It’s the week before Thanksgiving, and it feels like a deep breath before plunging into a river. Next week brings guests galore, loved ones we haven’t seen in weeks or months, and honestly I’m so excited. Thanksgiving is usually a big affair at our house, and this year is no exception. But right now we’re in that period of calm before the storm, finishing the last minute travel coordinations and cooking plans and decoration ideas.

November has been quiet, mostly because we all fought off a few weeks of sickness, including Michael having strep throat and reacting to his antibiotics. It kept us homebound for a bit, but we kept busy. And just as we all returned to health, Michael dropped a huge box on my foot and severely bruised (maybe fractured?) one of my toes. It’s several impressive shades of purple and green, and it’s made walking difficult and definitely slowed me down. I feel like that’s the lesson November is trying to teach me: to slow down and take deep breaths.

A highlight of our “house arrest” was a painting project where I covered the kitchen table with paper and let them go wild. Lots of fun motor skill development and color theory experiments.

I cut out each of their favorite parts of the paper and put them in our new hallway frames. The orientation of Michael’s makes our hall look a bit like something from a horror film…but it’s still cute and he’s proud of it, so I’m keeping it until he makes something to replace it.

That project is the closest thing we’ve had to homeschooling this month, but I’m trying not to beat myself up about it too much. We’ve engaged in a lot of play, and while we were sick Michael discovered the joy of The Magic School Bus show and has been really excited to talk to people about digestion and intestines and the esophagus — so learning and growth have definitely been happening, even if not in quantifiable ways. I keep reminding myself it’s good to chill a bit.

We celebrated Jake’s birthday! On the actual day we visited our favorite local restaurant just the two of us (as we usually do), and the next night I made his favorite cake. I was surprised it turned out as well as it did, given all three layers stuck in their pans…frosting covers a plethora of mistakes.

My cousin came and visited from MN, and I hosted dinner for her and my other local family members. It was a great time, and the kids had a blast playing games and watching nostalgic VeggieTales.

I was honored to be invited to a reception hosted by the magazine I write for, celebrating the recent issues they’ve published. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given over the past year to interview members of the local community and tell their stories. When I was in the darkest parts of postpartum depression, I thought I would never write again. Now, three years later, I’m an official writer for HERLIFE Magazine and I’m making consistent progress on a novel and several short stories. God is so good.

Beatrice and Michael have begun playing together more and more, and while I still have to separate sibling fights multiple times a day, it’s such a delight to watch them snuggle and play make-believe games. They both adore being outside and running through puddles, playing tag with each other, and dancing to music.

One positive thing about being homebound so much has been my making progress: I’ve done quite a lot of knitting and spinning over the past few weeks. I finished a pair of socks for Jake that I’ve been working on for an embarrassing amount of time…they were originally meant to be a Valentine’s Day gift. Then Father’s Day gift. They ended up being a belated birthday gift. I then immediately cast on a new pair of socks for me and rocketed through the first foot. I’m currently working on the ankle/calf and hoping I won’t lose steam before starting the second.

I also cast on a shawlette from the yarn I bought on our trip to New Orleans, using a really cute free pattern . In spinning news, I finished spinning up my first ply for a combo spin, and I’m currently working on my second ply. It’s been fun to spin the evenings while Jake and I watch our nerdy shows. We’re currently watching campaign 4 of Critical Role and keeping up with our favorite comedy shows on Dropout.

That’s about all we’ve been up to this month: lots of rest and recovery, lots of making things with our hands, lots of striving to live analog in a machine-obsessed world (and mostly failing). But I’m slowly making progress towards the life I aspire to live. Slowly learning to make time for the things that matter, and to slow down and take deep breaths even in the midst of curveballs, illness, tantrums, and busyness.

The new sitting place beside our gallery wall has become my favorite spot to wind down. It’s out of sight of the TV, near the record player. It’s surrounded by art I’ve curated and collected (or made myself) for years. I’ve been making a habit of sitting there with a cup of tea and my book or notebook or psalter, even if it’s only for a few minutes a day.

It’s a good place for deep breaths.

Once again, I didn’t get a second post written for October — but as I mulled over everything that’s happened over the last few weeks, I realized we’ve really been too busy for me to sit and blog. Between writing for HERLIFE Magazine, impromptu trips, Halloween, and visitors, October ended with quite a bang.

I was privileged to write the cover feature for HERLIFE’s November issue — a spotlight on the Stockton Symphony in anticipation of its 100th anniversary. You can read it here. It’s a piece I’m quite proud of, and a subject that’s dear to my heart.

Jake had a work trip in New Orleans, and I got to tag along! My parents watched the kids so I could have the longest child-free vacation I’d had in 4+ years, and I loved every moment of it. While Jake attended trainings and got to know his new coworkers, I worked on my novel and explored the French Quarter.

I visited a local yarn shop (of course) and several bookstores (of course). The best was probably Faulkner House Books: it’s built where William Faulkner wrote his first novel, his small apartment converted into floor-to-ceiling rows of bookshelves, kept and curated by a delightful woman with great literary taste.

I ate some amazing soul food, including beignets at Cafe Beignet (I ventured past Cafe Du Monde a few times, but the line deterred me). I had a Pimm’s Cup cocktail at Napoleon House, a restaurant built beneath the quarters Napoleon would’ve lived had he made it to the States, and several more delicious meals and cocktails.

The Pharmacy Museum was absolutely fascinating (I visited it for research for a potential novel concept), the antique stores were riveting, and the hotel we stayed at was breath-taking. I walked thousands upon thousands of steps. I slept through the night for the first time in a long time. And I wrote nearly 10,000 words in my novel, bringing me to 35k total. All in all, it was paradise for this introvert.

For me (and for Jake, too) the trip was such a wonderful breath of fresh air. We’ve returned more relaxed parents. Now we’re back to reality: unfortunately the kids caught colds while we were gone, and we also came down with something mild when we returned. We’re working on recovering and resting for the upcoming run of visitors and holidays over the next two months.

Halloween was a delightful romp: Michael asked to be Robin Hood (from the old animated Disney movie). I made the costume myself, including the Robin Hood hat, tunic, and leg wraps. The face paint was definitely out of my comfort zone, but he was thrilled to have whiskers and ran around the lawn shouting “I’M ROBIN HOOD!!”

Beatrice was the sister rabbit from the same movie — she wasn’t the biggest fan of those ears though. Jake and I didn’t fully commit to costuming, but we dressed in homage to Little John and Lady Cluck.

My best friend and her husband drove up to stay with us for the weekend, and it was one of the highlights of my year. It was a chill weekend — we hung out at home and played with the kids and talked and laughed and spent time together. We did get an afternoon without the kids (thanks mom and dad!) so we could go bowling — it was a grand time.

On the home front we had some fun furniture rearranging: we got a small tv to replace the one that dwarfed our living room, and we got a small curtain to cover it, too. We’re always trying to reduce our screen time, and the kids ask for it less when it’s out of sight. I also snagged an oak coffee table off of Facebook Marketplace.

Sadly, we had to bid goodbye to our piano. It was old enough that the strings were deteriorating and we were told it was no longer tunable. Thankfully we have two more pianos on our property, so when Michael or Beatrice begin lessons, they’ll still have access to a piano and so I can still play when the mood strikes me. We put our old loveseat in its place to expand our seating in our small living room, and while I miss the piano, I’m happy we can accommodate more guests now.

The cat loves it too.

Michael has had some hilarious quotes:

My mom: Michael, what happened with Bea?

Michael: I don’t know

My mom: Michael, why is she crying?

Michael: I pushed her down.

My mom: why did you push her down?

Michael: I’ve been stressed lately.

Michael, very gross and scratchy sounding: “I feel better now”

Me: *hands Michael orange juice*

Michael: Thank you, my dear!

Me: *locks the door so I can pee by myself*

Michael: *scours his room, finds puzzle piece that fits the lock, opens the door*

Me: MICHAEL AMADEUS JOHN —

Michael: I’m just clever!

Beatrice is also developing into quite a personality. Her new favorite book is Brown Bear, she knows exactly how to push her brother’s buttons, and she adores snuggling baby dolls. She will climb anything and everything, and is absolutely fearless when it comes to playgrounds. No hesitation on big slides or swings. She sings along to everything and sings to herself all the time — favorite songs include Happy Birthday, Oh Where Is My Hairbrush, and BINGO.

Also, we officially fully weaned right before our trip to NOLA. It was bittersweet, but I’m very ready to have my hormones even out and be able to focus on my physical health.

So as I said, October was quite eventful, and November is continuing at the same pace. But I love it. I’m so grateful for this little life of mine: my children, my husband, my parents, my friends. For the opportunity to write about my local community and share my words with the world. For the soft beauty of autumn and the way it gently lulls the world towards winter’s sleep.

And I’m grateful for you, the readers who keep coming back to hear about our lives interspersed with my rambling thoughts. Thank you for being here.

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

Over harbor and city

On silent haunches

And then moves on.

– Carl Sandburg