It’s time for a quiet November

I think after the week we’ve all been through, collectively, it’s time for a deep breath moment of calm, no? Man, the past seven days have been rough, haven’t they? No matter who you voted for, we’ve been through the ringer. Raise your hand if you spent the week consuming every news site available, hitting refresh like a hamster who gets a treat each time, and getting very little work done. It’s not just me, then? Didn’t think so.

But hey, it’s a new week, right? And we’re deeply into autumn, and it feels soooo good. Stews, sweaters, apple spice candles, and Jim Brickman holiday piano music are all making appearances around these parts, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve always loved November because it’s a month to just be still, and enjoy the peace of falling leaves. September is busy with back to school activities. It’s still warm in Halloween, and I’m still in getting-into-routine mode, and then there’s Halloween. December is all about the holidays. But November? November is just quiet. You cook a big meal and score some deals at the end of it, but the rest of the month is just quiet. So very quiet.

Here in Andalucia the rains come back. The images of autumn around here are olive trees bursting with their harvest, and the juxtaposition of fresh grass after the dry summer with the changing and falling leaves. People burn their yard waste at this time of year, and on days when rain is expected our entire valley smells of smoky pine as the summer’s pile of branches and old leaves smolder. We get the first heavy rainstorms of the season, bringing green back to the hillsides. And we get our annual delivery of firewood, and get the fire going in the living room.

It’s a time for nesting and building dens, which is appropriate considering Andalucia just announced new restrictions to deal with coronavirus. All towns are closed, which means you can’t leave your town or enter a different one without a justifiable reason. All non-essential activities end at 6pm. And the curfew is in place from 10pm. Hopefully this will contain it and things won’t get worse, but I’m not holding my breath. The original state of alarm back in March was just for 2 weeks, and it went on for over 2 months, so honestly, I’m planning on this being the new normal until at least February. Maybe I’ll be wrong, and I hope I am, but I’m not betting on it. Which means I’ll be doing Christmas shopping online this year, and we might not have a turkey at Thanksgiving since I won’t be able to get to Costco in Seville. But we’ll be together, and there will be hugs, and pumpkin, and that’s the most important thing.

That’s the other thing I love about November. It’s an entire month devoted to gratitude, and novel writing (I’m getting a late start this year!). What wonderful ways to build up our spirit after the hellish past few months – going inward and creating with a grateful spirit.