The Most Beautiful Monday

I heard it on NPR that morning. 85 degrees on an October Monday. 72 degrees on an October Tuesday. 52 degrees on an October Wednesday. Fall was sending us one last breath of heat before she enveloped herself into the beginning stages of hibernation.

You see, I have a 12 week old. The decision. Do I pack up, make the most of this seemingly last expression of warmth, even though traveling around with Celia is still a bit of an adventure in and of itself, or do I just stay close to home to keep Celia's naps on schedule, to get groceries, to stay cool indoors... ? The decision. I guess you have to take what is given, be grateful and live it to its fullest. So, Out we went!

Grandma Char accompanied us to Lake Michigan for one last hurrah!! And it was worth every second! The sun was high in a brillant blue sky, the winds warm causing small white caps to crash on the sand squishing between our toes. The water was perfection in liquid form! Warm and clear. I stayed in and just played like a kid on a summer's day while Celia slept with Grandma on the shore.

I laid on my back and stared up at the sun, a white hot dot on a cloudless canvas. Waves would crash over me and fill my nose with water then swirl me around in its watery arms. Just a little rub and a sneeze and I was on my back again. I bobbed and swayed letting the winds and the waters take me for one last ride.

I'm so grateful for yesterday. For time with my mom. For Celia to fall asleep to waves. For a moment to myself to revel in my blessings and yet reclaim a second of Jeannie the woman along with Jeannie the new mom.

We stayed for only a few hours and were back on the road to Rockford. But lucky me, I have a husband that supports me at home with our girl. The biggest blessing of them all, I would think.

The new adventures with Celia keep rolling in. She is cooing so much it's almost as if she's having whole converstations with us. It's so funny, we just roll!

She went to the local Harvest Festival and enjoy looking about. She doesn't sleep on our daily walks anymore. She has to look around, and can you blame her? Michigan is in fall color bliss!

All in all, the Vollers are doing well. We still continue to scope out land for homesteading. We still dream big. We still look around for ways to better our community and environment, and well, ourselves. But we've discovered that raising a daughter is an excellently fufilling dream in and of itself.