Picking Time

Fall. Oh, how I love fall. It is my absolute favorite season. The crisp, clean air. The crunch of the leaves beneath your feet. Sun coming through the amber hued trees. What’s not to love?

We went apple picking as a family this past weekend. It is one of my all time favorite fall activities. From where we live, you can head directly west and run into various apple orchards and farms.

The kids picked and sampled so many varieties. We filled a whole peck with bright red apples. Then, we headed back inside the barn for hot cider and cider doughnuts. Amazing! It sounds so picturesque. That’s because it is. I took lots of pictures of them running through the orchard. One of them riding a pony. They look happy and content in the pictures-despite the fact that it was freezing outside.

God, I love days like that. Ones where we don’t have to do anything but be together. Doing some simple activity. We are not rushed. We have time to talk to each other. Life is good.

T and I had a conversation on the way out to the orchard about the “packing it in” dream. Does it ever get so overwhelming that you just want to take your family, pack it in and head somewhere a little more relaxed? Somewhere that does not require enrollment in travel sports in order for your little one to be able to still participate down the road. Where you don’t have to travel for your job because it’s in the town that you live. Somewhere where the average home price is more within reason and there is no keeping up with the Joneses. Somewhere you can walk to school, church and the local movie theater. Where there is still time to do nothing. Does this place even still exist out there? We wondered.

We’re not looking for Leave It to Beaver. We know that that ship has sailed. Bon Voyage to it. We are just looking for that extra time. Preferably spent with each other. Is that too much to ask for? I hope not. For now, we are going to curl up, put another log on the fire and savor the season with each other. More craziness is waiting around the corner. I can see the holidays coming from here.