But there was also a fair amount of open time — some of which I didn’t have the 4-year-old for. So I kept thinking that I should be getting ahead on all the stuff for the holidays. I know December is about to hit like a big storm, and I’m thinking that I should be stocking up on metaphorical pop-tarts and bottled water. I made and ordered our Christmas card. The 13-year-old picked out family pajamas and ordered them. She and I also started on the Christmas Lego set! I mostly have the holiday fun list (coming later this week) and I worked on choosing dates for anything that needs an assigned date. If something is on the list without a date there’s a big chance it won’t happen as — guess what! — the holiday season is really short this year. We come out of Thanksgiving weekend and it’s already December. There are only 3 December Saturdays before Christmas this year. The gift shopping will be something and that is no where near started but it will happen eventually. And I shouldn’t rush through Thanksgiving as there is a lot of fun happening with that too…

Anyway! Perhaps I am not very good at relaxing. I did spend a bit of time working on my puzzle. And a lot of time practicing music for 3 upcoming concerts before New Year’s Day. Also, there are three kid music concerts too in December…

In the meantime, this might be the last of the autumnal sonnets, with a working title of “Past Peak”:

November afternoon, tonight the rain —
for now the ashen clouds are gray and low;
the contrast with the leaves makes things mundane
seem holy, with the forest bright, aglow.

A maple’s scarlet in the cedar trees;
a gingko, golden, shakes a few leaves loose,
undressing just a bit with every breeze,
and by the woods there stands a single spruce

as sentry, soon the only color left
in three days time when all will fade to brown.
We linger in this moment, till bereft
of hue the trees must start to hunker down.

Still there’s this afternoon — these precious days.
Before it withers, all the world’s ablaze.

Aurora

The air turns cool, the dark descending fast
on this October evening, Thursday night.
I huddle in my coat, this is the last
of several happy outings, all is bright

beneath the street lamps, feel the bustle, buzz.
Two hundred people line up for a show.
They’ve stood all day, and now crowd, as one does,
to be the first inside, first standing row.

We hustle past — then “look up!” In the chill,
a streak of red makes brush strokes in the sky,
and through the camera lens more colors still.
We shout and join the faces pointed high.

The northern lights have come to play around
this autumn night, like music without sound…

—-
Bar Harbor, 4:45 p.m.

Now rocking on the porch, I see the light
turn golden, all the maple leaves aglow
on this cold island, all the aspens bright,
as even parking lots put on a show.

Some nineteen years ago we ran a race
to mark one year. A thought — did that seem long?
I only once had thought about this place.
Somewhere a book is written, we belong

to larger narratives, the great unknown.
We travel many years, if glad we can.
Tomorrow, I must wake before the dawn
with many miles waiting, per the plan.

Just always moving, here this tree still stands
a hundred autumns, chilling many hands.

The 17-year-old did a singing competition where he had multiple appearances in front of judges (not low stress!). I had sort of assumed he could just drive himself there (it was 30 minutes away) but since he is under 18 he was required to have a chaperone. Fortunately I found this out before the actual competition itself (phew!), but it did require some recalculating of the weekend to make sure everyone else still had rides.

We also had a swim meet on Sunday for the 9-year-old that was on my calendar as a “swim team carnival” — I sort of assumed it was a drop in Halloween-themed thing…but then my husband told me it was a meet. And the 9-year-old was in several events. I also made myself available to the 17-year-old as he was filling out college apps — not low-stress!

(Though I remind myself and him that he has been admitted to one of our flagship state schools already, and any other applications are just if-he-wants-to extra. Also, the 9-year-old did really well! He is fast.)

There were multiple Halloween parties, kid get-togethers, a music lesson and such. But, before I construct a narrative that I didn’t have any time for myself this weekend, I can look back on my log and remind myself of a few highlights.

For instance, on Friday afternoon I went for a walk with a friend in a nearby nature preserve. The leaves were very pretty! I also sat on the hammock for 30 minutes reading a magazine.

On Saturday, in between rounds of this singing competition (I decided to drive us back home for a bit in between) I went for a 40-minute run in a different nearby nature preserve. Also pretty!

On Sunday, I hit up the big kids to babysit the 4-year-old while my husband was at the swim meet, and I went on a scheduled tour of the Woodmont Estate not too far from my house. This house has quite an interesting history (it’s still run by the Peace Mission Movement) and I’d never been inside, so I took the opportunity. Fascinating. Then the 17-year-old invited me to go to a pumpkin-carving party with him — one of his friend’s families was hosting, and he said parents could come too. I was flattered to be invited and had a good time.

So, still a lot of good stuff. And I worked a bit on my puzzle – which is harder than I’d planned on. The pieces are randomly shaped, meaning a straight edge doesn’t mean it’s an edge piece…ugh. Slow progress…

In other news: I collaborated with the PeachTree Virtual Assistant agency (which I have used for my VAs!) to produce a “Time management playbook.” This has lots of practical tips on organizing your time. You can download it from their website at this link. (Scroll down to the second line or so).

Photo: Fall light and flowers

In today’s episode of Best of Both Worlds, Sara McCarty, head of Run Wild My Child, shares tactics for getting outdoors together. From toys that will make your backyard more fun to things you can do in the dark, this episode is all about the outdoors for people who don’t plan to do 2-week hiking trips.

In the Q&A we tackle a question of when to buy a Halloween costume for kids…in order to avoid Halloween regret.

Please give the episode a listen! Our Patreon community will be meeting up today at noon, eastern, to discuss all things meal planning. We’d love to have you join us. If you’re reading this after noon, no worries, the meet-up will be recorded.

We flew to Bangor, Maine on Friday afternoon, rented a car and drove to Bar Harbor. We stayed at the same Yellow House Inn that kid #2 and I stayed at during our Acadia trip in June 2023 (different room though). It’s a very cute historic home and centrally located, and it has good snacks and an espresso machine guests can access 24 hours a day, so hey!

After dropping off our stuff, we got our race bibs at the local YMCA, and got dinner at a tapas place on the main street. We ate outside, which was fine at the beginning with nearby heat lamps…but was a little chilly by the end! We both crashed quite early — I guess having no kids around provides an opportunity to get caught up on sleep.

On Saturday we were a bit more ambitious. After eating breakfast at the hotel we drove over to Acadia National Park, got our pass, then parked by Sand Beach.

While a lot of Maine is past peak now, Acadia is out on the ocean and a bit more temperate, so there was a ton of fall color. And a ton of leap peepers! The place was pretty much packed. But as with a lot of national parks, once you get slightly off the main drag, it’s less crowded. We walked down along the ocean trail, then did the Gorham Mountain trail — a family favorite. We have pictures of us doing this with our two very little boys (and me 7.5 months pregnant with kid #3) in 2011. I’m not sure if hiking up steep stony paths is a recommended day-before-a-half-marathon activity, but oh well. It was pretty. We took the Bowl Trail down and looked up at the lines of people waiting to go on the Beehive climb. You have to climb up ladders on that one so on a busy day it gets to be backed-up, so that was a big no thank you from us.

I hadn’t planned on getting a Cadillac Mountain summit reservation (I hadn’t planned much of anything…) but when we got to the park, we decided to see if any were available, and lo and behold, a few still were for the middle of the day. So after our hike we drove over to the entrance and drove up. Many pretty views from up there too. We then wound up eating at lobster pounds for a late lunch and a not-so-late dinner. The latter one – C-Ray lobster – was kind of fun for being very authentic. Just a kitchen on the side of the road with a heated tent covering picnic tables. We drove up and wondered if this was the place but within a few minutes there was a line — it had one of the highest ratings on the island and my lobster roll was indeed good. And we saw a big orange moon on the horizon on the way back!

The next morning was the race. I must admit, I had a reasonable amount of anxiety over this whole thing — both the running and the logistics. Longtime readers know that I had a back issue in January that left me unable to walk for a week and I didn’t run for about 2 months. I’ve been slowly coming back but it’s a process. I worried about being cold at the start and the end. Then there was the getting around. We needed to make a flight at 3:50 p.m. out of Bangor, which is about an hour and 15 minutes from Bar Harbor. The race was a one-direction one, with the half-marathon starting in Northeast Harbor (the marathon began in Bar Harbor) and going to Southwest Harbor. The buses ran to the half marathon start from the Village Green in Bar Harbor from 6:15-7:15 a.m., with a starting time of 8:30 a.m.. Then we’d run to the finish line festival where buses started running at 12 p.m., but on a vague-ish schedule (“when they fill.”). So we really needed to be on one of the first buses to get back to Bar Harbor, and get our car, to leave the island no later than about 1:30 to be at the airport an hour before the flight.

Fortunately they had a warm place for us all to wait the hour at the half marathon start, so that was nice. The race itself was…long. I ran the whole thing but not with a ton of pep. It was a lot hillier than I’d really planned on (the route went by the coast but there are a lot of rolling hills). There were some beautiful views, especially during the first few miles along the water. But then to make the route work we wound up running a lot of the route on a fairly busy road that was open to local traffic, with only occasional views of the water. Too bad. I think the marathon route got some more views as they went through Acadia (the marathon route met up with the half-marathon route right at the 13.1 mile mark and since they started 30 minutes before us, the winners passed us a few miles in). I survived and finished, so yay for that.

We got our snacks and finishers’ medals but didn’t linger long at the finish because of the bus issue. But by hanging out at the bus stop from 11:40 a.m. or so we did indeed make the first bus. We got back to Bar Harbor and our car at approximately 12:50, so ahead of schedule. Which turned out to be a good thing as the TSA line at Bangor was nuts. In a small airport, Pre-check doesn’t always help much. But we made our flight, and made it to Philly, in time to deal with the evening, get everyone to bed and plunge back into Monday.

Anyway, I’m a bit stiff this morning, though my back is functional, which is good. I’m not thrilled with my time but I am happy I crossed the finish line. I don’t plan on running another half marathon any time soon though. Probably some 5-10ks might be more my style for a while… And hey, the leaves were pretty!

Of course, in years of being cold, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. One of my favorite is to wash my face (and hands) with hot water. At one point I identified that the reason I never wanted to wash my face at night in the winter is that I didn’t like splashing cold water on my face. But the sink gets hot water too! Same with washing my hands. No need to just tap the cold faucet (the default) if the hot one is available.

It was 38 degrees outside this morning. Sadly, this means I probably won’t be able to wear my summer flats and jeans much longer. My daughter and I were discussing this when I drove her to the bus stop the other morning. She had been eager for fall weather, but she clarified that she liked just a little coolness, not being cold. But I guess it was inevitable!

I’m not sure if I’ll get to a content round-up post later this week or not, so a few highlights: Over at Before Breakfast, I interviewed Cal Newport! I’ve been running a longer episode every Wednesday where I interview someone about their time management strategies. He really embraces October and has quite the display going on his lawn…Please give that episode a listen.

Over at Vanderhacks, the post behind the paywall this week is about “Planning fatigue is real” — but here are 7 ways to take a beat and get back on track. I also reminded people that “If others can, you can.” Other, normal people tend not to have access to some secret font of knowledge that isn’t accessible to everyone else. You can probably figure it out!

(Time for the annual question…are you Team Pumpkin or no? I like pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins, but have not embraced the PSL lifestyle or, for that matter, pumpkin beer.)

We discuss our favorite fall products and such, and then pivot to the topic of energy. A listener wrote in that she thought we (as in me + SHU) seemed very energetic and wondered why she didn’t feel so energetic. First, we needed to stress that we tend to pep ourselves up for recording, but then also empathize that this listener’s situation (often solo parenting a toddler) is tough. We share some ideas for managing energy and finding life more doable.

Please give the episode a listen! We welcome ratings and reviews. Please also consider joining the BOBW Patreon community. Next week (on 10/22) we’ll be meeting up by Zoom to discuss all things meal-planning. I know I’m looking forward to getting some new ideas. Membership is $9/month.

But months? I just don’t really consider them all that much!

It’s an interesting question why not. While various financial things are on a month-long cycle, I tend to live my life in weeks and seasons.

In any case, though, it is a new month. October has a lot of good things going on — a kid birthday celebration (yep, another one), two trips to points north where leaves will likely be seen, hopefully some pretty walks/runs/bike rides. I will be playing a supportive role for my eldest, who is deep into college applications, though we got some good news there. One of our big state universities has rolling admissions, so he got his application in early and we just heard back that he had been accepted. The upside of this is that it makes the whole process feel much less stressful. We know he can go somewhere good.

I have definitely been enjoying fall-themed magazines. Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and Southern Living all showed up recently, with their Halloween/fall content, and I am here for it. I’m probably not going to make it through any Halloween-themed books, so this is the next best thing…

In other news: In a recent Before Breakfast episode, I talked about a saying I’d heard from Kristen, The Frugal Girl, about work: “I’m here to make money, not to spend it.” The idea is to avoid letting work becoming an unintentional cost center in your life (apparently Kristen was quoting the Non-Consumer Advocate). Kristen heard the podcast and did a whole post on how to spend less on getting to/being at work. Please check it out! There’s an interesting dichotomy in the comments (which I note some in the episode too) — some folks note how silly it is to pay $$ for terrible vending machine food and the like. Others point out that going out and getting a hot meal or a really good coffee from a coffee shop makes a stressful/boring job feel a little less terrible. Both are valid. I think the key is not spending money mindlessly. When you know you’re treating yourself, it’s all good.

I guess it is officially fall now, so those might be among the last pool trips. September can sometimes be a bonus summer month, with very pleasant days, albeit cooler mornings and nights. I’ve been trying to seize these lingering days.

It was a physically active weekend for me. On Saturday morning I went and ran loops at a local nature trail. I did three loops, which came out to 8.3 (maybe 8.4) miles. I did this in 88 minutes, so that is roughly a 10:40 pace or so, which is close to what I’m hoping to do in my upcoming race. Originally I planned to do 10-plus miles, but then I found out a local trail association was doing a guided hike on Saturday that I wanted to do with them. So, after running the 8.3 miles I quick went home, got a little more coffee and food, then met the group and hiked about 4 miles on some fairly substantial hills.

It all felt pretty decent — this, my 12-plus mile morning — which is…welcome. I’m sending a reassuring message back to January Laura (who couldn’t walk) that this would be possible in September. Here’s hoping this trajectory continues. There’s also just the reality of training for a long race that as you run progressively longer long runs, the earlier long runs don’t feel quite so long. Having run 10.7 miles the previous weekend, 8.3 felt short!

On Sunday evening I went to a performance of Bach’s Musical Offering (BWV 1079) by Filament, an early music group. I enjoyed this, as I also enjoyed listening to several violin pieces as part of my daily Bach listening. As I near the end of that project, I’m pondering what my 2025 year-long project will be. We shall see.

In the meantime, here’s a sonnet called Monday Night:

The asters by the porch have bloomed, a leaf
or two falls in the blue, confetti, gold.
The dusk descends, and with it, disbelief
that summer ends. The smaller boys behold

the driveway, fading, almost hard to see.
Two little bikes go hurtling, racing time
they’ve got a favorite gnarled cherry tree
and so the older one begins to climb.

I help the younger up — their branches part,
and there, in the September sky, the moon
is full, is orange, the evening clouds just start
to tiptoe in, to genuflect, and soon

we all are silent, spellbound by the sheen
and that, what could be hidden, we have seen.

On Saturday morning I ran 10.7 miles, which was four loops around a local nature trail. I’m training for a half marathon, and theoretically if I can run that much without falling apart, I should be OK. It was sunny but not too hot — almost perfect running weather.

On Saturday afternoon, my husband, and 9-year-old and I went to a party for his class. One of his classmates’ parents hosted this “getting to know you” party at their house and the kids had a great time in the rented bouncy house.

I went shopping with my daughter at Marshalls and Target (complete with a Starbucks stop). I took my/my 17-year-old’s 13-year-old car to get serviced and it had no additional issues beyond normal maintenance.

On Sunday, I went to church and sang Olivier Messiaen’s O Sacrum Convivium — quite the lovely chromatic piece. Four out of five kids made it to church. The other child was at soccer with my husband and scored 3 goals!

Then four out of five kids (different set) went apple picking at Linvilla — we got lots of honeycrips and then went to the arts and crafts fair there.

There was a pool trip after, plus apple pie making.

So this weekend all sounds good, and the photo roll looks glowy but…everyone was just. so. whiny. And fighting a lot. Linvilla was a zoo and a lot of the apple trees were picked over. We had gone there vs. somewhere more pastoral because one child was excited about the arts and crafts fair, but then it turned out this child thought we would be making crafts (as opposed to local vendors selling their wares…). The long run did not feel good until it was over. I was constantly haranguing people to get places and I am just so over it.

Needless to say, I am grumpy about this.

But! It is before 8 a.m. on Monday and I am at my desk. I also had a very pleasant solo float in the pool Saturday late afternoon, looking up at the early fall leaves, so I’ll try to keep that as my image of this weekend (of course those leaves all land in the pool and have to be cleaned out but…).