Gently.

My boys often wrestle the way boys can do. There’s rocking horse running, hiding and pouncing and then some good, old-fashioned wrestling on the floor. All complete with sounds like, “Errrrrrr,” or “Hmph”. When someone loses his cool and gets too aggressive, I often have to say, “Gently. Love each other.” They ignore me. But the proof is in the circumstances of the same two boys minutes later. They are wrapped around each other in a puddle, eyes shut, sleeping soundly and literally hugging each other. Maybe my “gently” worked?

Truth be told, the best thing we ever did for our sweet little kitten Dash was adopt his brother Biscuits. They are both about the same size and from the moment we brought Biscuits inside, Dash was at the door to our rescue room (aka, my office) wanting to meet his new brother. We figure they are both about the same age and they are now incredibly bonded. They sleep together, play together and are generally found within feet of each other. Maybe they’re not always gentle, but their play is truly lighthearted with crooked tails, arched backs and sideways hops.

As we head into November and the big holidays of the year, I’m reminded of what I say to the boys, “Gently. Love each other.”

Today is the first day of regular time after Daylight Savings Time ends. Today, we will take care of the large remainder of our leaves, I will preserve beets and we will turn the gardens completely fallow. Tonight, I’ll hook up my home planetarium and enjoy a little early evening night skies. My point? It’s the last day of hard work before the evening turns gentle. From here through the end of the year, it’s time to just love each other.

This year, I’ve looked forward to late fall/winter in a way I haven’t for decades. I’m ready for calm nights, sweet mornings and cheery afternoons. I’m ready for life to get and stay simple for a while. Winter is the only time of the year when we don’t have hours of outdoor projects every weekend and we aren’t out trying to hold back Mother Nature’s next disaster. It’s time for books, puzzles, winter hikes, alpine skiing, warm evening fires and fake stars projected on the ceiling. It’s time for those extra cozy kitty snuggles and for me to decorate in that way I only do at the holidays – with deep, dark colors, thick cozy throws and lots of candles. (Mind you, the battery-operated ones… asthma.)

I have truly enjoyed each part of this year. A harsh winter was smoothed with late winter getaways, then spring broke and we were able to work in the garden and truly get it set up for a successful growing season. The late spring/early summer weather was fabulous and I started taking the kitties outside for the first time in years. Mid-summer got a bit bumpy with a work gig that wasn’t quite fit for me and extreme hot then extreme rain. But September was glorious – if not busy. Two pleasure trips and lots of great weather and it set me up to enjoy fall. October has been incredibly busy with yard cleanup, but that always happens. Still, now that we are at that last big push, there is both a sense of relief and accomplishment that we did it all. We achieved professionally, we were great kitty parents and we are getting the yard cleaned up and set up for next spring in a way that honors what we have and ensures that everything is taken care of.

Our “what’s next” is the holiday season. Today, one of our local radio stations turns to all holiday music all of the time. I indulge in my guilty pleasure of Hallmark Channel Christmas movies only from November 1^st on. I’ve got a jigsaw puzzle I can get out and I need to find yet another book that will captivate my attention and allow me to enjoy some quiet hours reading.

This is our down time. These two months will feature periodical breaks from work (my husband literally has two full weeks off in the next nine weeks) and a significant break in outdoor work (there will be less than an hour’s worth of work outside after today). Inside gets one of those deep cleans before I decorate but it’s a ritual that I both enjoy and take my time with. This is what we look forward to all year and it’s the break we need to get re-energized from January and a new year full of challenges, triumphs and puzzles to solve.

But for now? I’m going gently into this season. We will love each other and give generously. We will be kind and thoughtful. We will make time for family and for conversation. We will let our minds rest and in doing so heal our souls. We will enjoy that simple peace that is sometimes elusive but comes to sit quietly beside us during the holidays. I love this season not just for its traditions and celebrations, but for the symbolism of rest that it brings. It is that time of the year when we can rest on our laurels with little guilt and lots of love.

Yard done: check.

Work achievements complete: check and checking.

Time for us: oh, check, check, CHECK!

It’s time. Be gentle.