It's Friday, November 3rd and Joshua and I are enjoying a quiet autumn afternoon.  The rain has stopped, although the sky is still cloudy and gray.  This is just such a day that a true Oregonian—tired of blue sky and dry weather—longs for as summer draws to a close.  A day for tea and big sweaters, a time for books and snug corners, I love fall in Oregon!

     During the month of October, Eli let our employees take over keeping the store open and came home to work on the Exodus website.  My dad worked from home for a good chunk of my childhood so I had fun having Eli here all day.  We could eat breakfast whenever we wanted, enjoy snacks together, and go on walks when it was light outside.  Joshua liked having his daddy here all day too; you could see their relationship grow deeper every day.  But don't worry, Eli got plenty of work done.  He would be so focused some days that he wouldn't notice cookies, even when they were right by his elbow!  Now October is over, however, and Eli is back at Exodus.  He's having fun gabbing with customers and showing them the progress he made on the website while he was away.  The customers are glad to have him back too.  We miss him though: now when he comes through the door in the evening Joshua gets excited and reaches out to give him hugs!

     Joshua has been making maturational jumps.  He started shaking his head and when we nod back at him he just shakes it all the more!  Right now he's working on his sixth tooth, as evidenced by the runny nose and constant drooling.  And he's getting more and more daring about climbing along the furniture.  His balance is getting better.  He's so much fun to be around!

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     The rain is falling outside and the sound of the drops hitting the sodden leaves is all I hear.  Joshua is sound asleep and the house is still.

     I was curled up on the couch with my warm green afghan, a cup of Earl Gray tea, a buttered muffin, and Kenneth Grahame's The Golden Age.  It's one of those books that makes me want to run across a wide field just to feel the wind in my hair; or go traipsing through a woody valley in search of fairies or wood elves.  It makes me want to see the world through the innocent eyes of a child, when animals are not dead but only sleeping on the side of the road and waffles take a new shape every time you take another bite. 

     But time marches on and I have attained those grown-up years that used to seem so distant.  I can only hope that when Joshua comes to me bubbling over with excitement about slaying his imaginary dragons I won't brush him off and scorn his childish fantasies.  May he never see me as a stiff and colorless Olympian, who's existence is void of interest, with movements confined and slow, and who's habits are stereotyped and senseless. 

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     If you have any questions, comments, corrections, or communications,
I can be reached at "amanda at exodusbooks dot com".