This week, I heard a content creator talk about how celebrations and events help us to slow time down.
Having just celebrated the autumn season with our inaugural Fall Festival, this point really resonated with me.
I was inspired to host a small celebration this October about a month and a half ago as I trekked through the woods in our backyard to admire the handiwork of my three sons. They had been hard at work at the end of summer clearing brush and creating “shops” among the fallen trees and the creek that runs through our property.
I was truly impressed by their work and creativity, and I was struck with the feeling of bittersweetness. My oldest son will be eleven this March, and I know that the days of his imaginative play will quickly be a memory. My middle son also suggested recently that he might not need our backyard “construction site” anymore, and my heart wept. (After I helped remove some of the weeds that were overrunning their space, he shifted gears and has since spent a ton of time building in this area again).
Meanwhile, my youngest child is about to be six months old, but it feels like she was born yesterday. Or really that I was pregnant yesterday.
Time truly flies, but it is also an odd concept. Somehow the days can feel so very long while the years zip past.
And while I tell my kids often that “time flies when you’re having fun” (as they inevitably complain anytime an activity or party comes to an end), I do find that the celebration itself helps to mark time and allows us to slow down and spend quality time with the ones we love.
Joy and Robyn helped make this relatively spontaneous celebration truly special though since all great events feature delicious food. Joy made beef chili (my sons’ favorite) and a festive fall salad with squash, cranberries, and goat cheese, and Robyn made her fan favorite lasagna soup and some baked goodies to round out the spread.
Added to my vegan chili, cornbread, and apple bar, we had a feast!
