A new song for the season…

We all go through seasons in life.

Youth is a season. Raising a family is a season. Establishing a career is a season. You know what I mean. We all have them. Some of those seasons are busy and some are less so.

The past few years have been more a season of rest for me. I stepped back from working full time to concentrate on writing and tried to find work that was flexible enough to fit around My Sweet’s schedule.

I’m not going to lie to you. It was pretty great.

Switching gears…

And then something in me, some little switch in the far recesses of my brain flipped.

A couple of months ago I started feeling like I needed a little something extra to do. I wasn’t super busy at the funeral home and my brain was in a bit of a holding pattern on my writing project. So I started thinking of how I could add a little more productivity to my day. I started feeling like I should be doing more, like I should be contributing more. (It’s important to note that this was entirely me, myself, and I. My Sweet has only ever encouraged me to do what makes me happy.)

A chance opportunity to do some tutoring came up and I took it. It’s not a lot – an hour once a week with a couple of fantastic young girls. I’m enjoying it far more than I thought I would. But an hour of work a week is not really a lot so I kept looking.

I started scrolling through the job search websites and suddenly there it was! An opportunity for a casual position in a busy office with interesting work. I applied and if I’m being honest, I didn’t really think I’d get the job, but I did.

While I train, I’m working full time hours which will probably last until at least the end of January, possibly longer before the ‘casual’ part of the scheduling kicks in.

I’m still working at the funeral home as needed and I’m carrying on with the tutoring.

Seriously. What was I thinking?!

I seem to have created a busy season for myself. Again, if I’m being honest, I’ve wondered more than once what I have gotten myself into. The truth is that I have gotten used to being not busy. I would even go so far as to call the pace of my life…leisurely. Working this much…it’s an adjustment to say the least.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I did it to myself. And I’m actually kind of enjoying it – the challenge of it all. I’m exhausted at the end of the day, but it’s a good kind of tired. And it’s a season, that’s all. I won’t be this busy forever.

And in the midst of the chaos and busyness something else happened.

I got not one, but two reminders about finding peace in the fast lane.

Shooting stars and singing birds…

I was outside after getting home from work, making sure Rosie got some playtime in. It’s very much dark when I get home and while Rosie chased her ball across the darkness of the yard suddenly something caught my eye. A shooting star; something I wouldn’t have seen if I hadn’t taken the time to go play with the pup.

A bright streak flashed down the sky disappearing at the horizon. It fairly took my breath away. And most wonderfully of all, it reminded me of the last time I saw a shooting star.

Our youngest son was driving back to town when he stopped at the top of a hill in a roadside pullout to watch an amazing display of northern lights. He called me to tell me to go outside and look. I did. While we were talking about how incredible the northern lights were, a star fell and at almost the same time we both said, “Wow! Did you see that?!” It was a really amazing experience to share with him.

The second reminder came late yesterday afternoon. Again, Rosie and I were outside enjoying some playtime and as she ran to retrieve her ball this time it was a sound that caught my attention.

I usually associate birdsong with spring and early summer, but there was a chorus going on in the woods around our house. It began with a crowd of Pine Grosbeaks chirping in the tops of the aspen. The chickadees chimed in with their distinctive call. A blue jay began whistling in the spruce tree sharing one of his more melodic calls. And then a jet black raven flew overhead warbling with that peculiar ‘dribbling water’ sound they can make.

It was lovely.

It made me tip my head back and close my eyes and just listen to the unexpected feathered choir.

Surviving this season…

They were the reminders I needed that those extraordinary ordinary moments are a tonic for busyness. Such simple things had the power to take my empty cup and fill it to the brim, ready to be drunk down again.

What fills your cup when you’re running on empty? When the busyness of life has you overwhelmed what gives you relief? Have you learned the secret of ‘the pause’ and of connecting to the grounding power of nature? Or maybe you’ve got your own secret to surviving a season of busyness.

Whatever it is, use it well and use it often! And remember…seasons change…hang in there…