There is something about Fall that makes me want to seize each moment spent outside. The vibrancy of red, orange, yellow, brown and green leaves contrasted against the rich blue of the sky, the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet and the crisp feel of autumn air on my face make it easy to stay present in the moment. It is impossible to be distracted when the wind picks up and the maple tree in my yard lets go a shower of yellow leaves that rain down on me like snowflakes. I want to spin around with my head thrown back and my arms outstretched to catch the leaves as they gently float to the ground. Except my arms are full, holding Violet, coats, bags... life. And so I watch my children who are experts at living in the moment, enjoy fall to it's fullest with me.
Lucy is oblivious of the impending winter hibernation as she discovers milkweed seed pods and blows them free into the wind. Emma is blissfully unaware of the long dark days of winter as she begs me to hold her coat while she runs like a wild child through a sunny meadow on an afternoon hike.
Even a fall rain can't keep us inside, as I count on my fingers the number of potential days left before the cold hits. Here we are below on a hayride through a pumpkin patch and enjoying a giant jumping pillow and petting farm at a local apple orchard.
At the beginning of October I experienced an emergency that magnified my appreciation of living in the present moment even more. We had just finished eating dinner and I was cleaning up in the kitchen when severe stomach pain hit me like a kick to my gut. Not long after I was in the bathroom, purging my system with such violent force that I started sweating like someone had poured a bucket of water over me. After about an hour of severe pain, I found myself on the bathroom floor, itching like crazy. My scalp felt like it was an inch thicker than normal and the palms of my hands and feet were on fire they were so itchy. The next thing I remember, I woke up on the couch with an EMS worker telling me that I was having an allergic reaction and she had just given me a shot of Benadryl. As my eyes focused, I saw Lucy and Emma on the couch next to me crying, and several other EMS workers gathered around me. Everything began to make sense then, as the Benadryl provided almost instant relief. I had honestly thought that I was dying and had no idea what was happening to me in between dinner and finding myself on the couch. The stomach pain I had experienced was more intense than childbirth and I realize that this sounds overly dramatic, but the truth is I had made my peace with God. I felt such relief and gratitude when I realized I was going to be okay. I took a ride in the ambulance and the ER staff gave me more Benadryl in my IV. About two hours later I was back home with Will and my babies. I had a blissful night's sleep, thanks in large part to the massive amounts of Benadryl in my system and also thanks to the amazing levels of gratitude I felt at feeling perfectly healthy and cozy in my own bed, in my own house, with my husband and babies sleeping nearby.
It's amazing how long days taking care of three little people and a bunch of animals can go from exhausting tediousness to incomprehensible joy and gratitude. Countless doctor appointments and lab work later, the medical community is still unsure of what caused my allergic reaction. I unfortunately have experienced several more "episodes" but they seem to be subsiding now and I half joke when I say that I've been sipping a Costco sized bottle of Benadryl during each episode to avoid another ER visit. Lucy and Emma have handled my emergency situation differently. Will told me later that Lucy was sobbing uncontrollably as the ambulance drove away with me inside while Emma kept calmly telling Lucy, "Mom said she was going to be okay Lucy. She's going to be okay." Since then, I have overheard them talking about ambulance rides and hospital visits while playing Legos, Barbies and with their baby dolls. We have also worked out the experience with a journal entry and picture drawing. Neither of them want to talk about it directly with me, however Lucy did verbalize for her journal entry that she was afraid because she didn't know what was going to happen.
I am so thankful for the chance to raise my beautiful babies and be there with them through the happy and the tough times of every day life. I also am thankful for Will in more ways than one. When I was discharged from the ER, I went to get up out of the hospital bed and realized that I didn't have any shoes with me. When I commented to Will that I didn't have shoes he responded, "You should be glad that you have pants on." After a stunned look from me, I inquired as to what he meant. He then told me in no uncertain terms that putting a pair of pants on me while he was talking to the 911 operator was no easy feat but he managed before the EMS workers arrived on the scene. I have no recollection of this, however my gratitude is more than I could ever thank him for! Needless to say, I happily left the hospital in brown hospital grade socks with rubber grippers on the bottoms. Will takes such good care of all of his girls and I really do think he enjoys most of it. Here he is below with his three littlest girls. In the right hand top picture he is hanging out at Lucy and Emma's dance studio while holding a sleeping Violet. Will takes the girls to dance by himself sometimes too and passes the time by texting me inspirational quotes from the dance posters hanging up around the studio. In the bottom right hand picture I found Will building one of Lucy's Lego sets after the girls had gone to bed one night. Fortunately for Will, he loved playing Legos as a kid too (as did I) and so isn't completely immersed in new territory when it comes to spending time with his girls.
Will's birthday was this past month and we celebrated a day early since he was out of town on his actual birthday. We spent the day eating his favorite foods, opening presents and going on a gorgeous fall hike. Before our hike we sang happy birthday over a tray of peanut butter rice crispy treats. It was too windy for the candle flames, but the rice crispy treats were still delicious.
We had fun with family and friends this past month from playing at the park after our kids yoga class, to play dates at home, time spent at a restaurant and a cider mill, visits with my sisters and a trip to visit my aunt in Lansing.
We plugged away at school work despite Violet's best laid plans to never nap and be constantly held. We went to a play based on the children's book Harry the Dirty Dog and had a great time.
The girls put on a science show about air from our science unit and performed it for Will when he got home from work. We also enjoyed a unit on medieval times complete with castles and dragons.
We also watched as our meat birds grew big enough to move them out of our garage and onto the lawn in the movable coop that Will made for them. Lucy was disappointed that the chickens were only cute and cuddly for about two weeks but doesn't seem concerned about their eventual fate.
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