A much gentler version of Katrina came calling around 3AM today to announce her arrival with an all night symphony of the front porch swing banging against the house. I cannot imagine the fierceness of such a storm on the coast at category 4 level considering the minor squall that spent 12 hours inland over West Tennessee. As I lay in my bed listening to the "whomp whomp whomp" with a kitten walking on me and meowing in my ear and two dogs jumping to be let in from the storm, I listened to my daughter breathe and move quietly next to me. It's been a long time since she needed Mommy, and the timing was exquisite. I said thank you to Big Ernie and drifted off until the next *whomp*.

Meanwhile, the shadows continue their slant toward autumn and the soybeans begin to turn gold on top. The cornfields look like an oversized store display waiting for pumpkins and scarecrows to fill in the gaps. The week-long county fair, which somehow mysteriously always includes my birthday, begins on Labor Day. When Babygirl was a child, we took every piece of art she ever made and my grandmother's antiques out on the chance for a blue ribbon and a 3 dollar prize. It's been way too long since we embraced those traditions.

I think that this September, her 21st and my 50th, will be different. Faith tells me so.