Huh.

I didn’t realize this until one of those memory posts showed up a few days ago on my Facebook feed, but apparently this is just something I do every November, and by “this” I mean “neglect my blog.”

At least this year I’ve managed two posts by the middle of the month, and not just one, eh? Yet, after reading last year’s post, I see that The Novembers are here for different reasons this year.

For one, I am back to teaching yoga (instead of stepping back a bit), doing just two classes a week which is probably where my class load will stay for some time because, wow, there’s just too much else going on in my days/weeks right now. But both classes are lovely and I’m happy to be back. It’s fun to see familiar faces (and new ones, too) at my Yin class on Thursdays, and starting up a Mama Yoga Prenatal series last week made my heart sing – I so love to teach that class! Back to teaching, though, means back to planning and prep which clearly take time away from writing.

So does going to classes which I’m proud to say I’ve continued to do (and I even made it to two last week!). Getting on the mat, both at the studio and at home, is just vital right now, especially because I discovered, after setting up my Return to Teaching schedule, that this month is certifiably insane in our house thanks to a flurry of extra meetings Ben has this time of year for education association negotiations.

Probably would have been wise to take that into consideration first, but I didn’t, so we’re just going to keep chugging along and maybe we’ll fly through the chaos quickly (which seems likely based on the rapid departure of the first half of this month!). But hence the need for my own yoga right now, because if I don’t keep at it, I’m going to spin myself into a hot wrapped-up-in-my-head mess.

And unlike last year, when I was writing less in November because there was less stirred up for me at the time, that’s not so much the case right now. I mean, all is not lost and awful by any means, but I’ve got work to do on easing the mom guilt (am I giving each kid the right kind/enough attention and love?) and body image blips (still no real pants wearing happening), not to mention giving my brain a break (too many heavy books lately with too much repressed trauma/date rape popping up, and I’m just not handling it well. Anyone have titles to suggest that would be of a lighter nature?).

With all of this, I seem to have found myself mid-November feeling a bit adrift. So it goes in a time of seasonal change. The wind comes and it is not just the leaves that can feel blown apart.

That is why I come back to this space, as well as others, to remind myself of what matters most. It is also worth noting that, cyclical as it may be, not even a case of The Novembers can last forever.