Summertime officially ended in September, but this southern heat just does not give up! However, when October finally rolls around, I am more than ready for the cold! I want to do all the outside things that I have avoided all summer long. This October didn’t disappoint at all! This year it had some challenges to overcome to make a great start to the season of thanksgiving.
Here on the coast, Fall means festivals, car shows, picnics, the fair, corn mazes, and so much more! I want to be out and about doing all of the fun things, it can seem almost daunting. All those fun events have a hefty price tag. Right now, inflation has us all dreading to go to the grocery store or to get gas. I find it hard to choose between doing fun stuff or saving money by finding “alternative activities.”
The Comparison Pitfall
The comparison pitfall is when you compare your life to what other people are doing. You start thinking about everyone else’s plans, and you start feeling disappointed that your life isn’t as fun.
It’s easy to get caught up in the “it’s not fair” thought process when friends are posting cute pics of themselves having fun, while you’re sitting at home broke.
It’s these kinds of thoughts that sap the joy out of the season. Comparison can paralyze a person into doing nothing at all. Or it can make you want to throw caution to the wind and just do all the things!
Well, I knew neither of those options would work for me. I knew we would not be able to do all of the things we wanted to do this year. We would just have to come up with different solutions. If we were going to manage our financial expectations, and make our October memorable I knew we’d have to get creative.
How Do You Make Apple Pie Out Of Old Apples?
I guess you first have to check your ingredients! Our most abundant and affordable resource was time. That’s when I knew our October would be about spending quality time together. We focused on filling the calendar with opportunities for memorable moments. We found ways to be content in each other’s presence and let time do it’s thing. Something I’ve realized about my kids, as they have gotten older, is they value attention more than any amount of stuff I can give them. Things may not always go how we want them to go, but we have to try to make the best of what we’ve got!
What We Ended Up Doing
We spent one beautiful Saturday under a tree with a swing in our front yard relaxing on blankets, reading books, and having a picnic lunch. The day was spent enjoying just being around each other. Another Saturday, we attended our church picnic and had a blast. You can read more about that here. One Tuesday night we made a giant pallet under our trampoline and watched “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.” We invited Nanny over for a Friday night bonfire and roasting marshmallows. We made homemade funnel cakes. We spent porch time with grandparents. There were even a few late-night conversations about hard topics and spiritual things.
The girls also were able to spread their wings a little more this year. We let them go to the fair alone with friends. They even went on a school field trip to the corn maze – without us!
Going Into The Busy Holiday Months
Strive to make your moments count. Time really does go by fast. And the pressures of life seem to work against you, squeezing out all the fun. Stop looking at what others have or are doing and find ways to celebrate what you already have!
Deep down kids don’t care about what other families are doing. They care about you and the time you spend with them.
Make the memorable moments while you can. Kids grow up, families move apart, and loved ones pass away. Make each day count! Find ways to carry out the memory making all during the year!
As October closes and the leaves start falling to the ground my heart is full of thankfulness for my little family. I plan to go into this holiday season with a heart full of gratitude and my eyes focused on making new memories.
