Leaves, Laughter, and Lament

I don't often have a blog post title before the text itself, but these three words came to mind as I sat down to jot a few thoughts down, as well as share a few pictures and videos.

One of the markers of fall for us is that it is "leaf collecting time." We are known with some of our neighbors as being folks who are very happy to come rake and haul away leaves that are unwanted. This year was no different - in our desire for leaves (lots and lots and lots of leaves - is there such a thing as too many leaves?). What was different this year was that our good intentions did not always match the time available to follow through on them. I was starting feel rather embarrassed when communicating with our neighbor about raking at their place. It felt like about every week or two I would check in if it was a good week to come over and collect and then at the end of the week I'd send my regrets for not ever getting over. We had more or less used up much of the large pile Jason and the older girls had collected at a few others' places in the fall and were in need of restocking. So yesterday and today were the days and we finally made good on our word. They were lovely days, if not a little unsettling being this warm in January. My parents are in their home upstairs right now, which meant that they were happy to have Terah hang with them to free me up some on both days some to work with Jason. Every time we get a chance to work side by side, we are reminded once again how very much we like doing just that! It was fun to wake up this morning both feeling that good tired sore feeling from hard work, and then to both note that our legs felt a tad like play dough on our morning run together.

The leaves are not just good organic matter, they are a lot of fun for the young and old alike. I watched as Jason took a break today to run and do a flip into the big pile. And yesterday when the girls' friends were over, there were all sorts of games taking place in the leaf pile. Terah got to enjoy a few wheelbarrow rides, and some stomping around in the leaves. She also had her first experience of the tire swing in the woods (which is on the path to our neighbors) and it was a big big hit! She would clasp her little fingers tightly around the rope, which was very handy for her swinging safely and not so easy to get her off when Alida's turn came around!

There's been a lot of fun and special times in our household this week. That is pretty typical every week, but there is an added specialness that is unmatched when Grandma and Grandpa Myers are upstairs. Kali is not up there as often as she's got her ducks to meticulously tend and often gets side tracked reading (amazing how the minutes can fly by), but the two younger gals are pretty much always ready to head up the stairs! It's pretty sweet for me to watch the love and enjoyment flow both directions! We've also enjoyed having my folks come our way for some meals, particularly those weekly amazing meals that Kali makes for us (a baked potato meal is on the menu for tonight, which is why I'm blogging and not cooking).

There were two days recently that the older girls didn't spend quite as much time upstairs since there was some snow (ok, a very little bit of snow) on the ground! It was also VERY cold, but that did not deter Kali or Alida from going out to break in the sleds for the year and throw some snowballs. I think they love snow just about as much as their Grandma M does (which is saying something)!

I was very grateful for Mom and Dad's presence this week especially as Kali and Jason went off to Hot Springs, VA for two fulls days for the Virginia Association of Biological Farming conference - Jason's head is still swimming and his list of follow up contacts is long. One of the many exciting things about it is that we passed off our first seeds (spinach and onion) that will be marketed by a local seed company this year. Jason also made some great chicken contacts AND on their way to the conference he sold his Allegheny breed of chickens (one chicken project has gotten its wings and flown elsewhere - though no doubt Jason will be keeping close tabs on it and likely consulting with the current owners and other interested persons in the months ahead). It was very fun to hear their stories of the conference as it happened to take place this year at a rather upscale resort - a cultural experience for both of them (Kali is adjusting just fine to only having one spoon and one fork at mealtimes again). I was glad to split chores with my dad, and it is a tad sobering I will admit to think of Mom and I keeping everything going with Dad, Jason or Kali for 10 days in March/April. But we will rise to the occasion!

So it's been awhile since I've shared any videos so I'll share two. The first one has a rather surprising ending, and by the fast end to the video you can ascertain that it was a big surprise for me when it happened too! Thankfully no major injuries sustained and we have gotten a lot of good laughs from it since! Enjoy...

The second one is to give you just a small taste to a very regular after meal occurrence in our home. It's so common that once Terah is out of her high chair she will sometimes go over to the carpet, pat it and call for Daddy to come over. He is to lay down and act like he is going to relax and stretch and then he normally gets tackled. Or the request for "acrobatic team of the century" starts. And it is popular with both Terah and Alida. Terah is pretty into the idea of them taking turns (on this, not the tire swing). If Alida is in a different room she may even go looking for her. And, not to leave anyone out, Kali is now in the line up for gals that need to have turns. It's pretty cute - and it normally enables me to get the dishes done. Bonus!

So what's to lament? Definitely not growing, happy and healthy girls, leaves in abundance, new learning and connections, the joys of multi-generational living, fresh air and hard work, fresh carrots in January, and more sleep (yes, this must be mentioned briefly - Terah has officially transitioned to 1 nap/day and we should have done it sooner - no fighting to get her to sleep as she can almost not make it through lunch and then she is very ready for bed at a reasonable time in the evening. It's been good for my sleep and our relationship - another thing to celebrate). The lament comes as I let doses in of what is happening at the macro-level, in our society and our country right now (much of it has been happening for some time, but for some of us it is more blatantly apparent now than it has been). I continue to wrestle with how my life can be used to make the most effective impact for good in our world!

Terah has rejoined me so this will have to be a good stopping point for now!