Today was a gray day

Fall has come to Maine quick and without looking back or apology has changed the days from sunny warm beach days to foggy gray breezy days.  Here it's already sweater weather and rain boots are a must.  The nights already have the nip that have us wearing sweat pants under blankets on the couch and requesting hot chocolate and marshmallows while we watch our favorite shows.  I turned on my heater for the first time last night and settled under the cover of my down blanket to get warm.

This morning it was sunny but still cold.  We walked to the market to pick up our weekly groceries and so my children could spend their allowance and it was the perfect weather for a light coat and a long walk.

The evening fog has already started to settle in here at about 3:00 in the afternoon but I realized something as I watched it come over the ocean to my front door...we will be having soup for dinner.

Well that and something else.  

I like the gray day.  It makes me feel guilt free for spending the day inside.   While I am inside  I can bake.  Today it was the kids' favorite, chocolate chip muffins.  I like how the oven warms the house and fills it with the sweet smell of something yummy.  I like having an excuse to sit on the couch and read a magazine with my feet up for at least 20 minutes while the baking is happening.  I like the less chaotic atmosphere of a lazy day that seem to be brought about by fog and chilly weather.

The house is quieter.  The animals less hyper.  The children more content.  The mom more relaxed all under the aroma of chocolate chip muffins!

I have been warned about these gray days by many people, saying they have a tendency to bring on bouts of depression.  And although I can see where they are coming from I like the effect they have on my family.

Tonight we will snuggle in for some potato soup, some sweat pants and warm blankets and a good movie together, and for the first time since we got here, we will have some relaxing family time that doesn't involve leaving the house or breaking the bank.

Today has brought my family some peace and for that I say bring on the gray days and let all gray days be days like today.