…..it is now officially fall.  This is one of my favorite times of the year.  The weather cools (here in Texas it gets all the way down to the 90’s) and the leaves change and the squirrels get really busy and football is back! Yay!

But this year fall is going to be a little different for us here in the Cumpian household. It has now been over thirty days since we left Gracie at college to find her own way and things seem to be going well for her. She seems to have settled in well and stays very busy with classes, swim practice and friends.

To us fall has always been a time of year when the family huddles around the TV to watch football and eat snacks together. This year we’ll be down one screaming, foam- finger-waving, queso-eating, burnt-orange-wearing fan.

Here at home it seems that we have finally figured out what our positions in the family are now that there are just the three of us, and the two dogs.  Fred and Walker usually stick together and override me on what TV shows to watch and on pizza toppings and the dogs have to work a little bit harder for attention now that there is one less pair of hands around to pet them. 

The low grade anxiety that seemed to be constantly present after we drove away from Hendrix in mid-August has faded away and we have relaxed back into a routine that is surprisingly comfortable.  I think that Grace can also feel the difference in us and is more relaxed and open when we talk.  She even calls me sometimes while she’s walking between classes just to chat for a moment or sends me a text just to check in on me.

Last week I finally got up the nerve to ask her the big question.  She was telling me all about her classes and swim practice and was feeling very good about everything so I went ahead and asked her. “So, do you think you made the right choice about college?”  Without hesitation she said yes, then went on to tell me how she and her roommate had just had a conversation about this same subject the night before. They discussed how they both had a lot of second thoughts over the summer and were nervous when they got to campus to move in but now they feel so lucky to be at Hendrix and to be roommates.  They feel like they were meant to be there.
 
So, as fall begins we look ahead with anticipation about what the rest of the school year will bring for us.  Next weekend is Family Weekend at Hendrix and Fred and I will be there for it.  I’m looking forward to meeting Grace’s new friends and seeing her interact in her college environment. She has talked about so many different people and I’d like to put some faces with the names. 

I’m hoping to sit in on some classes to see how things have changed since my college experience, back in the olden days.  And we will get to see her compete in her first athletic competition of the year, an inter-squad swim meet in the new natatorium.

I’m also looking forward to seeing the change in the beautiful Hendrix campus as fall tiptoes in.

As I said earlier, fall has always been a favorite time of the year for me, a time to look ahead in anticipation and a time to look back and be thankful for the bounty that has come my way. And this year I have much to reflect on and be thankful for.

 Happy Fall!