When will Fall arrive?

It seems so hard to believe that it is past the mid-point of October, and I am still sitting in my house in shorts and t-shirts with the windows open!  By the weekend, the highs are going to be in the 50's...I can't wait for that to arrive!  The leaves are changing and it is absolutely gorgeous around here.  It's so peaceful and I'm grateful for these days, but I'll be just a bit happier when the cooler temps arrive!

Some evenings all together

Monday evening, Catherine wasn't feeling well.  She had a deep cough and a cold, and I just didn't feel that she needed to be at band practice.  Not only would she be out and about in the chilly air, but she would be up later than I would prefer.  We decided it wouldn't hurt her to stay home.  Normally Andrew would have a football game on Wednesday, but a few weeks ago it had been moved to Thursday.  That meant that our family had two evenings together this week!  We actually were all in the same place last evening as well, but somehow all of us doing different things at a football game doesn't exactly count!  Regardless, I loved those two evenings together, and I think the rest of the family did as well.  While these evenings have been rather rare for the last two months, I'm grateful that our family appreciates them when they occur!

Cross country league meet

This morning was the league meet for the boys' cross country season.  For Thomas, it was the final meet.  He set a new PR of 23:19.  Overall, the middle school boys won the league trophy.  It made my heart smile to see how pleased Thomas was to hold onto the trophy and feel as though he is part of that team.  I'm so grateful for how the boys, all of whom are clearly significantly more athletic than our little guy, accept him as part of the team.

Robert ran 20:18, his best time of the season...of all three races he has finished.  Because of injury to others runners, he will still be able to participate in district competition next weekend.  We aren't sure if we are going to be able to be there, but we will worry about that when the time comes along.  The high school team came in third overall, and some friends' son place in the top ten so that was very exciting.

To be honest, there is almost nothing, especially in these politically charged days, that can reaffirm my faith in humanity like these cross country experiences!

Homecoming isn't what it used to be

I am really a little bit astonished at how Homecoming is not at all what it used to be.  I went to Homecoming two out of my four high school years.  Both years I purchased dresses (one of which was considered my birthday present from my grandmother) that I could also wear the next morning at church.  They were just simply nice dresses.  Not so anymore!  Now the expectation is a cocktail dress.  And don't even get me started on how unbelievably short some of the dresses are.  I mean, my goodness!  And then there are the pictures.  For our kids two weeks ago, we just stood in the front yard, in front of a tree, and took some pictures.  However, both of the "other" sets of parents then took the kids and took them to sites around town to take pics.  And apparently, this is the thing to do.  In our former town, some of the families drove into the city to take some pictures at certain fountains or museums.  Are you kidding me?  I'm hearing I better get used to this in terms of senior pictures.  All those years ago, I had four outfits and they took a total of 20 pictures...all in the studio.  The props used were things at the studio.  Now?  Well if you don't have any outdoor pictures you might as well get over it.  I also had one mom tell me yesterday that her daughter wants to have outdoor pictures taken...at several different sites.  I am apparently entirely too old and to be raising teens today!

Best time yet

This morning the boys had their final regular season cross country meet.  It's our favorite meet of the season.  The course is wonderful, the meet is well run, and the park in which it is held is absolutely gorgeous this time of year.  Today was an absolutely perfect day as well.  My mom and grandmother came down to see the boys run.  Robert had a really great finish, and he really kicked it in at the end.  We were standing in a great spot to be able to see his determination.  It was his best finish of the season (sadly, there have only been two) and it's still questionable whether or not he is able to compete in the post season race.  It will be determined next week at the league meet.  But we are very impressed and pleased with where he is with things right now.  Thomas's race was the final race of the day.  He finished last, but was able to take nearly an entire minute off his best time and set a new PR.  We were so proud of him!  I was also so grateful that my mom & grandma were able to be there as well and see them.  It's been a great day!

It didn't work out at all as we had planned

Last evening, Andrew and I were really looking forward to an evening out just the two of us.  I had decided we would combine it with my birthday dinner, and that way I wouldn't feel so guilty about the amount of money we would be spending.  There are few really nice restaurants here in town.  After all, it's a college town and bar food is the norm.  We decided we would try a different one then the one we normally go to.  It would be a little less expensive but we'd hood fabulous things about it.  It's Italian, which isn't my favorite, but I had checked out the menu online and was willing to give it a try.  We called Thursday to make a reservation and they mentioned they didn't do that, but that we could call Friday and do "Call ahead seating".  They opened at 5.  We called at 5:20 and the earliest they could get us in was 8:00.  We were a little astounded, and couldn't make that work since Robert would be off work no later than 9 and we are still his transportation.  We decided we would just go to the restaurant we usually visit...a little more expensive but we know we like it.  I headed out to take Robert to work and told Andrew to go ahead and call them and get us a reservation.  Unfortunately, it appears as though that restaurant has shut down for good.  We are stunned.  We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant with good food, but it wasn't at all what either of us really wanted.  To make matters worse, I was brought the wrong food for my meal.  They were able to fix it quickly, but it just kind of fit with how the entire evening had gone.  Andrew and I were both disappointed, but ultimately, we are grateful we had the time to spend together.  We are grateful we have each other, no matter where we are eating dinner!

Into my favorite season

Fall officially began two weeks ago, but you wouldn't necessarily know it by the weather.  We did manage to have some days last week in the 60's, but there have been plenty in the upper 70's & even 80's as well.  This weekend is going to bring a cold front though, and I'm looking forward to much cooler temps.  I'm also looking forward to the leaves beginning to change.  They are starting to a bit, but not nearly as much as I remember in years past.

There is just something I find so incredibly peaceful about this time of year.  Even driving is so calm and relaxing.  I had to take Thomas to our former town for a doctor appointment and he was commenting on how much enjoyed looking out and seeing the farms.  It's almost indescribable.  I'm so grateful for these days!