Mmmmm...Autumn!

Do you know about those glorious days in Portland? The ones where there is a light breeze, the sun is gentle, white clouds scud across the skies and you feel like taking a walk on the Waterfront or going for a jaunt down Hawthorne -- those days that are so fleeting that you have to grab them when they come, quit work, rearrange schedules and take advantage of every golden moment...

We get those here in Texas. Except that we get about 3 months worth of them in the fall, and another 3 months in the spring. I've got to brag because everyone knows that everything is BIGGER in Texas. So, our golden days are bigger, longer, whatever you might want to call them, and because of them, we forgive the six weeks of unbearable heat that we suffer every summer.

Like today. A long yawn, and we were up at 8:00am, stretched our way to church and then back home via Target, Toys-R-Us and Starbucks. The girls curled up on the couch and read books until a sunbeam made them squint, and then it was shoes and a clamorous rush for the back door. Squeals of laughter followed their jaunt across the yard to play with the lamb and the slide and the swing. It made me wish that I didn't have lessons to teach and dinner to make.

Then one of those ideas came to mind that made the impossible, well, possible. We managed to stretch time so that a walk, a park, and a picnic dinner all fit into a very short hour and a half. All of that accompanied by soft breezes, laughter, running, skipping and talking. It prepped me for lessons, lessons, lessons. A few long goodbyes and it was time for wet, snuggly kisses of freshly laundered children and bedtime.

Yes, we have days like that. Days when a carnival is a tempting treat not a cold, miserable idea. Days that start out with a fresh, crisp breeze and finish like warm chocolate cake. Days where Popsicles melt in the mouth not in the hand. Yes, we have them, lots of them, and we enjoy every single one.