An Ode to September (not really. I don't write Odes)

  Oh, September. Just the sight of that word makes me happy. September, September. September. September brought us the end of the summer. Oh, what a summer it was. The hours and days and weeks seemed so, so long, but the season flew by. I can't quite put a finger on where the time went or accurately describe the combination of things that made it so difficult. There are a few obvious ones including (but in no way limited to) the deaths of several of Cam's close friends and family members, his Dad's stage 4 throat cancer diagnosis, Cam being gone a lot-fishing in Alaska and lots of weekends in St. George with his parents, the unfortunate resurgence of PTSD symptoms with all of the chaos, working out the kinks of a new business, difficulties and dishonesty of an employee, trying to keep life normal and moving forward for our kiddos, my sisters in London for the summer-and all the ensuing drama, my parents traveling a lot, our little family slammed with sickness, me helping my parents with odd jobs, dropping off and picking up loads of people at the airport, Jessamyn and her babes coming to stay, randomly getting a job, complete role reversals in our family with Cam becoming Mr. Mom and me headed off to teach school, the kids starting at different preschools, the ongoing debate about what education choices to make for our littles, primary calling and then getting released and becoming a relief society teacher, visiting teaching, trying to maintain our little garden, visiting grandpa while all the family is away, throwing in some swimming lessons and a family trip to Rachel's wedding in California (complete with layovers and someone being killed in the hotel room we had a bad feeling about and moved out of….so….)

  Thank Heaven for September. The craziness of the summer seems to be ebbing away a little bit at a time as the days get shorter. Mike is thankfully on the mend, full-time fathering is suiting Cam shockingly well, we're setting into routine(ish) and I'm crossing my fingers that this Autumn will be gentle to us.