or, as Dori would say, just keep swimming

There are a number of goals I've put in place to improve some of the familial aspects around here. September was relatively successful. Not everything slid into place, but a lot of it did. The improvements added in October have been unimpressive, however. I find myself marking off the days in anticipation of the end of the month. Why?

Maybe because October has been a catch-up month, as opposed to a brave new frontier kind of month. Everybody needs catch-up months, however. We need a moment to catch our breath, gather our senses and prepare to set off again.

This doesn't mean that the month of October has been some sort of spa visit, where I've gone in to relax. It just means the pace has slowed a little bit because of all the runny noses I've stopped to wipe in between trying to implement a new job program with the kids. In fact, some times the alluring spa visit is just a trap, inviting us to hibernate, when really what we need to do is just keep going.

Life can give you all sorts of reasons to give up, change course. Yes, sometimes the pace slows. That, however, is not an excuse to stop. It just means it'll be time to walk a little faster at the next bend in the road, after we catch our breath. Which will be easier as soon as these colds go away.