When all is said and done, it would appear that over the past year I’ve said very little. I assure you though, much was done.
It was a year of firsts.
It marked a new beginning for Erik and me. On March 24th he and I were married. We celebrated at Peter Pratt’s Inn; just the two of us and it was lovely.
We enjoyed the marriage so much that we did it again in Canada at my Aunt and Uncle’s farm!! We were surrounded by family and friends. The Sweet Potatoes were my bridesmaids. Erik’s brother was his best man. Rain moved the dinner into the barn and it couldn’t have been sweeter. We looked out over the field while we ate and savored the evening until the mosquitoes drove us indoors.
June meant a trip to the Cape. Cassandra swam with seals!! Rebecca and Daddy walked along the shore at moonlight.
July found us at my Aunt and Uncle’s farm in Canada. A gathering of those dear and a marriage celebration was a jewel in summer’s crown.
August took us to Maine and Acadia National Park with the girls. Cool nights and campfires…summery days filled with picking wild blueberries and gathering shells by the sea. Ah, the smell and lure of the sea. Few places have a hold on me like that.
In September a trip to Petsmart found us a new little addition in the form of a second cat named Cricket. She’s three years old and sweet as cherry pie. Scooter was certain that she’d arrived to oust him from his realm but he’s cottoning up to the idea that we really can love more than one cat. Well, almost.
I nearly forgot the “junior member”. Misty is Rebecca’s hamster. Lilliputian in comparison to the cats, Misty seems to be the fiercest of them all. She’s managed to bite each of us at least once. **Note to visitors: she believes fingers to be treats.
October sped by with gusto as October tends to do. It’s a month that I typically lose. In all likelihood, I’m bewitched by the color that surrounds me. Everywhere the landscape screams in hues that demand your attention. Brilliant are the maples with their leaves of crimson and tangerine and gold. The oaks are all business. Even when the rest of the trees are flying bright banners they are the stately old gentlemen with the brown tweed. The ferns once verdant are now cinnamon.
It’s a month to celebrate the end of the summer and to relish the few warm days that are left before the cold months are upon us. There are pumpkins to carve and apples to sample fresh from the tree. October is a glad month.
Suddenly, here we are less than a week before Thanksgiving. It’s nearly time for Cassandra and me to join forces for our Lemon Meringue Pie. I delight in this new tradition with my beautiful step-daughter. We will spend the day on Long Island surrounded by Erik’s family and now my own. Nanny and Poppy will make the long journey from North Carolina to be with us all at Thanksgiving.
In the spring Nanny taught Cassandra how to knit. She’s turning into a superb knitter and I am bursting for Nanny to see her latest project!! It’s a surprise and I’m not going to spoil it here. Perhaps in the New Year I’ll share.
Over the past twelve months, Rebecca has gone from storybooks to chapter books. The transition is at the same time a source of pride and a thing bittersweet.
Erik has fast become an accomplished woodworker. He’s steadily filling our home with his own handcrafted Mission furniture. Because there is no heat in the wood shop, he is right now pushing the weather envelope to complete three tables, before the temperatures force him indoors.
There is such a sense of pride that I feel over each of them and in more ways than I can express here, I am so very thankful for all of them. The Bible says, “I thank my G-d upon every remembrance of you…” This best sums up how I feel about Erik and The Sweet Potatoes.
The last months in the year move along quickly and I find myself wondering where the year itself has gone. When I stop and pull moments out however, I see Cassandra looking grown when we visited Nanny and Poppy in the spring. I see Rebecca and Logan going inside the dog kennel while the dogs (Benny and Katie) run circles around the yard. I see my Erik building a perfect fire in Acadia and I wish that he could do that each night. I see Scooter’s face as he catches a glimpse of Cricket for the first time. I see the familiar smiles of family and friends. A million moments tucked away for the long cold months ahead; I have my own mind’s pantry filled with memories to sustain me.
Thanksgiving is a perfect day to remember all of these special times. It’s a day to look back over times spent with family and friends. It’s a day to spend with family and friends. Autumn is like that. It’s a reflection of the year. The harvest itself reminds us of what came before.
Simple Pleasures
Colors of fall
Scooter and Cricket
“…every remembrance of you”
The North Carolina Tooth Fairy
(you know who you are)
Baby Jaycee
(new baby daughter of Jasmin and Justin)
Thoughts of Christmas, just ‘round the corner
Thanksgiving turkey!!
I leave you with a poem. Kind thanks to the author.
Paradise
by Deb Brewer
The smell of winter rides within the wind
Autumn casts a spell; Nature bows to her power
Animals scurry, leaves fall slowly to the ground
Ruby gems and drops of gold crunch beneath my feet
Paradise to my soul...
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!
Love, Shelley
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