Its funny, Autumn is upon us here in Cambridge and Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner and yet I have no plans, no turkey, no table centre…and I am….okay with it….sort of. Because while everyday is filled with a new sense of freedom, there is something missing. The pumpkins, the crafts, the pies are all reminders to be thankful, they are tools and traditions that help my children learn how to give thanks and enjoy the beauty of each season. But it goes deeper and it is hard to explain. For those that know me, know the creativity that runs through my blood and the joy it brings me to share that with my children and others. There is nothing like watching Jakob race through the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin or collecting leaves to take home and modge podge alongside buttons and ribbon and pictures. Cuddling up by the fire with hot chocolate and puzzles or spending a whole afternoon transforming a case of apples into apple pie, apple sauce, apple strudel….
My heart gets giddy at images of homemade soup, burlap and warmly decorated front doors and then I can hardly wait until, at the very least, mid-November before pulling out the Christmas tree.
But there is none of that here.
To walk through the mall you would barely know it was Autumn or that Christmas is coming in 3 short months. They say it is all out too early…that one aisle in Tesco’s that has advent calendars and Christmas Chocolates. There is little consumer evidence that there is something to be celebrated because it is just not a big deal here. I can’t explain it. And it isn’t just absent from the stores, homes are void of signs of the seasons. Every day is as the day before. Even I, myself have let it slide. I don’t know whether it is because Jakob is in school and it leaves little time for craft projects when we’re home, or that there is no such thing as Michael’s here or that we are pinching pennies and modge podge is not in the budget, or that I just don’t care. I admit that I have traded in my 18 hour, jam-packed days for impromptu play-dates at the park, extended and frequent coffee breaks and lazy quiet evenings. I am enjoying have no pressure whatsoever and am afraid to commit to anything for fear it might ruin whatever “this” is that I have going on right now.
But I miss it.
And while I want to say that its okay to do without it for just. one. year. I wonder if I will ever get it back or if it could ever be a part of a life in England.
I am thankful, and that’s what it is about, right?
I am thankful for my children, my husband, everyone who is on our team, cheering us on and the RIDICULOUS opportunities that have already presented themselves to Ben, whose reputation and charisma is spreading like wildfire.
But what about Jakob and Ella? I want the storybooks of their lives to have orange and brown and gold. I want them to remember the wonderful, beautiful things that we did in Autumn.
What did we do?
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