First October Sunday ~ Family & Poetry

The first Sunday of the month is where I highlight my poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/.

Although the first Sunday in October fills me with family. I remember when my babies were little. The energy it took bundling them up with mittens and hats that always multiplied in those moments getting out the door. As each young one pulled off a fuzzy garment piece, one after another, I patiently (and sometimes impatiently) pushed them all on again. By the time we opened the door I was overheated, peeling off my own hat and scarf, but reeling with success because I had speed and coordination on my side. We were out the door.

October meant walks in the cool breeze. It meant playing I spy something oddly round and orange on our walks through the neighborhood. And, it meant leaf collecting at the big park four blocks down. My bundled heaps would hop out of their double-stroller and run (sometimes tumbling) along the old maples. These trees had been there long before I had been born, their roots twisted just under the blanket of soil and grass, emerging in places to grab at little one’s ankles. Another benefit of bundling, the spills didn’t slow them down. Each of my babes bounced back, climbed to their feet, and continued their hunt to find the biggest, most beautiful leaf. In the end, we’d bring them all back home.

After the speedy process of unbundling, both of my hearts placed their treasured finds in the silver bowl by the fire place.

This was October.

Today my bundles are grown and quite capable of bundling themselves. Each of us still loves fall, especially the spice of leaves clinging to every tree, mementos of a time when the biggest obstacle in life was getting out the door. And getting out the door had only one destination; the down-time to scoop up the season into our laps.

Now, with work, classes, and responsibilities, time is the curious fingers pulling off each fuzzy mitten as you try to put it on. Speed may come at a slower rate, and coordination might be interrupted by age, but Autumn leaves still turn. Their colors demand glimpses from cars stuck in traffic. Their fallen nag on Sunday afternoons to be raked. Even the bare skeletons of their childhood branches pose against a blue backdrop to be noticed. Reminders it’s time to set an oddly round pumpkin onto the porch so another little one can spy it on a walk.

For me October is my bundled family. And they must be on my mind because it’s the first Sunday in October, meaning I draw your attention to my Wednesday Whims of Poetry page. There you will find a couple of poems about my family, along with other whimsies that beckon for my attention. I hope you enjoy… https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/.

Writing Advice: Fall Memories

Let the season inspire you. Look upon some fall leaves (or for my Aussie friends, think spring). Then let your mind wander to a memory. It could be a memory from your childhood, from your twenties, or from just last year. Don’t worry about how significant it is. Just write about it.

Then, after you think you are done, read it aloud. Fix any parts that aren’t working. Dot your I’s and cross your T’s. Smile as you’ve captured the memory perfectly…

AND THEN, rewrite it. Seep into each line, each sentence. How could you say it more richly? How could you bring your reader into the moment with you?

Go on, get busy. You won’t regret it.

By Celaine Charles, October 7, 2018