The Last Day of Fall

We had a nice rain last night and when I was walking Penny this morning, my first thought was, “Ah, it’s springtime!” The rain had freshened the air, birds were chirping and bushes were blooming. The lawn maintenance crew was firing up their weedeaters and lawn mowers. It felt just like spring in the Finger Lakes. Oh, wait, check the calendar! It’s the last day of fall in Tallahassee! We haven’t even had winter yet!

What is this bush that began blooming in October and is STILL blooming in December?

It is interesting that after spending over twelve years living in the southeast, I still expect it to be cold in the evening when I go outside, no matter what time of year. And that I am still amazed when we have sunny seventy degree days during the winter. But then, that is exactly why I moved south.

Since this is the last day of Fall, that must mean that tomorrow is the first day of Winter and is also David’s birthday! He will be twenty years old! Unbelievable. He was my miracle baby, the one who seemed in a hurry to be born. Or maybe he just wanted his birthday around Halloween instead of Christmas. Either way, he was the reason for a great deal of worry and prayers twenty years ago. (Since his birthday is three days before Christmas, it is obvious that the worry and prayers worked!). Unfortunately, I do not think David has ever been in a hurry since then! He must have gotten it all out of his system before he was even born.

I do not have a current picture of David. This one was taken over a year ago.

We will be celebrating David’s birthday today with presents and dinner out. Rumor is that dinner will be a Japanese Steak House, if reservations can be made at this late date. The reason for celebrating early is that tomorrow will be a travel day, driving to Atlanta to spent the weekend with my side of the family, who is all congregating at my brother’s house in Douglasville, just west of Atlanta. Sunday afternoon will be a busy, noisy, chaotic mass of people who last saw each other when we were all at the hospital awaiting the outcome of my dad’s by-pass heart surgery. Dad is doing great and we are all looking forward to getting together! I plan to take a lot of pictures!