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.