And so it begins . . .

Got off of work early in the morning and walked out to this -- SNOW!  It was reported to expect snow sometime after midnight, and they were right.  But somehow I thought I still had a few weeks before the snow came.  I still need to get the oil changed, get the tires checked, and make sure all the fluids in the car are up to par.  Man!  Now I'm scrambling.

And so with the onslaught of snow, I did the only thing I could do.  I went to bed.  And then I woke up to All Of This!

Change in Seasons

It is going on three years that I have had ample opportunity to benefit from the green thumb of my neighbor.  She drags out her pots, soil, and seeds.  And with every passing day, slowly but surely something beautiful and wonderful appears.  This has been a pretty good year.

 Part of the reason, this has been a good year is because I had my niece, Trayse, spend her senior year with me.  It was possibly the best of times for me.  Having her with me gave such meaning and depth into my life.  With her, I had a niece, a friend, and a companion.  I loved having her with me.  I learned a lot about myself, and I learned even more about how much I love her.  When she was a baby, she didn't like me very much.  If I tried to hold her or sit next to her, she would cry, and cry, and then cry even harder.  It got to the point where I couldn't even look at her or even be around her or else she would burst out crying.  Complex, anyone?

But since those humbling beginnings, Trayse has become such a light in my life.  I love her mind, and her humor, her faith, and her love of her family. She is such an inspiration to me.  From her I have learned to express my love to others, and to feel comfortable having love expressed to me.  She is such a blessing in my life.  I'm so glad that we had those moments together.