Life, on repeat

These weeks are blurring by!  A series of glorious fall days glimpsed through windows as the hours are spent rushing-- down hallways, to meetings, through lessons, to the copyroom.  And driving-- to work, to the Clinic for radiation, back home, then on to rehearsals and piano lessons and conferences and all the other things.  A few hours at the end of each day, mostly spent doing dishes and then sitting in a TV-and-exhaustion induced stupor, a few hours of sleep... and repeat. 

 I am not complaining. Far from it.  Those glimpses of fall sunshine, and the glow of it on the foliage and brickwork of the mansions I drive past on the way to the Clinic-- that's more than anyone has a right to hope for from October in Cleveland, really.  Plus I have had the luxury and privilege of getting out for a few runs in the intoxicating autumn air, while the kids swim on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  And, these long weeks have been punctuated by weekends full of life and exercise and all the activities.  Which have been, oddly, repetitive.  One weekend following the footsteps of the one before, a settled routine that may, in fact, be the only thing keeping me moving forward through these crazy, over-full weeks.

With no further ado- some pictures of our current "loop."  In no particular order-- rather just blended together, a collage of 3 weeks gone by.  An honest representation of how life is feeling, right now.  Blurry, lightning-fast, overwhelming, beautiful. 

If it's Saturday, it must be swimming and soccer...

So big!  So capable!  Our boy continues to love his sport.  

This year, the 4th-6th kids played on a larger field.  After getting over the mind-blowing change to larger teams AND all that space, they got into it, and it was fun to watch them really stretch out and RUN, and experiment with real passing plays... hoping Jack sticks with this because I can see us having a lot of fun watching him play under the lights someday...

Nat reluctantly helped coach this year... but I think he kind of liked it... ;)  Here he is with his protege, DJ-- a boy who really did NOT want to be there playing soccer. But Nat encouraged him and got him moving and participating and he really came a long way.  I love watching Nat work with people.  He's a bit of a magician. 

Ivy found a little group of friends a few weeks in a row.  Two little girls both named Layla! 
Games of catch and hilarious conversations ensued.

And coloring.  Lots of coloring.

Could his legs gt longer??

thanks for a great fall 2017 season, Denison park!

If it's Saturday evening, you might find us at the lake....

Sunset lake.  I wish I could be there every.single.night.  We've not been there as often as we might this month, because appointments really cramp our evening style...Fortunately this view is rather unchanging, and it is seared on my heart.  And these appointments-- well, the plan is to make sure that we have plenty of time in the future, to keep on enjoying it.

Thinking of doing our Christmas photos at this spot.  but maybe during the day, and when we've brushed the kids hair first...

Fun with multiple exposures!

If it's Sunday we're probably exploring Forest Hills Park in the morning....

So *this* is around the corner from us.  I mean, come on.  Its really not fair to the rest of the world, how awesome our neighborhood is.  (at least right now, in this heaven of a fall, where the sun always shines and the sky is always clear and Cleveland Heights is showing off its very best side.  Ask me how I'm feeling come late November...)

Obsession of the moment:  Skateboarding.  #thanksyoutube....

And if its the middle of the week there's a chance we'll be at  the school...

Both children are doing well.  Ivy was pronounced to be the "sweetest, happiest girl."  Reassuring to hear as overtired, "hangry" evening Ivy could not be described that way. I am glad she shows her best side at school.  Now, to get her spelling on track...

Or maybe we'll be gathered with friends at home...

Just three 7-year-olds rockin out to Pearl Jam in the hallway.  Sounds normal to me.

Fire, fire my heart!  how are they so grown up??

Or you might find us out for ice cream...

Ice cream dates in October.  Its a thing now.  #thanksclimatechange

... or maybe doing crafts...

Our new craft room!  In action!  With friends!  I am so happy with this little, tiny bit of a renovation...

.... or snuggling in the big bed...

There are times they drive me crazy, these kids.  There are times I am so tired and busy that I feel like hardly even see this man.  And then there are moments like this.  A glimpse of the love we feel for each other, manifested in a cuddle, in giggles, in a bright smile...  Of course I snapped this picture on my way out the door to yet another thing... but how lucky I am to carry these three people with me, all the time, in my heart! 

On Wednesdays, of course, it's ballet.

Oh how she loves her dance.  This surprisingly tall and surprisingly graceful young lady.  So utterly serious in her ballet poses. So alight with the joy of her chosen sport.

Look at how she looks at her dance teacher.  I want her to be able to dance with Miss Beth forever.  So energetic and inclusive and kind, Beth weaves a spell over these girls and brings out their confident best. 

Thursdays and/or Sundays, I'm doing some singing with Disciples.  Rehearsals and church when I can make it, maybe helping to serve a community meal (a wonderful experience!) or Beer N'Hymns in between. (with my kid, of course-- she loves the Bottlehouse.  That's how we roll.)

Our dynamic directors had everyone in the (packed) place not just singing but shaking and drumming and even, at the end, doing a conga line to Siya Hambe.  A bunch of middle aged white liberals marching around a bar belting out an African hymn about the light of god, in 4 part harmony.  You've never seen anything like it.

A few other one-time events have been thrown in the mix, to mark the time..

Like the day a guy hit the utility pole at the end of our driveway.  Talk about great seats for rubber-necking.  The kids were alternately terrified and fascinated.  While the guy's car lost an entire wheel and axle, and our fire hydrant was moved a good six feet, no one was hurt and all was cleared within an hour.  Pretty amazing-- and neat to see our city services in action.

Or the occasional neighborhood festival...

While the Cedar-Farimount festival wasn't quite as amazing as we'd hoped-- it did have the rocket car.  Its always worth the wait in line.

And, of course, the start of the Halloween Event Season. 

Which has also been on repeat.  Every Friday, a new business district trick-or-treating event.

My son is terrifying.

She has royal blood, obviously.

This photo kind of sums up these trick or treat experiences.   Me, trying hard to smile and enjoy the s**t out of things.  Jack, acting like a nut.  Not one of the children posing well for the camera.  But our costumes have been a hit!  And I  DO love seeing all the faces of our community crowded on the sidewalks, dressed up and smiling and joined together as one for the common cause of Getting Candy.  Even as I carry two candy-laden pumpkins AND a plastic scythe as I shepherd my whining children through the masses..  Still worth it. 

Fall decorations....A different house view than last year. I remember taking a photo of the house around this time in 2016, glowing a little in the sunshine, our HRC sign out front-- back when there was hope in the world, and we weren't yet stuck in the quagmire of 2017.  Back before I turned 40 and got all sorts of grey hairs and got breast cancer.  A different time indeed...  But hey!  Our cobwebs are ROCKIN this year, and even in the new light of this not-so-perfect year-- I've just got  soft spot for that porch of ours.  It's the little things, you know?

And now-- back to the routine.  There's some laundry to fold and a little sleep to get.  Tomorrow, we vary the routine! No more soccer, so we're working on having some friends over for a last-minute, informal costume party.  That'll mean a bit of cleaning and maybe the preparation of a cute, themed snack or dessert.   Sunday, more variation as I head to my first West Shore Chorale concert of the season.  No slowdown in sight, for us.  There's still more October to soak up, after all...  Next week, my final three radiation treatments.  Onward, then, to November!