What I Learned in October

What I Learned in October || TeriLynneUnderwood.com/blog

Whew … October is over.  Traditionally, it’s my favorite month.  But this year, it is more of a blur.  I suppose that is mostly related to the season of life I’m in.  Somehow, all those years of Scott doing student ministry weren’t quite as much preparation as I thought they were for the reality of having a teenager in our home.  And so, without further fanfare, let’s get to what I learned …

Being the mom of a teenager is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  My girl is fun and witty and really a great kid.  But, whew, y’all! The hormones and the eye rolls and the attitudes — mine and hers.  Wow.

Babies are great … and I don’t want another one. We kept our 9-month-old nephew overnight last weekend. He’s a sweet baby and he was sooooo good. But when we went to bed after he went home with his parents Saturday night, we were exhausted.  But really, people, I forgot how much work a baby is. And how heavy that car seat/carrier thing is too.  I almost knocked over a display in Cracker Barrel Friday night and I’m pretty sure there’s a woman with a serious bruise from where I bumped her with the carrier.

October 2013 || TeriLynneUnderwood.com/blog

a few photos from this incredible month

Writing a 31-days series during a month that includes weekly football games, extra cheer practices to prepare for basketball season, a show choir production, several birthdays, a science project, and a big website project for a client is probably not a good idea. {Speaking of, I finished through day 21 and will be doing the last 10 days of the series throughout November.  I promise, we’ll finish!!}

Prodigal, as in the parable of the prodigal son, does not mean wandering or wayward as I had always assumed.  Prodigal means lavish.  Louie Giglio shared this at the Burning Lights tour with Chris Tomlin. Yes, I did immediately check dictionary.com to see if he was correct … and I’ve basically been contemplating this idea since we left the concert.  You can probably expect to read more about this at some point.

I’m very picky about sausage. Basically, I only like sausage patties. No links or Italian or Polish or chorizo (?) for me.

Baking is good for my soul.  In the midst of all the chaos of this month, I managed to carve out time to bake some apple bread and it really was as if someone had breathed life into me.  I need to remember this … because November and December are already looking pretty crazy on the calendar.

I have amazing friends ... the kind who celebrate with me and the ones who offer to beat up the mean people in my life, the ones who pray for my girl when she’s having a rough day, the kind who encourage me with their gracious words, and the ones who make me laugh when I start to take life too seriously.

And now as the calendar turns to November, I’m looking forward to what it will bring!

autumn leavees || Teri Lynne Underwood

What lessons did you learn in October?

 

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Comments

  1. Love it all! And looking forward to more thoughts on “prodigal.” I’ve been wrestling with my older-brother tendencies lately and need to be reminded of the “lavish” life.

  2. What I learned:
    1. Mean people are mean.
    2. I don’t have to feed into the meanness.
    3. I can protect myself if I want to.
    4. I have a crazy life with two teen girls and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon!

    • Amen to all four of those!! I told Scott the other night this is how our life looks until she graduates. We may as well decide to roll with it … and to grab those moments of stillness when we can! 🙂

  3. There are days I think that having the ‘babies’ back would ALMOST be easier than the emotions of two teen and a tween girl…..but then I realize it wouldn’t! Babies are physically draining while teens are emotionally. Hang in there Teri Lynne….it’s a bumpy ride for sure

  4. Oh, I’ve learned I need to take care of myself. Because of all that stuff … 🙂 Haven’t I learned that lesson before? Love the lessons friend, and always love “hearing your voice” as you share. Happy NOVEMBER!

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