on slowing down

 

sometime around thanksgiving it hit me just how fast time has gone since maebelle's birth and i got in a cold sweat about it. i should know well enough by now about the fleeting nature of babyhood with how quickly august has grown up, but it's catching me by surprise all over again. it's a fitting time of year for these sort of emotions, i suppose, because nothing captures that ephemeral feeling better than the holidays season. halloween comes and goes and then it's a mad dash to the new year. then just like that, it's gone. it all needs to slow down.

an advent calendar seems contradictory to slowing down - what with the counting down of days - but it actually has encouraged the mindful passing of time. inspired by dozens of other sites and posts, i came up with a list of activities to help string out the month. yesterday we made edible gifts for the birds; a simple project i remember making as a kid myself. the best thing about it was that it didn't require a run to the store, as we found all the supplies we needed in and around our home. we started off by hunting for pinecones in the yard, then brought them indoors to the table where we assembled our gifts with peanut butter and bird feed. and when we hung them up on the trees outside, august wished the birds a "merry christmas tree" and i can't think of a truer sentiment. "merry christmas tree" to all!