The Feeling of Fall

We have one full week of school behind us now and we are back into the routine of things. Awana and scouting activities have resumed and last night Jenna went to the football jamboree with her friends. Add to that the unusually cool, wet weather and summer break feels like it was ages ago.

This has been an abnormally wet year. Usually by this time of the year the grass is so thin and dry I can mow the ditches in from of the house no time. This year the grass is still thick like it is in the spring and it takes the weed eater a long time to hack through it.

Steve Freeland has had a though time with his tobacco. He raises air cured tobacco varieties so he doesn't have to fire it while school is in session. (Steve is an assistant principal.) This year the moisture content is so high his tobacco is threatening to rot in the barn and he's had to fire it to dry it out. I think Steve also commented that this was the first time he has ever set tobacco out after school dismissed for the summer and got to cut it before school was back in session at the end of summer. This year's rain has affected the growing season that much.

Jenna's garden has been bountiful. We simply can't keep up with the tomatoes. Every time Jenna goes out to pick them she brings in 80-100. She and Vicki have canned several jars and plan to do more today. They made a batch of salsa one day and Vicki made the mistake of cutting up the jalapeño peppers bare handed.

Speaking of school, Nate began his last year at the elementary school. When we went to open house we remarked how strange it would be to have all three kids in the same school again next year. Nate's teacher, Ms. Kelly, seems really nice.

Ben's schedule is similar to what he had last year, though I think he somehow has more time in PE which he enjoys. He is eligible to play on the basketball team this year and I think he plans to try out.

Jenna is a sophomore now. It was only ten short years ago we were enrolling her kindergarten! This fall she is taking Advanced Biology I, Art I, World History, and Spanish I.

Jenna's driving is coming along. She drove in the interstate for the first time on my birthday and did a really good job. I don't think it was as scary as she feared it would be.

I guess my birthday is the one thing that has been a bit out of the routine. I enjoyed a day off work. After the kids went to school Vicki and I went to town for a breakfast date and to run errands. I spent the afternoon mowing which is always therapeutic for me. That evening we all (Mom included) went out to eat before Ben had Boy Scouts.

One thing that was fun today was that Kenny and Lori invited us over for lunch. Caleb Jernigan and his new bride, Binayah, were in for the weekend on their way back home to Pennsylvania from their honeymoon (they were married two weeks ago). We enjoyed good food, a pleasant visit, and the boys enjoyed a dip in the pool.

Joe