Birthday

The morning of my birthday dawned cool and foggy. The day before had been the first day under 90 degrees in a month, so we had slept with the windows open. After such a long stretch of running the air conditioning to cope with the humid, high temps (many of them triple digit) I was not accustomed to the night noises of our new place. I took a very long time to drift off to sleep, and I woke many times in the night. 

First I was awakened by what sounded like a scream. Maybe it was a bobcat, fox, or mountain lion. Maybe it was a deer that had become "dinner" because I was later roused by a pack of coyotes that yipped, yapped, and howled for about 45 minutes. At about 3 in the morning I was disturbed by what sounded like a drag race on the distant highway. You get the idea. So I was up with the neighbor's rooster that started crowing at 5:45.

My husband had been gone for business the majority of the previous 2 weeks. And he hit the ground running on the backlog of work when he returned. So we were out of groceries, as I had not managed to pull off a full run with my 4 kids in tow yet. I quietly got dressed and headed out for some staples. This is what I was met with.

The cool morning was refreshing. Bullfrogs were croaking in the pond. Crickets were creaking their tired songs. Birds were greeting the light of a new day with enthusiasm.  Rabbits scampered off the driveway and road. A raccoon scurried across the blacktop to get out of the way of my vehicle. Cows lowed and lumbered along the fence.

The town was shrouded in fog. The streets were empty. The farmer's market wasn't even beginning to set up yet. So it was me at the store with a couple of frowzy headed, bleary eyed teenagers.

I came home and made whole wheat coconut waffles served with fresh fruit and pineapple juice. It was nice to have the family together for breakfast again. It was a good start to a birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, in another 6 months or so, my family will celebrate another birthday, God willing. I'm 12 weeks along now, and due to give birth on the last day of January. Anyone who knows me knows that I deliver chronically late, though. So realistically I'll probably make an announcement sometime during the second week in February.