Faithfully Fit: .....for every season turn, turn, turn......

......Elsie's 5th birthday was heart warming and her celebration continues as we shimmy and shake our way to her disco party this Saturday.....there will be more to come on how she has welcomed the ripe old age of five.....

......but tonight, however; I sit down at my computer to reflect on seasons for a moment.......over the next two and a half weeks we have 7 trips planned to the city.....we will be celebrating birthdays, recognizing Christmas, and holding tradition near and dear to our hearts.....now, before I pour my love out for my NYC friends, I want to acknowledge the women who have shown our family such grace in CT......we have truly been welcomed with open arms and it has been so uplifting......I am encouraged by those we have met and know that there are new besties that will come from this quaint little town......but as a good wine needs its time, so do these friendships......

......tonight was trip one of the seven trips.......

.....and the bar has been set high......

.....shortly after arriving back to NYC and retracing old steps on familiar sidewalks, my girls were silently whispering to their friends amidst the excitement of seeing a movie together to celebrate sweet Violet's big day......two blocks over, I gathered at a round table on the upper west side with baby boys and old girlfriends.......we toasted and we laughed.....we broke bread, we shared stories, we cried, we listened, and we nodded at each other encouragingly.......and when the 90 minutes was over, I was well fed......mind, body and soul.....

....no, we don't see them daily; but the monthly visits are gratifying.......we have certainly made our fair amount of trips back since September and alternatively, we have already been fortunate enough to have had two sets of NYC visitors within one week......

.....the girls have been ecstatic about our guests and the reunions remind me of the best things about new chapters......

.....you blend a bit of the old with the new......and over time, the chapters begin to tell a story.......

.....a story that has sweet parts and sad parts; just as there is always a fair share of joy, pain, anxiety, bliss, and chaos throughout a good read.....

....there will be sickness and health, love and indifference, happiness and suffering, silence and chatter, clarity and confusion.......

.....our lives are told in seasons and for some of us, the season is welcomed and for others, we want the season to pass.....

....and for the friends that I huddled with tonight, well; they need the season to pass.....

.....so they can see hope in the break of a new day......

.....we have been fortunate that our chapter has been a good read this year.....many points in many chapters that were full of suspense and grand turning points, but a good end to an extremely action packed chapter......

....we have been blessed with a healthy home and thriving children who have rolled with many firsts......change that at times felt scary and unclear for all of us, but bestowed upon us a new way of life.....

....and as our story is unfolded, as your story also takes its course and for many of our friends who are all facing their own season; their own chapter that is filled with so many emotions.......we need to need each other.....

....a new season is coming, dear friends.....the sun is setting on fall.....and with winter, there will be rest, hibernation, self reflection, and cozy places to burrow until it's time to spring into something new.....a chapter waiting to be unfolded.....