Lately in Pictures

September. It seems that every time I’m outside, or even look outside, I see a leaf falling. A huge part of me is okay with that, but I also want a few more sweltering days of shorts, tank tops and popsicles. Summer can’t come to such an abrupt end. School starts for Maggie next week and this year I feel much more emotionally prepared for it. I was caught off guard last year with her difficulty of transitioning into it, even though we’d been preparing for it for a long time. This year I feel much more ready for the shift and I think she is as well. There’s this letter going around the Internets and I really do love it. My favorite part is this:

We send you to school to practice being brave and kind.

Kind people are brave people. Because brave is not a feeling that you should wait for. It is a decision. It is a decision that compassion is more important than fear, than fitting in, than following the crowd.

Trust me, baby, it is. It is more important.

Don’t try to be the best this year, honey.

Just be grateful and kind and brave. That’s all you ever need to be.

For a long time we’ve talked with Maggie about being brave and how that feels/looks and when I read this letter, it reminded me how important those conversations can be. Being brave really is a choice and it doesn’t really mean doing something wild like going down a huge slide or trying a gross food.  

Truth be told, the message of being grateful, kind and brave rings true in my life also. As a friend, wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, etc. My friend, Joey, makes fabulous signs and refurbishes furniture. A few weeks ago I’d asked her to make a sign for me that says “Always remember to be brave and wild at heart.” I haven’t had a chance to pick it up yet, but I’m excited to hang it up as a reminder….brave, wild at heart, kind, and grateful. Those are all great attributes. 

Setember. I’m ready. My heart’s ready. Bring it.