Back to School

So, September is just around the corner. School is now underway for most central Arkansas students, and the highs are dropping just below 90 degress. Granted, it's not time to break out the sweaters and socks just yet, but I can feel the change of weather tingling in the air and in the ground.

Autum is my kind of season. As a consummate school nerd, I always welcomed it as the season of new notebooks and freshly-sharpened pencils. Back in my school years, it always felt like a fresh start, a clean slate, an "A" until proven less-than-perfect. This is an attitude toard Fall which, when I think of it now, is getting the issue a little bit backwards. Spring (and not Autumn) is more naturally the clean-slate season, and Fall is a time for drawing the year to a close, for harvest, for hard work in preparation for winter, for reflection, and for thanksgiving. So on this trip around the sun I want to use the rapidly-approaching Autumn season as a time in my life to cherish the memories of the past year and make way for the dormancy of winter. Though it's cliche to say so, now is the time to count our blessings and be grateful for the gifts that have been bestowed upon us.

by guldfisken on Flickr

I certainly count Ferncliff--the people AND the place--as one of my greatest blessings. Do you?

Also Known As...Papi

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The Gill family just returned from vacation in Ohio, where we enjoyed the use of a lake house for a week. I was just sorting through our vacation pics, when it occurred to me that you might like to know what time off looks like for our fearless leader. Here he is at his most chilled out (or as chilled as anyone can be with the two one-year-olds and two three-year-olds wreaking havoc).