It's that time of year again. The seasons change. Trees are turning. There's also this thing that comes up that's called a birthday. There are a lot of happenings going on. Even though it doesn't quite trump my preference for the Spring, it's a delightful time to be alive, and to be reminded of life.
We've approached that time of year when--thank goodness--the heat is finally dissipating. This year the heat was intolerable. Several days of 100+ temperatures was too much, but I survived! I'm a survivor! Yay! That goes for my little experimental tomato plant, too. It got so close to dying from that heat. It was sad, but to this day it's still trying to live, and it finally grew a few tomatoes. I said at the beginning I'll consider it a success if I get to eat one tomato off of it. So far, I've eaten three, and there's another ripening, so it's happened. So my tomato plant and I survived the heat we both didn't like, and we're moving forward. I went to the mountains over the weekend for a break from home (it's been almost three months since the last time, and at that time it was a five month gap). It was super windy, but the wind was cool. Mountain air is awesome. It was whipping and messing my hair all over the place, but I didn't care. It felt so good! It enlivened me like nature does. The colors were minimal, because the places were victims of fires from the past several years, but it was still an amazing sight. I was thinking while I looked at the dead trees that it was still a beautiful sight to see them standing there with their scorch marks--a sort of different type of beauty--and it was pointed out to me that the burned areas actually allowed us to see the view that those trees once covered.
Having a birthday during this time of year was always awesome. Sometimes the fall foliage in the mountains peak at the same time, and it's always one of my most favorite things to do. The event has always brought back to my mind a reminder of life and the precious thing that it is. It's a time where not only do I celebrate the turning of the leaves, but I'm given the opportunity to contemplate people and events in my life that have shaped me in the best or worst ways. It's a memory of past birthday parties with family, and--perhaps not as fond of a memory--the news that one influential woman in my life passed away that day from cancer. It's a moment to step aside and feel grateful for every single person I've met, whether we remember each other or not. I'm thankful for it all. One year older doesn't matter as much as the good people out there who helped me in one way or another...or taught me a lesson. Whatever works. Life is good.
I don't get to dress up quite as often now, so I decided to for the birthday celebrations. Using one of my best colors for a great day of celebrations:
