What I Learned: October

November is here!! How??! Before we leave October behind, I wanted to begin my new reflection series on what I learned over the past month.

Emily P. Freeman, an author and blogger I enjoy reading does a what I learned post each month in which she encourages bloggers to link up and join her. The motive being for all of us to take a minute and really mull over the past thirty days before moving into the next thirty. The things you learned can range from the deeply scriptural and life-changing to simple things like a new recipe, service, or TV show that you are enjoying. The October What I Learned Link-Up is now posted on her site.

Here is my list of what I learned for October:

Fall is an actual season! As in fall isn’t leaves turning from green to brown during one hundred degree heat right before a random December ice storm…(I’m looking at you, Texas); instead the trees spread out regally here on rolling hills, a Persian carpet of a forest, rich in texture, abundant in color, together woven into a breath-taking display of autumnal beauty. This is fall in North Carolina.

99% of the time, the expectations I place on myself are greater than any other person’s expectations on me. I learn this over and over again — but marriage has definitely taught me this lesson in new ways. I feel October was particularly insightful as I am returning to work after a rather long break, and of course, I am anxious about “balancing” everything and finding a good routine. However, I have found what I am expecting from myself in this transition is one, not realistic, and two, no where near what my husband expects. There is a lot of freedom in this lesson — I just have to remember to embrace it!!

Blogging and writing take time…but I’m loving it. I’m so thankful for this season of life in which I have had time to renew my love for the written word and for the creativity that it takes to bring my thoughts to life in black and white. I always appreciate feedback, both good and ways to improve, as I do desire to grow in this area.

Candy in my house does not remain in my house for very long. I relearn this fact every October when the bag of candy I buy “for trick or treaters only” is only the first bag in a stream of bags whose content never seems to make it anywhere but my stomach. (Just me?! Anyone else with similar tales of disappearing Halloween candy!? 😉 )

We take for granted the simple things until they are gone. Being a nurse taught me this, but this month while working in a rehab setting, this truth once again gave me pause. Imagine you – healthy and strong – then one day, in an instant, you’re relearning how to walk, count to ten, and what color the sky is. You may remember your own name, but only sometimes. How quickly our whole life can change, and how much we then wish it would have stayed the same.

This last thought resonates as we begin November, to me, “the thankfulness month.” Every month really should be, but with Thanksgiving celebrated at the end of the eleventh month, this time of year just seems to remind me the most to treasure the gifts I’ve been given. One of those gifts is my health, and I don’t ever want to take it for granted.

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I would love to hear from you: what is something you learned in October?