It has been one of the hottest summers on record. Some days the heat stole the breath right out of my lungs. The water from the faucet would never run cold, and the pits of my shirts could never stay dry. Still, it has been the best season of my life.
We fared much better than the crops. Growing prodigiously in size and stature and punctuating our lives with exclamation points some might consider trite. We celebrated babies, and brides, and blessings we didn't know we needed.
But the autumn is here now. The babies are getting fat, and this week I am suddenly one year older. We bid adieu to this best summer and welcomed my new year with festivities lovely enough to make me blush. I am still young, but I know my own mortality. So why not take the time to celebrate, to wonder, and to savor the sweet bits of life we are given?
There is a cool breeze blowing, and a hard winter may well follow. But tonight my sweet sleeping husband buries his head deep in my side, exhausted from work and celebration alike. I will soon join him with a prayer of gratitude in my heart for those I have gained, and those who I've lost, and the promise of what is to come.
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| my handsome husband |
