Long time gone....

The morning temperatures are turning colder as fall sets in. This morning it was 33 degrees. I so love the cooler temperatures. The days are getting shorter. The leaves are turning and falling.

As I straightened our bedroom before heading downstairs to greet the day, my eyes fell on a pretty blue and white floral tea cup and saucer that made its home on the dresser. Annah went to London this past January and it was my gift from her. It was fun to FaceTime with her as she showed me the many patterns (sooo many to choose from!) and I picked the pretty blue and white floral one. 

I hadn't actually used the cup but rather I looked at it sitting pretty on the dresser. This morning as I looked at it I thought, "Why are you sitting up here on my dresser? I'm bringing you downstairs where you can be useful and bring a smile!" So down we went. The first thing I did was fill my little cup with hot chocolate and took myself out on the patio to sit and enjoy the start of a beautiful day.  

There I sat enjoying the warming of the sun, listening to the birds trills and caws, and watched leaves falling as if in slow motion, from the trees. Then I spotted the last flower of fall from my fading Clematis. With all the other flowers long gone, this beauty decided to show up to be the last lingering bloom before sleeping again till spring. 

And then there was the last of the tomatoes that I decided to grow on a whim in the summer. I planted them in pots and enjoyed an abundance of cherry tomatoes (and a few peppers). Only a few remain and then their job is done. 

Sitting outside this morning stirred in me the thought to begin my blog again. It has been a long, long time since I have published on my blog. It's been so long that sometimes I had forgotten that I used to blog pretty regularly but then I didn't. 

Life has taken us on some beautiful (and some bumpy) rides over the months that I've been away but I decided, in honor of fall, I would turn over a new leaf. :) I can't promise how often I will write but I wanted to jump back in. 

A quick catch up on things that have happened but I didn't write about....

Annah graduated high school (May 2018)

                              One week later Abigail & Daniel were married!

Two weeks after the wedding we took Annah to Brooklyn, NY where she is attending Brooklyn College. *Side note: she ended up taking a gap year so that by living there for a year she became of resident of New York state. Because she was accepted into the Macaulay Honors program, tuition is free for residents so by waiting she didn't have to take out student loans. During her gap year she worked and did some traveling.

While in New York we were able to go upstate and visit with my sister and my brother and his wife. It was a quick visit but it was so good to see them and laugh with them again! 

Leaving Annah in Brooklyn that day was sooo hard. Tim and I were crying and Annah was too. She choked out the words "Thank you for letting me follow my dream." That officially broke my heart right there on that Brooklyn sidewalk. 

As we drove away I told Tim that if she calls and says she wants to go home, we are turning around and going right back to get her! 

Minutes later a text message came to my phone. It was Annah. She sent a picture of a beautiful view from a nearby park. It was then that I knew she not only was going to stay, but that she was going to be okay. The only question left was would *I*? 

*Spoiler alert: In time I was and most days I still am. 

After the graduation, the wedding and the trip back to New York, we finally settled in at home and took a deep breath. 

Then four days later I had a hip replacement. 

Yup, can't make this stuff up. By the time of my replacement, my hip was pretty bad. I was on crutches full time for the graduation, wedding, and the trip to New York. But man did I book it on those crutches not to miss the subway!!!  We got on just in time to find standing room only (not uncommon). A nice soul offered their seat since they saw I was on crutches. Well, the subway train lurched as it started to go just as I was letting go of the pole to make my way to the seat that had been offered. That landed me on the person that I would be sitting next to!!!  Ugh -- talk about embarrassing! 

Six months later, the day after Christmas 2018, I had my other hip replaced. It wasn't planned to be 6 months later but it got bad in a hurry. 

Six months after that hip replacement, I had a knee replaced. 

Yes, 3 joints an span of a year and a half. So far I am holding my own with my good knee! 

So life moved on and while some of it was rough terrain, even rough terrain has it's beautiful moments. It's those moments that keep me going.