Time to Slow Down

My middle son, the 10 year old, had his first soccer tourney of the season. It was a pre-season tournament, so he's been at practices for several weeks now. His team finished 2nd in their bracket and 6th overall in their division. I still smile when I remember the games; all four of them over the course of the weekend. It's like being back in high school and cheering on the home team. I totally forget who I am, a soccer mom, and become that screaming teenager. I wonder if that's why my husband takes the photos -- so he has an excuse to stay away from me during the game. :) Life is starting to get into its crazy chaotic schedule with the onset of school. Sports start, which mean after school practices, there's homework, getting up early, packing sack lunches, the nightly fight to get them all in bed at a decent hour. I get tired just thinking about it. But, I did manage to notice the small stuff this weekend -- it wasn't hard when I stopped to look; it was a gorgeous weekend. The season is changing and you may not see it if you don't look. The daylight hours are getting shorter - 2 minutes each day, actually. The light has changed, it's not as harsh and direct. It's softer and that bright white of summer is mellowing to a golden shade of fall. When the evening cools off, there's just a smidge of an edge to the breezes -- that soft summer comfort is slowly melting away. Even the afternoon breezes, when the temperatures are below average, have that crisper edge to them. I LOVE IT! What do you love (or hate) about the coming changes, and have you noticed the ones that are already taking place around you? Whatever your answer, have your scrapped it? Take a minute to look around you -- snap a photo or two. Maybe of the first leaf you see changing colors. Or maybe it's the flowers that are starting to fade. Is it the blanket on the end of the bed that you needed for a night because it actually got cooler. What marks the change of seasons for you and what feelings does it create in you? So, stop and smell the ros. . . err, hmm. . . deeper smells of late summer: rich earth, the crisper breezes, the occasional wood smoke. Ahhhh.