The Middle Monday in November

Every other Monday morning has become a "date" moment -- out to breakfast together.

So we headed for the coast. We went to "The Cliff" -- an outdoor restaurant in Laguna Beach. It is not quite as nice as "The Beachcomber" at Crystal Cove; however, Laguna is our favorite beach community.

Once we arrived in Orange County, we drove to the top of a hill off Chapman Avenue to see Catalina Island. Because we've had a mildly windy weekend, all the muck and yuck in the air was blown out to sea, but it did not blow strong enough to rid us of it completely. So you see the crud between us and the island--and all the houses too. Then we descended the hill to continue our journey to the ocean.

Breakfast was delicious with lots of good fruit, poached eggs, and wheat toast. Oh, and freshly brewed coffee.

But more than anything, the view was a feast for our eyes. We both find great pleasure being near the shore.

As we drove east toward home, toward work to be done, toward papers to be graded, I could see the ocean in the side mirror. So I clicked the cheapie camera to capture one last glimpse.

All too quickly evening arrived and I still needed to get to the campus to do a couple of things in preparation for tomorrow's classes. As I drove toward the parking lot, the headlights and tail-lights and the last hint of day were all lovely. So I held the camera just out the window and, you guessed it, I clicked and clicked.

Now it is very late on Monday night and I have just exited my online office Chat Room with no less that 8 students -- all with questions about tomorrow's project. So I've typed at lightning speed for an hour to answer each question as it appeared on my computer screen. They love to come to my online office, but they rarely come to my face-to-face campus office. They've all been born in the computer age; it is their choice for communication.

Well, tomorrow is my favorite day of the month, and this is my favorite month. Tomorrow is THE DAY! I love my birthday.

But truthfully, this year I think it has bothered me more than ever before. My age will have a zero on it. I've never had to console myself about age, but this year -- gosh, it's got me! So I remind myself that I've lived longer than Mom did and reminded myself that Grammie Teele lived to be 91. So hey, I should do as I have always done -- rejoice and celebrate.

I usually take the day off, but this year there is just too much happening in the classroom. This is not the time to miss classes. So next week is a major holiday (Thanksgiving is Thurs. Nov. 26), so I'm going to take a personal leave day next Tuesday and extend the celebration for an extra week!

So I'm feeling a little crazy tonight because I'm hesitant about this birthday. I've never felt this way before. I've told Mr. Fun that he's going to be married to an old woman. His reply, "They're better with age!" He always makes me laugh.

So on the eve of my birthday here in Southern California,
I'll just say "Good night everyone"
and have a great 17th of November!

Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol