Welcome, September!

It’s hard for me to chose a favorite anything, but September is the exception. September is easily my favorite month. September not only marks the autumn equinox, but, for me, it is a month of hope.

I cheated. This is actually an October picture.

August in the South is miserable. The temperature and humidity say “hold my beer” and proceed to see just how miserable they can make us. Then, when we are at our wits’ end, September eases onto the scene and says, “I’m here. Everything is going to be okay.” There are no drastic changes, but there are glimmers of hope. We don’t get a lot of colorful leaves, but September means they do start to fall. Occasionally, we will have a day in the 80s instead of the 90s, or an evening/night that is on the cooler side. Just a few hints to let us know that change is coming. (Kenn is doing yard work today and just came in and said, “It’s hot today, but every now and then I feel a cool breeze. Fall is coming.”)

So, welcome September! It’s good to see you again.

We are family.

We have had family photos made every couple of years since our boys were young. I wanted to document the growth and changes in our family, and I also wanted the boys to have something to remember me by. When it came to candid family photos, I was always the one taking the photos; I was rarely in any of them. I once told Kenn that if anything happened to me, the boys wouldn’t remember what I looked like.

As the boys grew, our family did as well. Our first daughter-in-law joined our family photos when she and our eldest got engaged. Our youngest son’s long-term girlfriend soon joined our photos as well. As far as I’m concerned, if you date one of our sons, you’re family! When you get engaged to or marry one of our boys, you’re stuck with us for life. (Fortunately, our daughters-in-law like us, LOL.) Of course, this did make things a little awkward when our youngest son’s relationship ended on less than amiable terms. This was also about the time our eldest and his family moved to South Carolina, which made getting the whole crew together for photos a little more difficult. Until recently, our last family photos were taken in December 2019.

However, the photographer our OG daughter-in-law uses for their family photos was going to be in Atlanta the weekend of Mother’s Day 2026 and Atlanta is a good halfway point for all of us. So, we all met in Piedmont Park for an updated photo shoot.

Our family has gained several new members in the past six and a half years. The twins (the tiny people in the front row) were born in 2022. Our youngest son began a new relationship in 2020(ish) and we’re thrilled to have his now-wife as a part of our family photos for the first time. Actually, there is one family member not visible in the photos. Our youngest son and daughter-in-law (in pink/pink and blue on the right side of the picture) are expecting their first child (a girl) due in November.

I have to admit, when I first looked at this photo, I had a moment of… existential affirmation, maybe? Or maybe it was just a Bill and Ted “whoa” moment. For a moment I was just blown away by the fact that Kenn and I, the couple who’s marriage got off to such a rocky start, created this family. Now, we will literally live on in the DNA of our sons, their children, and their children for future generations innumerable. Also, I’ll be one of the people future generations are searching for when they are trying to figure out where their baby’s red hair came from, LOL.

How often do you have family photos taken?

Friday Funnies

It’s not unusual to get samples of various items in our Hello Fresh delivery. However, most samples are full-sized; I had a good giggle over this tiny container of sea salt. Of course, I had to use one of our many Golden Orb Weavers for size reference; the perspective makes the spider appear smaller than it is.

Friday Funnies

Part of spider season is needing to check vehicle doors, handles, and such for stowaways. Wednesday, Kenn and I got in the car to run errands and I checked and didn’t see any spiders. I didn’t check well enough. A couple of miles down the road, I realized there was a young Golden Orb Weaver in the web it had spun between the mirror and door. Well, now that I knew it was there, there was no way I was getting out the way I got in. I was either going to have to climb over the center console and exit via the driver’s door or Kenn was going to have to rescue me. Kenn rescued me. When we reached our destination, Kenn found a stick and relocated the spider to a bush. I married a good man.🤣