It's been a little while, I know. There have been changes whistling around me of late, sometimes as soft and subtle as the summer breeze in my hair, at other times as stomach-churning as the cold mountain winds characteristic of the place I now call 'home.' There's nothing wrong with the latter, I must say...what comes with the harshness of Albertan chill is the chinook, the point in which the shock of brisk frostiness is calmed, soothed by a warm hug of air, melting the iciness and providing respite. And so it has been in my life...swift troughs in morale, spirit temporarily broken by hurdles that soon are uplifted by recovery as planned reaction, controlled mind succeeds in gaining control of our 'destiny'.

We now have a home. Nomads no more. It is not what I believed the Gods had in store for myself and my family this year; I resolved that 2011 would be a year of sustenance, grasping the good fortune of health and relative wealth that already sits under our belts; holding tight until it was our time to continue and climb towards the elusive 'more'.

But, alas, our clock has struck earlier than expected.

October will mark the end of a waiting period that has been suffocating for almost 2 years, the time in which it has taken us to delve into our own selves as individuals and a family unit and discover what is best, what is right for us and have the energy and courage to try and attain. October will mark the finale of a summertime full to the brim with fresh 'firsts', lasting memories of camp fires, hidden coves of sand, mountain drives and baby girls utterances. We are not yet in October, and nor do I hope to wish away a month of my life, but this introduction to another Autumn shall be welcomed by me as another swishing movement of 'firsts' and yet again I find the paralells between changes of season and life direction poignant. Big Girl will be beginning Kindergarten. Here she'll skip with new Frech songs, coming home to a new nest in a carpet of golden fallen leaves and I shall no longer be able to grab her attention with just a cuddle and the promise of a biscuit; she shall take time to relax her focus and forget the tumults of the days events. She shall be bursting with accounts of everything new, all that is just hers and no longer ours, things that I cannot comment on and nod to with a knowing smile. I simply won't be there to witness her everyday events any longer.

But, October is looming, yes it is coming closer and I am to tackle these 'firsts' with the vigour, the gusto that I'm sure the Gods truly are expecting of me. I need a focus, a plan in the midst of a whole lot of chaos that comes with change. A party is on the cards...