My mother and I share this gift that some would call wishful thinking. We prefer to think of it as proof that we are in tune with mom nature and share a mutual love of cooler, less humid weather, aka FALL. When the cicadas strike up, we know that the shadows will begin to slant at the familiar angle brought on by the changing of the seasons. The beginning of the end of summer. Hoowah! Neither of us likes to sweat much, being the genteel southern ladies that we are. Floatin' in a pool with a beer can only do so much to knock the cruelty off of summer sun and humidity in the South. While the kudzu is at its' prime, we are wilting and fannin' and watching old movies on the teevee until it cools off to a respectable temperature so that we can sit on the porch. With iced tea, of course.

Back in the day, all family reunions were held in the dead heat of summer. Daddy's was always in northern Mississipi, Blue Mountain to be exact. Everybody would bring food in a cooler and as many kids as they could round up and head down there to catch up on the good old days. Mostly, I remember the pies and fried chicken. And deviled eggs! Oh yeah, and the heat in that big old house with no air. And all of them nameless faceless cousins from hither and yon. I could be wrong, and certainly am on occasion, but I do believe some of those aunts and uncles scooped up the neighborhood kids on the way out of town for the big feed. Most of 'em didn't look a bit like me.

Daddy will be 77 years old on Thursday, bless his heart. We always manage to make a birthday special in some way so we're going to Bubba's house for burgers and dogs tomorrow evening It's a tradition of ours to have a ketchup bottle on the table in most birthday pictures and I'm sure this will be no exception to that rule. Stay tuned for photographic evidence. Gift choices are always extremely difficult for this simple man who loves nothing better than critters and the outdoors. Can't give him socks and underwear 'cuz that's reserved for Christmas. I reckon I'll figure something out.

In the blink of an eye, that is how things change. I'm sure there's something biblical about that but I can't quote the verse. When I was younger, Daddy always told me that the older you get the faster time flies and that "this too, shall pass." As it turns out, he was right. As usual.

Happy birthday Billie G. You 'da man.

^j^