winter is here!

Monday was my older son's birthday. He turned 17. It's hard to believe that this is the age he will be when he graduates high school and begins college! It always puts me in awe when I think that this wonderful young man, with all of his intelligence and his gentleness and determination was once a tiny little being growing underneath my heart. We had a good day on Monday. We had a nice dinner (I made him four cheese biscuits - we loves fresh baking) and we gave him books and music and a new video game for the Gamecube.

Now that my long weekend is over, I am feeling rather blue, though that might also be due to the weather.

Winter has snuck in over the last couple of weeks. I told the kids on the day we were up in Holt that the season was turning. Yesterday we had torrential rain for hours and hours, and the winds were roaring so loudly all night it was hard to fall asleep. I made the mistake of driving home on the freeway instead of the country roads, and the winds were so strong they blew the semitruck in front on me into the next lane. Of course, my Jeep was also all over the road. But I made it home safe and sound, and we didn't have any trees come down in the yard, and we did not lose our power. Nor did we have a tornado, as happened one county to the south!

I finished watching Sex and the City this morning. I have been slowly working my way through the dvd's for at least a couple of months now. While I know some people wouldn't be able to deal with the nudity and language (and its certainly nothing you want to watch while the kids are at home), I hugely enjoyed it. It tells the story of four women friends in New York City and how they learn to love. One has to get over the illusion that "perfection" is the same thing as love. She thinks that love is having everything perfect - good looking rich husband, perfect white wedding, perfect apartment, etc. One has to get over the illusion that grand romantic gestures mean love. One has to get over the illusion that great sex is the same as love. One simply has to get over her own fear of emotional intimacy and rejection. What do the girls (and their mates) learn? Love is what you have when you find the person who will stand by you through anything. Love is the person you can laugh with. Love has nothing whatsoever to do with physical looks or profession. Love is the person who celebrates your success, as much as his/her own. Love is forgiving. Love is giving extra chances. Love is when someone accepts you as you are - warts, extra pounds, too much or too little hair, and all.