strands of change...

This morning I feel like making oatmeal for breakfast…not because I particularly like oatmeal but it just seems like such a fitting way to start out this nippy mid-September morning. It‘s the sort of day some people would call dreary. I happen to view a dreary day, as long as it is not followed by 17 consecutive dreary days, as a friend.
It’s the kind of day where you wouldn’t be surprised to see squirrels rushing about with tiny wheel-barrels full of acorns, or have a random wave of nostalgia come over you as you notice for the first time, a strand of red leaves trailing like a scarlet ribbon, down the big oak tree outside your kitchen window… and you think, summer is being replaced. Silently, gradually and inevitably replaced. Evidenced by subtle color changes...by the smell of apples in the air…or the urge to throw on a sweater before running out to see if the mail has come, by the crunch of already fallen leaves…
But more is changing around our house than just the seasons. Our days have been full of comings and goings, of company, and of growing. Annabelle started crawling over Labor day weekend and is happy to introduce, with a great big grin, the two very cute new teeth she has sprouted.
She is infatuated with shoes and tags and will crawl half way across the house to explore Daddy’s cowboy boots or play contentedly for the longest time with, not her toys, but the tags on her toys…as you can see she is also very fond of the keyboard:
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I on the other hand, besides keeping an eagle-eye on her…have been busy with a series of cleaning “ fits” and “tirades,” determined to stay one step ahead of the small nation of dust bunnies that live under things in my house… namely because Annabelle is increasingly fond of eating them.
Yesterday she was following George, our cat around the living room. She finally got close enough to pet him…and I was thinking…”aww, now isn’t that so cute…she loves George… “ when she stuffed his tail directly into her mouth. I shrieked of course and George has once again and quite permanently, become a strictly “ outside cat.” Not that I think this extreme-borderline-paranoid-clean-bug will last for long. Or that our future children will never be allowed to munch on a occasional dust-bunny, poor things.
But for today, I am a first time mom. Perpetually enchanted by the curiosity of my precious 6-month old. Not wanting to miss out on a single smile or look or squeal…the carnival of senses she uncovers in a single exploratory trip across the living room. All of it makes me smile and wonder at the miracle of growth…the beauty of life… of design and development…and the love of God….
And all of this while I am spooning in sweet potatoes, or changing a poo-ed-bum, while I am reading ’ Where is Baby’s Belly Button?’ Even while hunting down renegade dust bunnies. " It's nothing short of an education"...I think to myself as I look down to find Annabelle staring out the window, her bright little eyes tracing the patterned leaves as they scatter and skip across the afternoon sky...