Dear Reader:

As I was leaving Mandy and John’s neighborhood (Wakendaw Lakes) last evening….the community farewell sign (that changes seasonally) said: “Autumn is a second spring and every leaf is a flower.”

… And this is just what Jakie (my tree-hugger grandson) and I discovered on our stroll yesterday.

The pre-school that all three of my grandsons attend off Mathis Ferry Road has been closed for over a week and now rumors are spreading that it could be permanently closed. We will just have to wait and see and take it one day at a time.

Mollie has stayed home all week from work to keep Rutledge and Lachlan while John stayed home after Mandy had to return to school Wednesday and I picked up “the slack” Thursday….one of the teachers from the school is helping out today.  So maybe more information will be forthcoming.

It has been awhile since I kept Jakie for a long length of time and he is quickly leaving baby-hood behind and entering little toddler-hood. He is still inquisitive but now he can babble and point at everything he likes and (outside) he likes trees!

Inside the house his choice of interest yesterday was my Iphone…dozens of toys and all Jakie wanted to play with was my Iphone. His long slender fingers were flipping through photos and he even managed to turn on the Iphone “flashlight”… much to his delight.

If I tried to hide it under the sofa cushions, thinking he would forget about it and start playing with his other toys…it was always a lesson in futility. He never forgot. He simply crawled over to the sofa and began lifting cushions until he found it.

The only thing that would distract Jakie’s attention from the Iphone was Tigger…He is obsessed with Tigger’s little stubby tail but Tigger stayed one second ahead of him….Jakie’s giggles gave him away every time.

After lunch Jakie and I took a stroll around the neighborhood…he started pointing at the trees so I would pull over and give him a few minutes to ‘go into his nature zone.’ (In this photo notice how he is clutching a leaf I gave him in his little hand….all his senses were coming alive…. sight, touch, and (even a quick taste.)

An elderly gentleman must have been watching me pulling a leaf off for Jakie (from an oak tree hanging over the curb)   because he came out on the porch and said “That little fella sure does like trees, doesn’t he?”  He continued:

“I was the same way when I was a kid….my mother could hardly get me down out of a tree for supper each night. In fact when I bought this house (pointing to the beautiful old oak in the front yard) twenty-two years ago…I was told this oak would have to come down because it was Hugo damaged.”

“But I wouldn’t let them take it down…no sir-ree! And now look at it…the pride of my front yard. You know young man, (he leaned down and handed Jakie another leaf) if you give life half a chance to survive it will never disappoint you. Never give up on life.” 

I doubt Jakie will ever remember that sage advice but I will never forget it…there was a reason Jakie and I were supposed to take that stroll yesterday and stop in front of that gentleman’s home….our second “Tree Stroll” together…they never disappoint.

  I had just strolled off when the elderly gentleman ran over to return a toy that had fallen from the stroller. Unknowingly I had pulled over next to a wild lavender petunia bush (by a mailbox) while I was thanking the gentleman…

I leaned down to check on Jakie before we started up again and apparently he had grabbed one petunia and loved the soft feel of it (much better than the hard leaf!) I, miraculously, had my Iphone in my hand and snapped the shot. My sweet little nature boy.

So until tomorrow…Let us remember that ‘Fall is the second Spring and every leaf is a flower.”  Beauty comes in all shapes and seasons.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Eva Cate’s school was open yesterday…but when she returned it was time to play beauty salon…”Eva Cate’s Boutique.”

Today Jackson will see her home for the first time since the flood with her family…Please say a prayer for this dramatic turning point in her life.