Seasons Change

We've come to another second Wednesday, which means that all of my Expat Blog Challenge cohorts have agreed to once again conspire on a theme post. This month, we have a photo post on the theme "seasons change."

I took this one a few days ago on a morning play in our park.

I snapped this on my iphone because I loved the perspective of tiny Hushpuppy trotting blissfully through the large expanse of grass, shadowed by the tall trees. It wasn't until later that I noticed how autumnal the scene is with that gorgeous red tree in the center. I should have noticed, though, because it was a classic Autumn morning: blazing blue sky and this crisp cool in the air that just bites at your skin, but not so unkindly even that you need to worry about covering up. It was the kind of morning where you want to hold a warm cup of coffee in between your hands to feel the contrast, but you know that by noon it will feel more summer than winter once again. 

I've been dreading the season change with a lingering sadness. We've had a glorious summer. The move to our new place has been a blessing, and we've enjoyed pool days, daily - sometimes twice daily - trips to the park, barbecues and eating meals out on the deck, long plays with the water table, and trips to the zoo. Hushpuppy has taken up walking and loves to wander all over creation. I was thinking recently that this has turned into a magical, easy season in my life, and when we move on from it, it's one I'll miss and look back on with great fondness. 

We'll still haunt the park in Autumn and Winter, but it won't be as effortless. The pool and barbecue will retire for another six or nine months. Our apartment, which is mercifully cool in the summer thanks to being on the ground floor and floored in mostly tile, feels like a cave in the cooler season. We'll run heaters non-stop and I'll be bundled in hoodies and blankets. I hate the cold and I miss our beautiful summer already, even though we're still enjoying the waning moments of it, pretending as if it will never end. 

On a completely unrelated and self-promotional note, a couple weeks ago, I wrote another parenting essay for North Shore Mums, which I never posted about here. It's a personal story I wanted to share, so if you're interested in parenting matters, and you're looking for more reading material, I invite you to pop over.