How many Novembers have you lived? Does the thought of November bring memories of family get-togethers centered on turkey feasts, or are they filled with chaotic recollections as the holidays loomed? Have you been organized in any of your Novembers? Are most of your November memories good ones?
If you live where there are seasons, you're lucky, because you get to enjoy the winter weather of November. November is a cozy time of year. Time for crackling fires, savory stews, homemade applesauce and roasted walnuts. It’s bundling up time, rosy cheek time and a great time to pretend you smoke because you can see your breath in the frigid air.
Mother Nature has many lessons to teach us in November. She uses this month as her reminder to us to streamline our homes. It’s her month for letting go of last year’s stuff by stripping a lot of her trees bare and putting her plants into a deep, winter coma. November reminds us to slow down, rest, and hibernate a little. She gives us longer nights and shorter days….hint, hint. She also uses November to remind us that life can be harsh sometimes, but it doesn’t last forever.
Do you remember playing in the snow as a kid? November is snowman building season and time to play outside with the kids. Of course they’ll stay out even when they’re freezing, because there’s so much fun to have! “Lettuce Bee Silly” a book I wrote for children, has a couple of poems that remind me of November as a kid. Incidentally, the best way to get a frozen kid to come in and warm up is to serve hot chocolate with marshmallows on top.
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Do you remember getting all bundled up to play in the snow as a child? My mom put so much on me, I could barely move and then I turned around and did the same thing to my kids. Here’s the other poem in the “Silly” book that reminds me of November. If you’d like a great gift for the kids in your life, this is a fun collection of poems kids like and adults do too.
Bundled Up
I’ve got two sweaters, two shirts and two pants on
I’m bundled up to play in the snow
My coat is stuffed with feathers
So I think I’m ready to go
Mom helped me with my mittens
And she helped me with my hat
She wound a scarf around my neck
Thirteen times to be exact
My snow boots are lined with some kind of fur
And I’m wearing six pairs of socks
I feel so heavy I can hardly move
Like I’m full of a bunch of rocks
It took about an hour
To cover my whole body
But now that I’m standing in the snow
I really have to go potty
This is my 74th November and when I scan through those 74 months (that’s 6 years of Novembers) I have to pause at a few of them. For one, I married my first husband in one of those Novembers (the 29th to be exact) and two days later, on our honeymoon, a drunk driver rear ended our car and I spent the next week in the hospital in critical condition. As it is with every bad thing that happens, there’s always good that comes from it. (I met my guardian angel in the hospital and had a healing.)
November 2017 is a brand new November for us all. Things have changed, people have moved in and out of our lives. Plans are different because life has moved on. This November is special and once it’s gone, you’ll never get it back. Savor it. Be easy about family get-togethers. Get lots of rest. Make this November joyful, memorable and restful!
Love,