Letter from the editor: November is my favorite month

By Courtney Warren

It’s my favorite month of the entire year. The weather is starting to change (you can tell by the sniffling), the leaves are starting to fall, and, at our house, a little girl is preparing for her birthday. 

She will be 7 this year and so, because I can (being the editor has some perks), I’m going to tell you all about how amazing she is. 

This year has been exciting, as she truly begins to grow into herself. She still loves unicorns, and our newest development is cats. She has been begging for a cat. She graduated from swim lessons, she got a jump start on AR tests as an advanced reader, and she even got a big girl bed. 

Every single day, she surprises me with her kindness. She is kind to all things living and imaginary. There is always room at her table for you. She thinks she is the most creative person ever and “an incredible artist.” She looks at me as if I have hung the moon and fully believes her daddy can fix anything. 

November is my favorite month of the year, because it’s the month I became a mother. As the seasons changed and fall allowed the earth to go to sleep for the duration of winter, I was waking up. Waking up to a whole new person that I was forced to become. Waking up to realize I had to be better and do better and get baptized and say positive things about myself, so she heard girls saying positive things about themselves, and it’s a never ending list of the things I have to do because I know she’s watching. 

She loves to play pretend. As I watch her with dolls, unicorns, or even pirates, I know that one day all of that will be gone. She won’t want to play pretend. So the words of a favorite person come back to me during the month of November. When her own grandson, whom she raised, was celebrating a birthday, I asked “aren’t you so sad he’s growing up?” 

She answered, “Not at all. Another birthday with him is more time.” 

So, while we talk about November and all of the things we can be thankful for, I think I’m most thankful for time. I have all the time in the world to watch her grow. I have the opportunity to put my phone down and watch her dance on the track during football games, to perform all of her made up plays in the living room, to pick up all of the tiny toys that one day won’t litter my floors. 

I have the time to sit at the table and listen to her tell me about a show she watched. I have the time to help her as she learns to read tough words. I have the time to brush the knots out of her hair, because she refuses to sleep with a pillow. 

I have the time, and I just have to remember to make the time. 

Make the time to color with her. 

Make the time to swing with her. 

Make the time to build castles with her. 

Make the time to pray with her and for her. 

Because she always has time for me, I’m even more thankful for my time with her. 

Happy best month of the year, everyone.