Simple Times = Good Time

Look at what I found.



Autumn is here.



I have been waiting for a proper fall for about 16 years now. Simply didn't have it in Gainesville or San Francisco. It's always been my favorite season so when I realized we would be in the northeast just in time for fall I about lept for joy at the very prospect of it. Oh, how I have missed the way the days grow shorter and the shadows grow longer or how the leaves smell when they are dry, which is so different from when they're wet. I have missed the way the cold air mixes with the smell of a fireplace somewhere in the distance and how that invokes visions of people being cozy and smiling about it. I love sweaters and boots and cider and pumpkin soup and maple everything. What a glorious season!


This weekend Tim and I fulfilled a dream: the weekend daytime date.

There's not enough support for the daytime date, in my opinion. Frankly we find that, though we like going out for dinner, it lacks the opportunity for connection that we're looking to get out of a date. We're tired, distracted and too close to the following days activities to still be focused on this one. A couple of years ago we started dreaming about the time when I wasn't working weekends anymore and we could carve out some of that time for just us. The surprise lunch date during these couple of years was an appetizer and a reminder of the goodness we were holding out for. I feel a little bit like I'm cheating the kids out of family time but marriage fortification is really for the good of the whole family., I get super jazzed about anything that is for the greater good of my family.

Tim and I went to a neighboring town and walked around before having lunch on the Long Island sound. That was all. Simplest of dates, really, but it was beautiful in its simplicity.



We sat on a bench in the town square looking at the trees...



and drinking our coffee out of paper cups. Something miraculous happened: we locked eyes and had a conversation complete with full sentences and thoughtful responses. Anyone with small children doesn't need me to point out how rare an occurrence this is. The first of many Saturday afternoon dates. I'm so excited!

Of course, I get bejiggety about leaving tiny Ingram. He's only 10 weeks old now. But the kids were fine. We stumbled upon some great, reliable childcare, which makes it easier to get out.

A holdover from moving - she prefers to color on cardboard boxes. 

We had been talking up our Sunday trip to Ada all week. A visit to ....dum da da dum...THE FARM.



She was so excited, it was all she could talk about for days. Of course, about 5 minutes down the road from the farm she fell asleep so we got a little lost on purpose. The further north you go, the more and more beautiful it becomes. We went to a town where I almost rented a house. It's a bit further north than where we are now so I opted for the town closer to NYC. Still, as we drove past our almost-house I couldn't help but think about if and how our lives might have been different had we moved there instead. I think it's where all the local hippies are and I'm missing my people.

Finally, we made it to the farm with refreshed, rested children. It was rainy and chilly but Ada still loved seeing the animals. She was quiet and observant most of the time.



Mixed in were the hyper-excited moments like trying maple cotton candy.



I nursed Ingram on a cold, wet picnic table while Tim took Ada to the pumpkin patch.

Serenity. Pure serenity.

I watched from outside the fence as she tried her little heart out to pick up these giant pumpkins while Tim stood beside her stifling chuckles. Finally, she settled on one she could carry.



So, so very proud of her pumpkin. She agreed that I could use it to make a vegan panang curry later in the week.



Then we went home all worn out from a good day of exploring. Seriously, the most simple weekend but I sat on the couch Sunday night thinking of my children and my husband and how lost and undefined I would be without these people. I am seriously lucky and I know it deep in my bones.