Ease & Effort

Instead of peepers and breezy swishes through the palms, sounds of Interstate 95 traffic, sirens and honking horns has become our background music. Concrete sidewalks, stop lights and train tracks scaffold our paths instead of frangipani and flamboyant trees. The small city energy of New Haven succumbs to both the balmy and crispy weather of September where blue skies and golden light can call for sweaters or flip flops. Dave, Elsa and I engage with this city's diverse community, flavors and architecture as we walk almost everywhere, finding local coffee shops owned by Italians and Nigerians, gorgeous upscale restaurants with chefs from France and Hungary, and an omakase serving sushi restaurant at a hole in the wall on Orange Street. "At our finger tips" is the phrase that comes to mind when describing what the last month has felt like.

In Wooster Park, I sit on benches and watch dogs with their masters consider chasing the many squirrels, parents and their snuggly swaddled babies traipse through the paths between the grass under the still green leaves of centuries old trees. Along Whitney Avenue I run by majestic homes from other eras and on the Farmington Heritage Trail I pass Yale dorms as I get passed by ROTC cadets. Famous Sally's Pizza is around the corner, while Indian, Ethiopian, Moroccan and Korean restaurants are just a little further up the street. Friends have come in for early dinners, oohing and awing at the vibe we've found ourselves in the middle of, a college/foodie town with so much to discover. Just today a friend met me for lunch and a visit to Yale's Center for British Art and we were transported to the cliffs of England's coast and then the fancy clothing of the aristocracy.

Yet, it's Harry and his football games that we've anchored ourselves to and it's been fun to create impromptu routines around our reason for being here. Last Saturday we traveled to Exeter, NH with other die hard parents, arriving with rice crispy treats for the players and cowbells for the parents. The game was exciting to watch, our cheers and bell ringing enduring, as we sat under a high cloud covered sky and kept warm with cozy fleeces and blankets. After a Choate win! the team and parents headed towards the tailgate with a happy glow. As we pulled up to our designated spot, 31 pizzas were carried out of a stacked-to-the-brim SUV. I don't know what impressed me more, the sheer physics of it all or the amount of food those boys could eat. Parents who hadn't seen each other since last season gave hugs and caught up with each other's news. We joined their circles and shared our tale of missing most of the games over the years past and choosing to be here for Harry's last season. We met parents who drove from as far as New Jersey and Canada, their support palpable with wide smiles and off to the side check-ins since most hadn't seen their sons since they dropped them off for the school year at the end of August. The scene was so heartening, sweaty boys wearing matching team track suits holding plates stacked with slices in the thralls of parents simply happy to have a few moments with their boys before the long drive back home.

Almost a month in, I know the hustle bustle of this last season will only continue as we weave ourselves between Harry's games and seeing family and friends. While I wish I could say I paused for a moment on Tuesday's Fall Equinox to celebrate light's and dark's day of balance, I was too busy taking a train to Westport and walking from the station to town, a foreigner in a familiar suburban land with everyone buzzing past me in their cars. I hope to meditate for Saturday's full moon in Aries, a transit bound to be charged with dreaming big and eventually taking action. Either way, meditation or non-stop motion, there's a sense of a bountiful late harvest being reaped that will soon need to be stored for the winter months, a savoring of the melee and abundant togetherness.

To think I have a part in a Friday Night Lights season, watching the grit, grind and joy of the game play out on the field for a few hours, and knowing the drama off the field plays out as Harry manages classes, SATs, ROTC and college applications for the majority of his days. He's got his own whirlwind of activity, his own path to focus on. And I get to be the witness to the romance and reality of his sport and other responsibilities, holding my breath in awe at his vigor and resourcefulness, giving words of encouragement as I stand by (and deliver as many Trader Joe's burritos and egg cups as he'll let me).

Even though Dave and I have found ourselves in a slipstream, a current that's boosted our activity, curiosity and saying "yes!" to things at our finger tips, I do find myself missing the burning red of the Flamboyant trees, the stillness of Caribbean Sea, my home and the friends I haven't seen in months. I remind myself that home waits for us and the season will change. I know my heart is content in the now, leaning into the effort of navigating busy buzzing days, and, soon come, I will enjoy the ease when the next season arrives.

Wishing you perseverance, patience and glee in this vortex of Fall's activity,

St. Sunshine