My Disappearing Act

I know, I know. I went and disappeared again. What is it about the fall that I always find it so overwhelming? I had coffee with a friend last week, and I think she finally helped me hit the nail on the head. It's something my mom and I have been saying for years, but now I'm beginning to think it's perfectly legitimate. It's not only that everything extra-curricular starts up again in September, or that there is still all the outdoor work to do -- never mind the disaster created by having the children home every day for ten weeks, and added in to that harvesting the garden before the first killer frost, it's that the season is changing. The days are already shorter. Despite all the work that needs to be done outside, less time is spent outside and more time inside because of autumn-y type things that need to be done. It's a type of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Let me clarify. I don't have SAD, I just do strongly feel the change of season from summer into fall for the multitude of reasons I listed above.

The Engineer and/or I are out six evenings a week with kids for kid things. Too much? Maybe, but there are still six children at home (so one night per kid ;oP), and we/they are involved in not only church things, but community things. I'm back at coaching volleyball at the younger girls' school, which I love, but to my great relief, another mom has stepped up to coach one of the teams while I coach the other. So now I am not running to the school at noon every. single. day. (Have I ever mentioned that the school is barely a five minute drive from home? Very thankful for that!)

Somewhere in there homework is completed, reviewed (sometimes), children are helped with homework, and instruments are practised.

During the day, I seem to get nothing done. It only seems like that because my house is a disaster. No really. It's a dirty mess! The continual running of so many of us creates constant messes as things are dropped where they are to move on to the next thing. I try every morning to do a run through and get things picked up, but I don't seem to accomplish ever getting the house clean. I am also really beginning to dislike having two dogs in the house. Although we love them both, they are a pain in the butt! The number of times I get interrupted in a day to have to let them in or out is in itself enough to put me over the edge sometimes. To top it off, Maverick is bad! He's healthy again, but he is a food thief. His whole doggy world revolves around finding and eating food be it surfed for on the counters,  ripped apart as in the garbage, and yes, *gasp!!* even eating his own or his fur brother's latest "log" in the backyard.

Then there is the vegetable garden. Although it didn't do as well as I hoped, partly due to weather, partly to its new location, and partly because some big black animal and his little fur buddy keep helping themselves to the beans and tomatoes, I still had lots to put up for the winter months, but only because I took advantage of roadside stands and great sales this summer/fall at the grocery stores. Although sorely lacking fruit of any kind, we're pretty much set for vegetables. I still have some squashes and pumpkins to freeze, as well as celery that is in the garden, but I think the end just might be in sight for the vegetable season. We just won't talk about the flower beds though. Every time I think I'm going to get at them, time is so short I only get a few perennials cut back, or it starts to rain. The forecast looks great for the next few days though, so hopefully I will find some time to get in them uninterrupted for a few hours.

Those shorter days are what's getting me! I'm pretty sure that when autumn hits, the days no longer have 24 hours in them. Okay, maybe it's because it's now still  dark at 7 am and I have a very hard time getting up in the dark. By 8:00 pm it's dark again and with the disappearance of the light, there goes all my energy.

The Engineer was out and about in the United States this past week, which also meant I was single momming it again. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I have a bad habit of going to bed way too late when he travels because I enjoy the peacefulness that occurs when everyone else is in bed. It's marvellous! I tend to work on projects more when he is gone. So last week, I got caught up on all the sessions for our clients. Now I just need to finish some of our own stuff. I did also finally get one room nice and clean and (re)decorated. It feels so good to have one room that you know is clean!

Photo taken on the way to string lessons one afternoon.

So yes, we are all well here. I'm just enjoying autumn as much as I can, and ever so slowly working on things on my mental list of things to do. Oh and I've been knitting. I knit when I have to sit and wait for children.