Fall is Coming

I looked out the kitchen window today and realized that fall is very much on the way. It is the last day of August. The last day of summer in my mind. September is when school starts here and our office will open up again tomorrow as well. The summer is gone, along with all the activities that I was busy with. Mum and Dad's anniversary is celebrated, I've been to Russian school, I've had my vacation and renewed my visa. All my friends who left the city for summer ministry are back and settling back into routine here again.
Now, I too am looking forward to the routine of fall. The office work will settle down to a more steady, less frantic, pace. My life will settle into a bit of a routine with work at the office, small group, coffee with friends, church and hopefully some other activities like exercise and quilting too all happening on a regular basis.
It was a good summer. Busy. Stressful. Challenging. I learned a lot about myself and came out of the shell that I've so carefully built around myself from years of being sick (hence the stress, change is always stressful, even if it is for the best). I feel a little like a turtle who has poked his head out and decided that there is a lot of good in life outside his shell. There are still lots of adjustments to make, and I still need to safeguard my health, but it has been wonderful to be able to be so much more active--to actually be able to participate in life, not merely survive through it. It's been a novel journey and one that I hope to continue.