and the days go by...

While I can't muster the anger Leighton expresses below, I too feel the strike of fall. The all too sudden cold and darkness. The lack of energy. A heaviness in the body.

In the meantime, life goes on. Today, Lilly turned 16 months! Such a big girl. Thursdays I'm with her in the morning while Leighton works in the library. We went about our day as usual. After breakfast, Lilly likes getting ready with me in the bathroom. Then outside to rake some leaves and walnuts while it was sleeting (Lilly was very happy stomping around, sporting her new boots and raincoat) before a few errands: the grocery store for some cheese, meat, and grapes for our lunch sandwiches, the bakery for some yummy seeds & nuts bread, the liquor store for some dark beer, for some evening comfort. Around 10 a.m. we arrived at the library, Lilly's favorite daily activity, though she was a little disappointed to see the meeting room closed where on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays there are activities for children her age. But she's happy in the children's area in the main area of the library as well where there are also some toys and books for children her age in a designated (quite nice) area. I think I was the one who ended up missing the organized activity in the library's meeting room the most, because during those times I get to visit with a few adults (parents of the other children) that we're sort of building a relationship or community with. (That said, Lilly did go by the door to the meeting room one final time on our way out, as she had on our way in.)

Home for lunch, we're both happy to see Leighton again. Then I worked for an hour in the basement before putting Lilly to bed for her afternoon nap, which also took about an hour (like me, Lilly struggles to find sleep). But finally, when she's let go of the day's activities to rest a little, she sleeps a good couple of hours. After that, we have dinner, and then on Mondays and Thursdays it's Leighton's turn to go to yoga while I give Lilly a bath (Tuesdays I go for a walk and Wednesdays I go to yoga).

And so it was. And now Lilly is sleeping while Leighton and I are out here, in the living room, with candles burning, each of us with a Mac in our laps, each of us savoring a New Belgium "1554 Enlightened Black Ale." Each of us wishing we had a little bit more time to ourselves. And to each other.