Dear Reader:

Yesterday was such a wonderful  “comfort food” kind of day. Actually I did go with friends to Cracker Barrel for some great home cooking…(or as close to as possible if you don’t want to home cook.)

I woke up early and found myself out in the 30’s temperatures cutting camellias (and a rose, Jo, from yours and Colby’s rose bush) to bring inside and brighten up the house…Yesterday was heavily overcast, cold, and dampish-feeling …the kind of wet cold that seeps into the marrow of the bones.

I just wanted to settle into serenity….take time to unwind…and bring in all the comforts of home around me like a wonderful old quilt or blanket. I wanted the lights soft and the fire low.

*But I was also ready to watch the stream video of the Clemson parade today ….so much happiness…so much joy! And I did wear my new Clemson t-shirt everywhere I went! Thank you Sam, Donna, and Dana!!!

One of the places (of “everywhere I went”) was over to Anne’s to drop off a book…Instead of cutting camellias like me…she had been up at the crack of dawn going to Lowes to get lots and lots of azaleas…Anne, too, was craving color during the “dead” season of the garden and yard…and boy did she get them….a picture of Anne’s trunk.

While looking at Anne’s beautiful camellia bushes…I pointed to one camellia that I loved …with just a touch of a yellowish tinge…she told me that one had gotten too much water on it and was fading…but in its imperfection it was perfectly beautiful to me…as much so as the perfect camellia next to it.

Anne then pointed out her  “Hope” in her garden…not four cloth-letters spelling Hope but hope in the form of a soon-to-be blooming daffodil.

One picture stood out for me from all the fun…tributes, speeches, and awards at the Clemson parade yesterday…Mollie saw it and sent it to me….she loves Lachlan, the “other” Clemson Tiger…since she and Walsh have a little Lachlan. Most Clemson fans know the story behind Lachlan the Tiger and its symbolism…but if not…every one should. (*And to know that time was taken on this festive occasion to bring Lachlan the Tiger to the forefront again speaks volumes.)

Lachlan McIntosh Tannery was diagnosed with Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia, a extremely rare disease which affects around three out of every million children, when he was just 19 months old. Lachlan underwent a bone marrow transplant and spent much of his time in the hospital with his family, but relapsed at the age of two.

To honor Lachlan’s memory, the Clemson community named a stuffed tiger after him, and Lachlan the Tiger can frequently be seen in photos across Clemson’s beautiful campus.

Today there is a website for anyone who would like to donate in Lachlan’s name or sign up to be a bone marrow transplant donor. (Lachlanshope.org)  This link also contains little Lachlan’s story.

So until tomorrow….Let us remember that community is bigger than football or any sport…community is about the people in it and caring for each and everyone. Go Tigers…Go Tiger Lachlan!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh