I have always thought of November as the pause between October and December – where for me October and December seem crazy busy, November is different. It is a the signal to slow down, to get cozy, embrace the season for what it is. And November is that bridge between fall and winter. It is also the month of my birth, and also the month that my husband and I got married! (19 years ago this year!) He is still my very favorite person, that I want to spend all my moments with, good, bad and all the rest. And bonus, we get to have adventures with our little guy too! My other favorite person in the whole world.

This month our adventures are simple, as they usually are, just the way we like it. We like to not spread ourselves too thin, to not have so much stuff that we can’t enjoy what we have, to enjoy our every moment that we can. We plan on visiting a few nature centers, going on an owl prowl (something we do every year for years now!), baking and cooking, spending time with family. I foresee lots of soups and pie in our future… We are also joining in with the 30 Day Slowdown Childhood challenge over at Wilder Child – and frankly, it is the perfect time to do it.

We are going to learn about owls together this month, and beavers, since the full moon this month is the beaver moon. I have to say I don’t really know all that much about beavers, honestly, so I am looking forward to learning with Wyatt. We are also getting the opportunity to tour the Detroit Parade Company, something I have always wanted to do! I am a parade lover, beginning when I was a little girl and my brother and I would drink hot chocolate and watch the parade under blankets together. Now I do this with my son and husband, while my brother watches with his daughter.

As for me, I am going to a needle felting class with my stepmom one night this month, and I have my book club with my friends pretty soon too. But for the most part, I plan to be home a lot this month, playing around here with my family. I do have a goal of being done Christmas shopping by December, so we will see how I do. I do like 99% of my shopping online though, so at least I don’t need to go in a store, one of my least favorite things ever. I might not be done entirely, but I think I will have made some good headway. I want to be done so that we can really enjoy December this year, and not have to worry about too much. I started in September and I have quite the collection of gifts adding up!

I plan on enjoying November with lots of tea and cookies, movies, music, some family hikes, and cozy nights at home. Nature is getting ready for this slowdown time as well, with trees dropping their leaves to preserve their energy for the cold months ahead, animals getting snug in their burrows, other animals heading to warmer climates until spring. I love how our lives have begun to fall into these natural rhythms, this more seasonal way of life.

How about you? Any plans for the month?