What happened to Summer???

It's October. We are facing the coldest temps for the season tonight. I am not happy about this. It's too soon for such cold weather. But I do love the brilliant colors of fall. I took this picture last fall, one early morning, when I was returning from an early morning pet-sit job. The gorgeous color just radiated in the sunlight and stopped me in my tracks. I wasn't the only one either, another motorist stopped just as I finished shooting.

Fall has so many things to offer, the colors, the mild temps (usually) and the bountiful farmers' markets with so many good things to eat! I have been a gardener for years, and love when the tomatoes are warm, right out of the garden. It's like candy to me. I also grow many herbs for cooking and the plants are at full, lush growth. Apples and pears that taste like wine, sweet corn on the cob, and the pumpkins, of every size and shape and color.

But just when you can really see the fruits of your labor, you have to start thinking about cutting it all down for the winter. I have to cut the herbs to start drying. In October, the tomatoes are done, along with most other vegetables. The dried corn stalks start appearing, and gourds are everywhere. The garden has to be cleared, and the last flowers are finishing their blooming season. The color is quickly falling to the ground, if you aren't fast enough to get the pictures, you'll have to wait for next fall.

So, I'm done now, since we are expecting 20's tonight. The garden is empty, the yard art is brought in, the hose put away. The container plants are in the basement, or in the garage. The ceramic bird bath too. The yard looks naked, and forlorn. I can feel the chill in my bones, and worry about heating bills. My hubby is still getting acclimated to the coolness after the TDY in Texas, where they broke records for consecutive days over 100. In Wisconsin, we never hit 90. I hope we have an indian summer, because it doesn't feel like we had a summer here, and if we did, I was too busy to appreciate it. I promise to stop and enjoy the last of the warmth, if it deigns to visit.

Because, you know darn well what is lurking just around the corner:

Oh well, it will happen again, and again, so I guess we just suck it up and enjoy it anew. Or you could try hibernating. Hmmm, kinda like that idea, now that I have someone to hibernate with!

Be well......

A Milestone

It's my birthday today. I've crossed over into the dark side. I am no longer a "junior" American.

A Homecoming...finally!

He's finally coming home.

For how long, we don't know. There can be, at any time, another tour of duty at another base.

After a year of being gone, I wonder how it feels to be coming home, and seeing the changes in things once familiar.

I have a case of nerves about readjusting to having him home everyday. I know that other military families have the same concerns. I keep telling myself that everything will be fine, that we're adults and being older, we should be able to compensate until we "find our groove" again. I also know that I'm kidding myself.

We've only been married 28 months, and 12 of them have been while he's been "away." We barely had time to sort things out before he left, much less build a foundation to sustain and support us when, as every married couple knows, we hit those "bumps in the road" that cause friction and upset. During the brief time we had in our first year, we had the added burden of both of us being out of work. Talk about trial by fire!

On the other hand, we've been blessed that he has served stateside. I cannot imagine the uncertainty that other families have when their husband/son/father or wife/daughter/mother is serving overseas. I don't think anyone can. No movie can depict the emotional strain, the daily trials, the lost opportunities and/or the celebrations/sorrows that every family experiences and the soldier misses.

The two separate life experiences create a chasm that some cannot bridge, and the divergence becomes two roads that never meet again. Yet some couples make a new channel that creates an island, the place where that separation is allowed to rest, and they move forward, rejoining like a river, becoming stronger because of, or in spite of it.

Marriage is a promise to each other that we will work hard to bridge the chasm that sometimes opens up before us. We can either allow it to create two roads and let it separate us, or we can work at building levees and dams that will shepherd us back together, creating a stronger union.
The levees and dams are called faithfulness, love, compromise, love, integrity, love, communication, love, charity, love, hope, love....see where I'm going?

So, the separation is nearly over. One of our nightly prayers is this, "We thank you (God) and pray for each other, that we continue to grow in love and understanding, patience, kindness and forgiveness." I hope that whatever separates you from your loved one, whether distance, conflict, confusion or (fill in blank) will not create two roads, but a new channel, that you can continue to grow in love, understanding, patience, kindness and forgiveness. Nothing else in the world matters.

I love you FHB, see you tomorrow!