trillium lake

9.28.2015



The weekends bring us the precious outdoor time together that we look forward to all week long.  We don't always know where we are going to go.  Sometimes we just start driving and feel like we are being led in a certain direction.  Sometimes we plan it all out.  It doesn't matter to me as long as I'm with my family, surrounded by trees, our lungs expanding and minds clearing with each step. 

We miss the beach and little coastal towns (this one is Otter Rock) we used to go to when we lived in Salem.  The less popular with less populace will always win us over.  However, that being said, we saw more people on this beach than we ever have before, and it wasn't even a sunny day.  Which, by the way, was wonderful.  The closer we got, the grayer it became, and soon we were buttoning up our sweaters and zipping up our fleece.  Though it is technically still summer, it definitely felt like fall. 

Thor started school last week.  Fifth grade.  I remember fifth grade as when my teacher really made a difference for me and became important to me.  Last year was a bit rough, being in a new school where he knew no one, and he developed a bit of a bad attitude about school.  He is smart and earns very good marks in school, but he often laments that nothing challenges him and that he is bored going over things he feels he already knows.  We are still struggling with this but are hoping something turns around and sparks for him this year.  Meanwhile, alternative methods of learning hover in the background as his middle school years approach if things don't change.

We are buttoning up the house as well - pulling things up, cutting things back, sweeping things off, and putting things away.  Fall has always my favorite time of year.  Though it is technically still summer for a few more days, it's been fall in my heart for weeks now.  I love the rain, the dark evenings, the wind, the returning green, the scents.  A magical ambiance.  A kind of quieting down.  I hope you find some joy in it as well.  
by mlekoshi