The Start of Autumn Brings Happiness

I have to admit that summer was a bit of a kick in the butt with the killer humidity. I can’t complain too much as I definitely prefer the heat of summer over the cold of winter. But now that summer has just about faded away and autumn has arrived, I am finding this to be my absolute fave season. The mornings are cooler, perfect for an early morning run by myself, or a late morning run with mini-me.

Now that the kids aren’t melting from the heat when we hit the playground, we are finding ourselves out and about more than we were in summer. Rather than needing to escape inside to air conditioning, we are reveling in the perfect mix of sunshine and cool breezes.

I can’t believe my first born turns 5 tomorrow! I still think of him as my baby boy, but clearly he’s not really a ‘baby’. Though he’s had nanies and been to preschool in the past, this year he started kindergarten. We’ve all been filled with a range of emotions about his start at the BIG school. He would be leaving behind a preschool he was just getting accustomed to and having to make new friends…again.

Their were many reasons that we decided to change to this public school. Mot least of the reasons being that it is within a stone’s throw from our house. I remember starting at a new school for grade 1. I was difficult. Of course I managed, but everyone knew each other from kindergarten, and I had to break into bonds that had already been formed the year before.

It has been less than a month since Preston’s start at Kindergarten and he is happy. Really happy. He still talks about his old school sometimes, but that’s okay. We don’t want him to forget the experiences he had there – in fact we hope to keep in touch. But, he is adjusting very nicely and everything we predicted is coming true. Within days he was excited by his new friendships and shortly thereafter even discovered he had classroom friends that live on our street and around the corner. The silly photos we took on his first day seem so far away. He was anxious and a little unsure, so we hammed it up to lighten the mood.

It has been a crazy year for our little family and Preston has been in the loop every step of the way, yet he hasn’t really had a say as such. So, I’m happy that this little boy – who moved from Christchurch, New Zealand just before the devastating earthquakes started, then less than a year later moved from Auckland, New Zealand with his Dad and pregnant Mama to an in between place in Manhattan, waiting for me to give birth before we moved to our permanent digs here in Brooklyn – is happy, healthy and best of all a funny little independent dude thanks to his many experiences traveling.

How’s Autumn shaping up for you and yours?