My soul has never been so sad to say goodbye to summer as it is this year. Usually the minute August arrives, I’m ready for autumn – here in the South I always know I won’t really get to savor the coziness that comes with the new season for a couple more months, but just the thought of fall approaching gets me excited. This year, I’ve been a little slower to shift away from the beauty that summer brought. I worked really hard to make sure that we had a simple, unhurried summer, and it was just what we needed. We didn’t do it “all.” In fact, we spent a lot of our days doing nothing but play outside, drink lemonade, and splash in the blow-up pool. And I loved every minute of it.
Inevitably, fall has come, and I really am excited about it. The crisp air, baking with warm spices, cozying up under a blanket with a warm cup of tea while records spin in the background – it’s all just so lovely and rejuvenating! But with fall comes a new schedule for myself and my kids. Extracurricular activities have started back, my busy season in photography has picked up, two of my kids have birthdays, and commitments on the calendar make it a little harder to spend hours and hours each day doing nothing. Don’t get me wrong. I love everything we are committed to. I’ve learned to only say “yes” to what God really has for us, but I do long for the slowness and stillness that summer brought.
The Lord is growing me in intentionality. If we have less overall hours at home in this season, I want to really make them count. I want to make sure that we’re living slowly this fall and hitting all the things that are most important to us. For my family, that’s our faith, our family time, and our traditions that we’ve built over the past few years.
We’re so caught up in trying to do everything, experience all the essential things, not miss out on anything important… Life is better when we don’t try to do everything. Learn to enjoy the slice of life you experience, and life turns out to be wonderful.” –Leo Babauta
How We’re Saying “Yes” to Slow
Like I said before, we have a lot of commitments right now. Soccer, swim lessons, Trail Life, volunteering with our church, several photography sessions per week, my husband’s busy work schedule. These are all good things. But if left unchecked, we could easily drop the things that matter most to us. For us, that’s time in the Word and worshiping together, meals as a family, and a few key fall traditions we do every year.
- Word and Worship – We prioritize this time as a family. Our time at church is very important to us, and we make sure not to schedule anything on Sunday mornings or evenings. We spend time together in the Bible at home daily, and I play hymns and worship music on our speakers, too. Time with the Lord is a rock to us, and it definitely helps us slow down and focus on what’s most important.
- Meals as a Family – This has been a priority for us since Andy and I got married over six years ago. Still, sitting down and eating together daily is a must. The kids and I sit down for breakfast together every single morning (Andy leaves for work before we eat, but he has breakfast with us on weekends), and most nights we have dinner together, too. If a session has me out past dinner, sometimes Andy and I will still sit and eat together when I get home. We also have a standing tradition of Friday homemade pizza and movie night! We look forward to it all week! Prioritizing meals together prevents us from overscheduling and missing out on special time together.
- Fall Traditions – Before the season even officially begins, Andy and I sit down to schedule when we’re going to go out for some of our favorite fall activities. We like to get these on the calendar so that we know even in what can be a very busy time of year, we’ll definitely get to make these memories. For us, that’s apple picking at Scott’s Orchard, choosing pumpkins at Tate Farms, making chili on the third Saturday in October, and taking a family hike at Green Mountain. We also fit in pumpkin carving and lots of fall baking, but those are less scheduled!
I’ve had to learn not to look at what everyone else is doing. There are countless activities and events we could add to our schedule, and I’m sure we would have such a great time at all of them. But in order to slow down, which is a big priority for us right now, I have to say “goodbye” to the fear of missing out. You don’t have to do it all. I encourage you to determine what’s most important, and simply focus on those things. Maybe that’s scheduling a few activities in your area, or maybe that’s cozying up every weekend at home and just being together. However you choose to enjoy this fall, I hope that you’ll remember that slow and still are beautiful, and that the best memories will come from being with the ones you love. How are you living slowly this fall?
