A Fall Day & Changes

I am not a religious person, but I was raised Episcopalian, and though I long ago fell away from the faith, I have always appreciated the words of Ecclesiastics, and later it's reinterpretations by Pete Seeger and The Byrds. It is one of those passages, that even the atheist in me finds incredibly moving and spiritual. When I do find spirituality, it is always in nature, and thus, perhaps this is why I am drawn to it so. In it we are told:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven;
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a
time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

It has always helped me as the seasons changed, as well as when my life has changed. Right now, our family faces both. We are, in the overused parlance, at a crossroads. Through no fault of our own, the house that we are renting in Utah is being sold, quickly. We could stay, could fight to try and stay in it with a different, and yet unknown owner, but we decided to take this as a sign that it was not meant for us to be in this house. We've never really felt at home in Lehi, or in this place. We started looking closer in to the city. We were under a short timeline, as the house is being sold on December 2nd. We worked very hard, and found a nice home to rent close to many of our Unschooling friends -- a house that seems, at least, to fit us much better. We applied and were approved for the home, and now I have set about a marathon packing. We are moving on November 20th, so as to be in the house before the holidays. It seems crazy, and most days right now, I feel out of my mind, but the kids are excited, as are the grown ups, and perhaps that is what is seeing us through.

We have been in an almost constant fugue of activity the past few days. So after a crazy morning, when Angus suggested we head for the park for a bit on this windy, and previously rainy/snowy day, we headed out.


We played at the park, and then wondered down to the pond for awhile. We stayed over an hour, probably longer than we should have, but nature called us, and we were unable to say no to it's siren's song, which is a much nicer tune than that of the scritch of packing tape.



The kids climbed, and ran, threw leaves, and dreamt of where to put fairy houses in the woods. The dogs splashed in the water and chased the ducks. It was a good break, and reminded me that we will get there.

This is our time now, and very soon, it will change and there will be another time for us to enjoy and move through. We cannot rush this moment, so as to reach the next faster without causing some problem that none of us really wish to face. I think the same is true for children.

I should be reminded of this lesson, and that passage from Ecclesiastics more often. Perhaps I would worry less about my kids, my home, and my life.