I feel like I am finally able to sit down for a moment and catch my breath after summer.  With the kids home for 10 weeks (when did our summer break get SO LONG?) and me barely keeping up with the laundry, shopping and fun, I can now look around me and observe the destruction that occurred.

I see the stains on the couches, the dust bunnies piled up in the corner. The grass stains, mud stains and I-don’t-want-to-know-what stains on the kids clothes.  The marks on the walls, the “ocean” that stuck to their runners, and general dirt on everything.

I take a breathe, have my cup of tea, and then get to work.  Walls are cleaned, couch covers removed, and floors are washed.

The smells, and sights of summer are slowly cleaned off of our home and belongings as we prepare for colder days and fall nights.

Laundry is piled up, stains are scrubbed and removed. The oxyclean gets put to the test on grass, dust and chicken foot prints and delivers in spades. Their play clothes are as good as new, even after a summer of hard wear.

As the day rolls out the house gets cleaner, and with the smell of lasagna cooking and a small fire in the fire place, we officially welcome fall.

And that’s ok. Summer with it’s greens and warmth is wonderful, but there is also a certain beauty to the quiet that fall brings.  An empty home, full belly, red wine and cozy blankets.

And way less grass stains to scrub out.