Dear Avery,

It is hard to believe that you are 21 today! I can remember my stint in the hospital, waiting for your arrival, like it was yesterday. Some days my memories are so fresh of you as a baby, a toddler, a child, and other days my memories are of your later childhood years, when you were growing in to a teen, and becoming a more independent person. Time has truly gone quickly, in these past 21 years, some of it I would give anything to do all over again, to change things, or to relive special moments with you.

As another human, I love and adore so many things about you, and I admire you for being yourself. You are so very smart, articulate and people genuinely like you, and that makes me so happy for you. You are very strong and determined, I have witnessed you overcome many hurdles in life, with grit and strength. You have faced many adult themes already in your young life, and while this hurts me for you, I would cut a bitch in a heartbeat to keep you from an ounce of pain, which is a bit crazy and unrealistic, but that is my love for you. I have so much faith in you and belief in you that to some people, I probably look like a “hysterical” mom, so be it, I accept that moniker, for you are worth it.

You have such a great future ahead of you, there is nothing you can’t do, can’t accomplish and can’t work through to make your life everything you want and more. And Avery, I believe that you will have the life you want and then some, that is how much I believe in you. You have such a great work ethic, a zest to learn and an endless curiosity that will keep pushing you forward, towards all of your dreams and success that you will deserve. I say all of this, but this isn’t my wish for you.

My wish for you, my sweet girl, is that you always know you are loved, wanted, and cared for. There may be differences, there might be strife, but you are loved, you are wanted, you are cared for. No matter how far away you are, we will be there. No matter where you go, we will be there. No matter how down and out you feel, we will be there to pick you up, put you on our backs and carry you. No matter Ave, no matter what. YOU are loved. YOU are wanted. YOU are cared for.

Today, I hope you celebrate you! I hope you do something nice for yourself! I hope you sit and know that you are worthy, you are loved, you are wanted, and you are cared for. I love you Manx!~Love Mom💗

Apparently no one wants to read about past lives, so don’t go looking at my last post, lol!

Bill and I watched a World War I movie last night, it was very gruesome, and seemed like an excellent retelling, in a very realistic way. Basically, 3 millions lives were lost to gain 100 yards. That is crazy. Worst, l the ending and the fate of one of the main characters really just sealed it all up. Sometimes we watch things that are so realistic, and very realistic depictions if real life happenings that it makes us stop to ponder. We are very fortunate to not have been through the same lifetime, but perhaps we were there after all?

On this Hallow’s Eve, before All Saint’s Day…during Samhain, looking through the thinning veil, who are you missing? Perhaps it is a loved one, maybe it is a former incarnation of yourself, maybe it is simply summer you are missing? Whatever the case, HAPPY HALLOWEEN WITCHES!

See you all tomorrow for the birth month of queens!!

Have you ever read The Art of War? It has many gems, valuable insight, things to ponder and it may just make you realize where you stand in this world. Bill feels that he was a fighter pilot in a former life, I was a Samurai warrior. We laugh and joke about this, laugh at ourselves, but at the end of the day, one must know war to know peace. We both choose peace.

What do you choose? Why do you choose it? What do you want your life to really look like? Mine is bucolic, pastoral, and tranquil. Drop me a line, let me know what you think about this topic, the book, or describe your ideal life!

So, did you enjoy the colors of Fall this year while they were at their peak? Are you still enjoying the pops and bursts of color, when and where you can? I know I sure am enjoying what is left of all the colors before the next season’s palette comes in to play.

If you have trees in your yard, have you been dealing with your leaves in spurts, or are you waiting for more to fall before you take the leap and deal with the majority for the season? Bill has dealt with some of our leaves and will do a second round tomorrow. I have no doubt there will be a third and final round at some point. I won’t have as many oak trees at my next house…this is what I tell myself, and Bill, lol.

Drop me a line, let me know how your foliage is falling, a little or a lot. How do you take care of the leaves on the ground, and will you have the same or less trees at your “next house”? I would love to know and to chat about it!

We have finally made it to this live show hosted at our beautiful Majestic Theatre in Downtown Chillicothe. Bill and I have been wanting to see this for years, then Covid, then cheer this season…and finally, FINALLY, things lined up and I purchased tickets last minute! So glad we are here enjoying this great music! My pictures are for fun, as I clearly need some selfie skills, but enjoy the brief videos of this fine, entertaining production, The McCartney Project!

If you have never seen The McCartney Project, you need to go!! This was such a fun evening, the crowd wasn’t too rowdy, and it was here locally. What more could you want? Oh, and yes there were beverages and snacks! 😉

Brooke cheered her last game, last Friday night. She went out the way that she chose to, but not as she had hoped. Sadly, this is the story of heartbreak in life, when things don’t go as we hoped, wished, and were lead to believe. Reality sometimes teaches you hard lessons in life, but the bright side is, you learn and you grow.

My hope for each and every one of you, is that you realize you are all worthy, wonderful, amazing people. I am proud of the young women you are becoming, and I am so impressed by your maturity beyond your years. Never let anyone make you feel less than you are, never settle for less than you deserve. Go out in to this world and make your mark, I will be cheering each and every one of you on!

Love-Erin

I woke up this morning, sweating profusely again, Bill was hot too. We opened all the windows downstairs, and the ones in our bedroom, hoping to welcome in the fall air and cool ourselves down. We noticed over the course of the next couple hours, that the air had really turned chilly, and was getting even cooler pretty quickly. At 10am, we had already shut the downstairs windows, and were practically freezing, so we shut the upstairs windows too. It had turned nippy in a fairly short amount of time, add in the misty drizzle of rain, and no sun, it looked and felt almost winter like! I believe our days of 70 plus temps is over for this year, and our luck of achieving a high of 70 is dwindling as we speak.

Tell me, do you like those warm days when you can have your windows open? Do you hate to close the windows on the chilly days, because you have to forgo the fresh air? Do you open your windows any time of year if it is nice enough? Let me know!

No, three dog nights are those super cold nights when the dogs need to pile up to stay warm. The windows are open, the thermostat reads 71…not cold at all. Which begs to answer, is this fall, is it October and almost November? Don’t get me wrong, I love warm fall days, but I feel a bit seasonally confused. Two nights in a row I woke up thinking I had wet the bed, that is how much I have been sweating at night. It may be because I put the super thick comforter on, it has been warm with the windows closed, Bill had been laying next to me, and our bedroom is the hottest in the house, always. I have been drinking a lot of water, glad to know my sweat glands are ALL working.

Anyhow, could everyone please do a “steady” rain dance? We need rain so badly, I cannot believe how dry it is. I am thankful for the beautiful fall, but man we need it to rain! So, tell me, have you been hot or cold here lately? Do you have climate control, heat, cool…or windows open? Also, did you for that rain dance??

Sonny epitomizes how we all feel some days…

Some days it is CoCo. A bit of nervous laughter.

Maybe we are more like Berrie, tolerating CoCo.

Perhaps we are like these two playing in the yard? Whatever your day is like, I hope you have at least one smile as big as Sonny’s!

Bill and I started our day by going to Lowe’s to get a fireplace gas log set. We are converting our wood fireplace in our sitting area to gas. We love this little area and I cannot wait to sit in front of the fire and warm my bones in the mornings and evenings! This lead us take a look at the changing trees we just looked at last week, which we found to be pretty much naked today! Things can change in the blink of an eye, in a week, or it may take years or a lifetime.

We drove down Caldwell Street, it was so beautiful that we parked and walked down one side, then up the other. This opened the door for Bill to bring up some concerns, which I have too, but it wasn’t long enough…

So we drove to the park, and sat on a bench to talk about some things in our lives that we need to change, want to change, or that we need to address because we will be making changes that affect others.

As we were sitting there, Brooke messaged us to pass along some information. It was all in line with our current topic, our current concerns and things in the change column.

It seems as though we have been tackling the same theme for about 20 years, and while that has been a slow process, a painful process, we finally have worked through and reached the end, only to find Brooke battling the same theme as a last surge.

It sucks to struggle, but it sucks worse to watch your kids struggle. You do all you can, help all you can, know you will take care of things the best you can, and you’ll definitely step in if necessary.

And while you are proud of the people you see your kids becoming, you acknowledge they are still not full grown adults, but need support and care from you as their parent. And that means that you let them stand on their own two feet, while assuring them that you will catch them if they trip, fall, or get knocked down. That you won’t allow another adult the ability to step on them and hold their head under water.

This is the crux of the problem. The theme. Adults that are bullies, abusive or immature, seriously need to understand that at some point, people will address the issue, kids will address the issue…and you will either recognize you are the problem, or you will blame others. And when you do, you become a bigger problem, not the person or people you accuse.

You can only coexist with others that want to coexist. There is room for us all to thrive, but everyone doesn’t want that. This provides opportunity for you to decide.

When you find the waters hostile, you can simply swim away.

Changing our view, sometimes means changing our scenery. Changing our level of peace, often means changing our interactions. We must always take the pause, to contemplate, to assess, to decide. We may need to take a stand and see where things fall, to take a lay of the land, and to possibly move on when things are not good for our peace.

What are you thinking about today? Drop me a line and let me know what’s on your mind, what is giving you peace, and how you are enjoying such a beautiful day!