With the school year now two weeks old, time is rapidly consumed between planning, and homelife. I have another wonderful class of students with a supreme school administration and staff to support me. It is a new sensation returning for my third consecutive year, and I feel comfortable and in-control for the most part. While I do not know everything that will be this year, I am confident that I have the tools and experience to undertake whatever circumstances are presented.
Just before the beginning of school, a family reunion of sorts took place in Chicago, with my sister visiting fresh from her graduation from the University of Pittsburgh, my Aunt Irene and Uncle Fred from Virginia, my Uncle Michael from Oregon, and my Uncle Stuart from the North side of the city. Making a surprise appearance was my cousin, Sam, who recently graduated himself and is now busy traveling all over the Midwest. Reunions of this sort are so bittersweet in the sense that it is beautiful to reunite and to have the chance to look around the table and feel absolute contentment when studying every face. Our history, my life, the future of our lineage, all at one dinner table for an evening. It is also difficult, as the next day we assemble at a playground for a few more minutes together before having to admit that time is demanding our return to the paths we have chosen for ourselves and having to say goodbye, not knowing when the next time we will all be together will be. Still, it is better to have met for a brief period, than to not have met at all, right? I love my family, and am blessed to be a part of it.
Now the Fall season is more than a blurry idea off on the distant horizon. The weather fluctuates from extreme hot to cool evenings and such on a much more regular basis. The plants and trees seem to be tightening in anticipation of change. While one can still wear a t-shirt outside, the thought of unpacking the fall wardrobe cannot be too far out of mind.
This Labor Day Weekend, we spent in South Bend. From the terrible Notre Dame season opener to Aunt Beth's birthday celebration, to time spend lazing around the house, I feel like summer is finally over and have come to accept this idea with a sigh of understanding. We celebrated this notion by traveling to Fair Oaks Dairy Farm about an hour and a half away, to experience cows in all of their glory. While I now know more about systematic milking than I care to admit, the day was filled with many warm memories that I will cherish as we move forward into cooler temperatures. Audrey, in particular, ran with sheer glee from one point of interest to another, trailed by grandma and mommy and daddy. From bouncing on a giant air pocket, to witnessing several calf births (which I couldn't stomach) to savoring a large vanilla milkshake with the freshest of dairy, Audrey ravished every opportunity to have fun and laugh during these final hours of summer.
So now what? While the overall tone of this blog may be melancholy, I actually very much look forward to the Fall and changing of the seasons. It is truly the most beautiful time of year when the colors of the Midwest leaves explode in their final defiant act of Winter. Our family now prepares for a second daughter in November and the upcoming holiday seasons. Long walks in the leaves and the final month of my training before the marathon I have decided to run await. And even when the first flakes of snow fall on our roof, it is satisfying to know that we will be hunkered down below, making memories and sharing laughter and joy that will warm us long after the final leaf has hit the ground.
-a
