The Good Things of Autumn
The surprising good thing of our new puppy, fantastic music, the reels I sent to my friends, good reads, the cookie recipe my kids loved, capitalism corner (AKA things I spent money on), and even more
Hi friends,
Happy Thanksgiving from your emotional support Canadian! I was all prepared to open this note to you with a rhapsodic ode to autumn but… it snowed. That’s right. We were blanketed with our first autumn snow - the one that comes to remind you who is really in charge around here and to never get too attached to any sort of weather and also God laughs at your plans. It will, of course, melt by later today but still: message was received. Winter is coming.
Still, in the spirit of the day, please allow me the moment of earnestness to tell you how grateful I am that you are here, helping to co-create one of the kindest comment sections on Al Gore’s Internet (do kids today even know that joke??), and reminding me that in a sea of noise a quiet little oasis like this can exist for all of us. It means the world to me that you trust me with your embattled inbox, your tender and resilient heart in this difficult age, and your precious time. I never take any of that for granted. It is always one of the great honours of my life to be alongside you in this small way every single week and I hope you know that I’m grateful.
It’s been a rather busy autumn here and a complicated one with a province-wide teacher’s strike currently underway (teachers, we are with you!) all while my own major work deadlines are converging at the exact same moment, lots of family commitments between the six of us, one kid in grade twelve with university applications underway, and so much more.
Plus, well, we got a dog. (Yes, we are nuts.)
But in good news, I have decided on my Halloween costume, so clearly my priorities are in the right place! (I haven’t been this excited about a Halloween costume since Brian and I dressed up as Sookie and Jackson from Gilmore Girls eight years ago.) Stay tuned! My fellow readers will like this one.
Let’s Talk About Allllll the Good Things Today
Since I’m still in my jammies with a huge mug of coffee beside me while Lucy sleeps on my feet, I figured this was a good week for us to chat about our mutual autumnal good things together, snow be darned.
For the uninitiated, once a quarter or so, we take a little break from all *that* out there to talk about the small - or maybe not-so-small - things which are bringing a bit of goodness to us.1
For me right now that includes a few good recipes including a cookie that my eldest daughter said was “the best thing she has ever eaten,” an album with songwriting that makes me feel like I just got an MFA in poetry, my current indulgent but beloved hand cream, a book tote that has us humming about banned books, the Substack reads I thought were worth a scroll because holy WOW there is some great writing happening around here, a few - mostly funny - reels that I sent to my friends (I’m old, I don’t do the TikToks), what’s on my knitting needles, and even more good things.
Then, of course, you get to share your own good things in the comments.
And just as a reminder, this is a sponsored-content-free zone because I’m nobody’s influencer.2 These are things I genuinely experienced myself organically and/or paid for myself, so I feel good talking about them with you.
📖 A Good Line Worth Holding Onto
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts of by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone one Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.”
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, A Letter to a Young Activist
Our New Family Good Thing (Most of the Time)
At the beginning of August, we added a new member to the family.
Field Notes, meet Lucy, our brand new golden retriever!
We’ve talked about a family dog for a long time but it was never quite the right time for many different factors. But the stars aligned at last and we made the dreams of at least three of the four kids and a particular husband all come true. The remaining ones, including the old cats Amy and Rory and old Mum, are coming around.
Named jointly after Lucy Pevensie and L.M. Montgomery, our Lucy is a truly sweet dog with a very calm, quiet, and gentle temperament, which is exactly what we hoped for when we were researching what kind of dog would best suit our higher family needs/dynamics. But she’s, you know, also a baby dog. So sleep has been sporadic, leash walking is taking time, the adults are exhausted and occasionally wondering if we made a terrible mistake. However! she did house train very quickly and has devoted herself to us all, becoming part of the family already and is all around a lovely poochie. It has been an odd thing to adjust to the velcro-nature of a dog after years of independent cats though…see the aforementioned “sleeping on my feet.”
One mighty good thing that having a dog has done is introduce us to pretty much everyone in the neighbourhood. It’s been slow going to meet neighbours (one part polite Canadians minding their business, one part I’m an introvert who is happiest under the radar) but I tell you what, take a puppy for a walk and suddenly we are surrounded by new friends. People literally run out of their houses to see her and pet her and chat. I have talked more to my neighbours in the past two months than in four years previous. Dogs = instant neighbour-making. Who knew?
📚 Reading
For my fellow bookworms, our latest Book Corner is right here with all my favourite recent reads - some great ones for the autumn in there! - or this special feature on my fave book of the fall, Awake by Jen Hatmaker. We’re having a great chat in the comments about books there, too!
