I am staring out my office window at the most gorgeous Japanese maple tree. The leaves are this absolutely brilliant red, streaked with a fiery orange. Few of them have fallen, twelve days into November. They are just lingering there, preening in their abundance. And yet the rain is coming down this morning. The wind is blowing. In a few days all that beauty will be lying in a heap on the ground.
So it goes. This tree’s glowing red and the magnolia in the front yard’s showy pink spring blossoms last for just a week or so each year. Whatever else is going on, I know I need to stop and notice them. Savor them for a few days in April and November. This year this savoring has had more poignancy to it as we will be living in our new house for the spring blossoms. There are going to be beautiful ones there. I walked a row of late blooming cherry trees, for instance, and once we start taking care of the place it will blossom. I know there are fiery trees there for autumn, too. But we come to know “our” trees and their rhythms and this year I am saying goodbye to these.
Anyway, it has been a long week, with much interrupted sleep. The toddler has been clingy and unhappy (the interrupted sleep isn’t good for him either, even if he’s causing the problem!). But the kids’ activities are winding down, so this weekend should, theoretically, be more relaxed. I sorted through some kid clothes and found size 12 jeans for the 12-year-old. I also found a pair of *my* jeans tucked in that same pile, which I guess had been missing for a while. Since it’s raining today, the workmen aren’t working on my neighbor’s roof, so I can get ahead on recording. I will take these little wins!
I remember that my babies’ and toddlers’ cranky and unhappy and clingy periods were the lead-up to a developmental breakthrough. I read that in some baby book, and it seemed to be true. Tough to live through, but I decided to be looking forward to whatever leap was coming up.
On the other hand, babies do go through periods of unhappiness and of developmental breakthroughs, so maybe one doesn’t lead to another, but it’s just a cycle. Maybe he’s aware that change is in the offing for his environment, with the house. My younger had a tough time when we were moving about the time he turned two, but again that’s a time of development. (We read a little Mr. Rogers book a lot about moving, and it helped. Those Mr Rogers books are so honest and straightforward, and the little ones appreciate the honesty.) Whatever, remember that “this too shall end”.
There are at least 100 Californians who are SO envious of you. We recently returned from a weeklong trip to Stockbridge, Massachusetts to “see the colors.” Missed it. I assume it happened a week or so after we left. Your photo is gorgeous….just like the postcards I bought to remind me what we might have seen!
@Jackie- it is hard to time! There’s a general range, but sometimes the colors peak early or late… We had a slightly later peak here this year.