Fleeting

In the past week, the foliage has come into peak color, brilliant reds and oranges popping out, startling against the grey of a November sky. Two days ago, we had our first snow, and winter-tinged winds have torn through the heights, raining leaves down into carpets of gold.   It feels as though autumn has just arrived and already it is in its denouement.  A fleeting season, this. 

Coyote sighting in Mayfield Cemetery.   

 Cold days and newly-early dark means a shift in our lives to more indoor pursuits...
Gatherings with friends, rearranging our furniture, getting back into felting and other hobbies.  In some ways it is welcome, being close to home and snuggling in instead of feeling so compelled to go and do and enjoy the great outdoors.

Not that we aren't getting out, though!  We've been rather focused on musical theater these past few weeks, it turns out.  Last week we had just the most terrific time going to the Heights High musical, Mary Poppins.  Our good friends have a 4th grader who was singing with the Boulevard Honor Choir so we went and sat with them to support her.  We soon discovered we knew MANY of the children performing-  and it was such fun to see them up on stage, to smile and celebrate with their families as we left, to revel in the talent and creativity at work in our schools and community.  Eleven years into our lives here in the Heights, we are finding ourselves more and more invested in the community as a whole, knowing people everywhere we go, watching children grow up.  Hugging a whole passel of little ones I know and love at intermission, I felt so much joy at being a part of this little enclave of 44118, so proud of the work being done here, and so grateful to love where I live so much.   Really glad we went to see the musical, it turns out.

 After a few weeks of some really November-y weather, this weekend brought the sun. So we went to the lake.

 It's been a delightful weekend, actually.  A bit of stretched out time in the midst of this fleeting season.  I think it was all because of the magic that is an afternoon off of work.  We had parent teacher conferences this week and our "payment" for two nights on duty til 8pm, was the chance to leave at 11:30 on a Friday. To add an extra layer of awesome, I didn't even have any conferences in the morning that day, just several hours of quiet, productive time in my classroom.  Then home!  Nat and I went out to lunch, had coffee and travel brainstorming at the Art Museum, and walked the dog all before picking Ivy up from school.  Took the kids shopping for some new clothes and shoes at Kohl's (they just keep growing, those two!) and actually managed to have a nice time, even in an environment that usually stresses me out. What a difference, to have a day off from students!  Without them sapping all of my energy and patience, I had some left to give to my own children... imagine that!  I took Ivy to a much-anticipated birthday party sleepover with a new friend from school (a lovely family- we are so glad they've joined our Boulevard community!) Then we spent our the rest of our Friday evening rearranging furniture in our living room and dining room (isn't that what YOU do on Friday nights??), flipping the two rooms for the season to have the couch in same room as the fireplace. Our good friend Mike came over to keep us company while we drank beer and moved heavy things and rolled rugs and cleaned out strange collections of items and a lot of dust from hidden corners of our room.  And you know what?  It really was a pretty great Friday night.

The rest of weekend followed suit, stretching out wide enough to hold all the things-- some cleaning, some relaxing, two visits to the lake, afternoon coffee-drinking, lots of driving around town, two estate sales, Second Sunday Soup, dinner swap, and a really terrific date night on Saturday.  I'm not sure how it happened, considering just how busy and hectic most of our weekends end up... but I could get used to weekend that feel like this one.
Saturday night magic, compliments of my mom (who hosted Ivy for her second sleepover of the weekend!) and Tiffany (who hosted Jack for a fun a great overnight with his friend).

Nat and I got to dress up (any excuse for rhinestones and a vintage coat!), go out to dinner, see a terrific performance of one of my all-time favorite musicals, and even have a beer at Noble Beast on the way home. We felt like real grown ups.

Today, back to real life.  The next few weeks promise to be back to our hectic norm, as Nat and I both prepare for time out of town at conferences, and all the cooking and travel and family of Thanksgiving week just ahead. Around us the leaves are drifting down and the trees are turning their November grey.  I am grateful for a lovely weekend and these lovely colors to carry me through.