Today is Thursday, August 27. I slept hard and late. Groggy and half asleep I walked outside to get the paper. Walking up the driveway it hit me. It’s a nice day. It’s cooler than usual but still sunny. The humidity is lower. There’s a breeze. No, it couldn’t be. It’s only August. Don’t think like that, man. You live in Louisiana.

I don’t care. It might just be. What if? Don’t ruin it. Enjoy it while you can. So I sat on the porch to read the paper, while I finished waking to the day.

Hunger brought me inside. Email, news, and work kept me there. After lunch I told Timothy, “it looks cloudy outside.” I went to brush my teeth and grab a book. He found me first, “Daddy, I want to go outside to ride my bike.” That’s amazing, “I was thinking the same thing, except I want to read.”

Wait a minute, I swear it’s cooler than before or maybe just as cool, which is cooler in the South. The breeze is blowing. Wow. Maybe it is. A strong breeze picked up as I looked across the street. Two leaves and pine needles floated gracefully to the ground. Somebody is messing with me. They know how much I love Fall.

Of all the seasons it is my favorite, I think, because I long for it most. The summer can be sweltering and thick. The fall brings mercy.

I finished another chapter. Deepak Chopra has a way of lowering my blood pressure. I smile. “I knew it!” Faint thunder rolls through the pines. Timothy announces from the yard, “I felt a rain drop!” That’s ok. I don’t care. I’m going to enjoy it in spite of the almanac.

This may not be the first day of Fall after all, but maybe it’s the first day of the end of Summer. Four rain drops later the sun came out again. Neither will it rain. This is a day full of half truths and hope. A bright yellow butterfly flies over the hedges and across the street. Birds begin singing. More leaves fall to the ground. It’s warmer now, but the breeze is still blowing. That’s ok. I know it’s coming. I’ve felt it. It won’t be long. The butterfly is back again.

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