explain...
As a child, when I knew that I was going to get to go somewhere fun, I would pack a week or two in advance. I would be so excited about going wherever it was that I would want to make sure that I was totally ready. Obviously, packing so early wouldn't help that (especially since those clothes had to be worn in the meantime). Allyssa isn't old enough to pack her own suitcase, but she is old enough to get very excited. She'll wake up well before morning asking to leave, even if it is the wrong day. If I told her that we were going out of town this coming Thursday, she'd likely wake up early every night until then. The lack of sleep is not good for anyone.
I'm sure you're dying to know where we are going and why we're leaving Daddy behind.
This coming weekend is the pastor's wives retreat! I've been one other time. Allyssa was 1 1/2. She stayed with Daddy. It wasn't easy, but it was half-way doable. Now, it isn't nearly as doable. Grandma and Papa have always begged to watch the kids when we need them to or when they want to do something fun with them. We're starting to take them up on their offers more now that both kids are older and neither is nursing. So, I'm taking the kids to my parents on Thursday, staying the night there, heading to DFW to eat lunch with my sister, then down to La Grange for my retreat. I'm looking forward to visiting with other pastor's wives. The bond that we share is something that a lot of people never get the chance to have with other women. I'm looking forward to sleeping through the night without replacing a pacifier or a blanket on a wakeful child for a couple of nights. The hardest part of this all isn't that I'm leaving the kids with my parents. It is missing out on Friday with my husband. Friday is is day off. His only day off. Friday mornings are the best part of it. We spend the morning together as a family. The afternoon is often spent doing lawn work, so the mornings are my favorite.
I'm excited about the retreat! I'm excited about the fence that David is going to try to put in for the garden while the kids and I are gone. I'm excited that the kids get to see Grandma and Papa. Allyssa talks about what she wants to do with her grandparents on her "next vacation day" all the time (cherry pie with Grandma Gail and making cookies and another homemade hot pad with Grandma Vandercook, in case you're wondering). Once she finds out that she gets to see Grandma and Papa, she'll be thrilled! David will love it, too. I just don't know what he's looking forward to most, but he'll certainly love to see the horse that lives behind their house and anywhere we go that has cars is awesome (even the driveway)!
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