At the Start

Wednesday.

6:14 a.m.

Farmer Boy just left for work. Sweet girl should be up any minute to get ready for her early morning class. Precious boy is tucked in and won't stir for another 45 minutes.

Autumn came yesterday. I know it was official last week but it didn't feel official until yesterday. Cool temperatures. Combines making dust in the brown corn fields. Leaves underfoot. Ready or not.

I welcomed Autumn in with a pork roast slow cooked in my cast iron Dutch oven. I seasoned it with onions,celery and carrots that swam in some chicken broth and white wine. Then, because Farmer Boy was sick on his birthday this past Saturday, I made an apple pie the Mennonite way with brown sugar and butter crumbs on top to compliment the cinnamon and nutmeg apples that were tucked into the home-made pie crust.

Welcome Autumn.

Fill my house with the smells of a birthday dinner and of cinnamon apples.

We sat around the table together. We held hands to pray and instead of words we just said, "Silent" and we all know what that meant.The Mennonite way to pray. Bow your head, close your eyes and say a blessing to yourself. Spoken words aren't always needed.

"Blessed are you. Lord our God. King of the universe and provider of a house bathed in the warmth of a birthday celebration and the togetherness of a family who get to end a day together."

After those words were thought, I squeezed Will's hand, Farmer Boy's hand and said, "Amen."

Now was the time for some spoken words.

Yesterday was Disney day at the highschool.

There was a Belle costume (from Beauty and the Beast), complete with a curly hair ponytail held together with a blue bow. She carried a basket through the hallways of school that held her Chrome book. Highschool hallways are not the French countryside of Belle's story, but what are you going to do?

There was a one-piece Minion outfit complete with a eyes and a few black hairs on the hood. I couldn't stop laughing when he came downstairs and was getting his backpack ready for school. From the back he was yellow from the tip of his head to the tip of his toes. Of course I've lost my camera and don't own a smartphone so I have no documentation of the event except for right here.

Yesterday was a bathroom to clean, a hair appointment to make, a kitchen floor to mop, emails to send and to read. It was a new job that still feels a little uncomfortable but hopeful. It was a college fair where I got to see my sweet eldest doing her thing, looking for summer internships. Again, no pictures.

Welcome Autumn.

Welcome Wednesday.

Peace out.