There are a few verses in the Bible which talk about seasons…there is a time for everything. When Lanky Dude was a baby, I made a collage with these words and hung it in his bedroom. It’s been relegated to our shed in the field now, but the words are truer than ever at this time.
We are moving from one season into a new one, with all the excitement along with some uncertainty that that brings. We have always had a rhythm to our home life. This changes slightly each year, with different outside activities, but it has essentially been the same for years.
We have our normal week day routines, and then some weekly family times; Friday night pizza and movie, Saturday lunch (added more recently as teens become busier during the week), Sunday tea and prayer time. Then, quiet time after lunch (own rooms for reading/quiet play) reading aloud in our room after that (I did this often with the boys and am trying to re instate it with the girls), reading the Bible together in the morning, and another read aloud story before bed.
And then the seasons also add a rhythm to our lives as they change over the year. As we now establish a new routine, some of our pre-existing rhythms bring a reassuring continuity.
Rhythm Dude has started a course at college too, one afternoon a week. It’s his first taste of formal education, and he was both nervous and excited. As with his brother, he went in with a quiet assurance, and I was so proud of him. I’m spending lots of time with him trying to prepare for his exam; as he needs a scribe, I’m doing this role, as well as marking questions with him. I’m so glad he gets to do one practical college session which doesn’t involve sitting an exam!
Hard Working Husband has also started a new job, and a course one night a week at the Theology College in the Big City. I’m very excited for him, and only a little envious!
Youth club has started again, and we’ve seen a couple of our youngsters go off to new pastures, always sad saying good bye, but it’s wonderful to see them again at Christmas!
We went blackberry picking all together last week and made a yummy crumble. The weather is certainly turning autumnal; while other parts of the world are reeling from hurricanes and earthquakes, it has just been cooler, windier and wetter here. The girls have enjoyed collecting conkers (a timeless activity), the plums are ripening, and we have had some stunning sunsets.
Below is a photo I took while waiting for Rhythm Dude’s rugby training to finish. It had been pouring; I was soaked, and him much more so! The Canada geese have arrived en masse at a local stretch of water. They’re one of Lanky Dude’s favourite birds.
It always seems to be hard settling back to lessons, especially after such a lovely long summer. No different this time, but Dancing Toes is finally seeming to get with the programme. She’s enjoying history, and it’s been especially fun as we’ve done some with a delightful friend of hers, also homeschooled. Rhythm Dude goes for a walk with her two brothers, and I have the girls here, so it works well. Their oldest brother has also moved onto formal education, so her mum and I are going through the same process of trying to be organised in a different way!
Last Sunday we drove to a beautiful stretch of coast, and there, amidst crashing waves, howling wind and bursts of rain, one of our teenage nephews and a friend of his were baptised. It’s so amazing seeing the level of faith in these young people; it’s real to them, and they will stand up for what they believe and have a passion to see change for good in our world. It brings me hope for the future; and reminds me yet again the awesome responsibility of parenting…of bringing up the next generation. Only by prayer and the grace of God.
Mothering through the seasons 