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Transition Time

Autumn is upon us. The sun’s strength is waning; the days are shortening. I have always loved the gifts that fall brings: technicolor leaves, the briskness in the air, the return of sweatshirts and sweaters to my wardrobe. The colors: earthy brown, orange, red, gold-yellow. We begin to think of hunkering down for the coming winter. Of making soups. Of donning mittens.

Transitions have always been difficult for my children. Not the more-or-less gentle transition of summer to fall, but the transition from womb to world, from one activity to another, or from one routine to another. My preschooler is in a transition time right now, the big-girl transition of moving toward a life without naps.

We still have a “rest time” in the afternoons, after lunch, but most days there is no napping involved. I am nostalgic already for the days of two-hour naps, when the house was quiet and I could recharge. Mostly, though, I am nostalgic for what a happy kid she was post-nap. Her body still seems to need the rest, gauging by her late-afternoon propensity to meltdown at small misfortunes. And so we muddle through this transition, knowing that it is brief in the grand scheme of things.

So too autumn. Perhaps that’s why it leaves such an impression on me. Not only is it beautiful, but on account of its brevity it begs to be appreciated. “Take notice!” the scarlet leaves seem to shout. “We are here today; take in our glory, we will be gone tomorrow.”

Our children too, will not be little for long. So we are told by our elders, who know it in their bones. Kids are always in transition, really. It is the condition of childhood to be in a constant state of change. This is why parents take photos, make scrapbooks, cherish dizzying handheld video clips. It gives us something to hold on to when they have moved on to a new stage.

We like to hold on. It makes the letting go easier.

Dana Petersen Murphy is a stay-at-home-mother who lives Janesville. Dana is a community blogger and is not a part of Janesville Gazette staff. Her opinion is not necessarily that of the Janesville Gazette staff or management.