Goodbye Summer: Wild Blackberry Cobbler

Every season has good things about it but summer is the best. Cut-offs, bonfires, every spare minute at the beach or in the river, watermelon and lots and lots of sunshine. I know everybody’s talking about boots and scarves right …

National Coffee Day

Before leaving IBEX last year, each of us was asked to make a page for the team yearbook.  In an attempt to be unique and to have some guiding factor in choosing from the thousands of pictures clogging my hard drive, I made a page about coffee.

In honor of National Coffee Day yesterday (which, incidentally, fell in my birth month–which I find most appropriate) here it is.  The coffees of IBEX.  (You can click it to see the text.)

I’d write an ode to my sweet caffeinated life-stream, but then I would probably want some, and seeing as I have already had a pot today, that would not fall under the category of moderation, or wisdom.

Enjoy the last day of September.  Fall is here, friends.  I typed an exclamation point after that sentence, but then deleted it, because I actually have mixed feelings about fall.  I love summertime and sunshine, through and through.  But ah well.  Seasons come and seasons go.  Summer will come back around.

And let’s be honest.  Fall is the best time for coffee.

Fall on Campus

I consider today to be the first real day of fall on campus. There’s something sweet and poignant in the cold, fresh air that wakes me up and makes me count my blessings all over again. There’s a mellow golden glow at the edges of dusk this evening, and the trees are talking to themselves in the wind. It makes me long for home…for pumpkin patches and pies and sweet-smelling candles and changing leaves on the trees. I miss seeing all the little rubber boots thrown in a heap in the mudroom…Ruthie’s bright green ones and the funny ones with the eyeballs on them. I’ll miss seeing my brothers and sisters rushing outside like mad when the first rain comes…dancing and dancing in the raindrops until they are soaked and dizzy and drunk with the fragrant smell of the world after rain. They won’t wear coats and boots and they certainly won’t carry umbrellas during this annual celebration. They’ll go out with naked feet and soccer shorts and tank tops on probably, because that’s what they’ll happen to be wearing at the time, and they can’t be bothered with waiting for one single second for the joy before them. I know…because I used to do that too. I won’t say just how recently I stopped doing this, because that would be embarrassing. Especially since last year I ran outside in the middle of the night because it started raining. But never mind that.

And when this happens, and the rain falls and the kids go crazy, mama, because she is an angel, won’t be like most mothers. She will laugh and let them be ridiculous and stand under the rain gutters and turn somersaults in the wet grass. And when they come in, all rain-wet, and her laundry load has been tripled, and there are muddy footprints all over the house, she won’t complain. Some of the best sermons have been given to me wordlessly by my mother on the first day of rain.

Soon Halloween will be here, and there will be pumpkins at our house. Everyone will roast pumpkin seeds and eat them like candy. There will be popcorn and candy. After that will be Thanksgiving. Abby will turn one and the marriage of my parents will turn twenty. We have a lot to be thankful for.

The horses will grow out shaggy winter coats. The lawn will be covered with big, flat, obnoxious sycamore tree leaves. The days will be shorter. We will watch old TV shows. Dad and the boys will start chopping firewood and moving it near the house. Everyone will begin thinking about Christmas. There will be many forbidden places all over the house.

I miss home. My dorm room is cozy. I have lots of great friends here. We have fun. Every morning I have class. I try to go running everyday (I run by horses and think of home). The girls are all buying pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks. Last night we went and watched a football game at Alexa and Karla and Micah’s old high school. That reminded me of home too. I missed Randy and Mike running the BBQ by the Fred Austin field. You can always tell there is a game in the valley when you see the lights on at the field and the big billow of BBQ smoke too. We also went to Santa Monica on Friday night, and yesterday we went to the Glendale Galleria and the girls went shopping. Me and Lena weren’t going to spend any money…but we both did. I only spent $10 though don’t worry! These shorts were on sale at Hollister…I couldn’t resist! Now I’m wearing them even though it’s chilly because soon I won’t be able to wear them at all. I know…I’m ridiculous. Today I’m reading The Pursuit of God for a class I’m taking.  I love this book so much.  It’s beautiful.  I went to Placerita Baptist this morning.  The sermon was on Justification…it was so good.  We took communion today.  I’m sure you guys did too.  I’m so excited to go home to our church next week!  No church is like PVBC.  Santa Monica on Friday was fun.  I also went to Loyola Marymount because Brandon has some friends there.  It is such a beautiful campus, mama.  In Santa Monica we went shopping and we went on the pier.  I do not like cities, but I like Santa Monica.  It is one of the very very very few cities that I love.  People were catching fish on the pier and the ferris wheel was making a bright-colored path in the water that I wanted to swim in.  The ocean was huge and heaving beneath us and there were city lights everywhere.  But I missed our coasts where there are no city lights…but you can see every star in the sky.  There was lots of fun shops on 3rd Street.  I wanted to buy clothes at Urban Outfitters.  I need some new clothes, unfortunately.  It’s getting cold here.

So things are good here.  But I miss all of you so much.  I’m so excited to see you on Wednesday.  I can hardly wait.  I love you all very much.  Here’s an “xo” for each one of you.  Enjoy the valley and enjoy the fall.  Will you call me when the first rain comes?  I’ll see you soon.