[He] was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot. He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds! – 2 Samuel 14:25-26

So Max and I both got new haircuts this week. Max, of course, has a little more to work with than I do, so his may actually be cooler.

Max goes to PupKisses, where he hangs out and gets pampered most of the day, whereas I walk up Main Street to see my friend Ginger and the whole thing is over in around twelve minutes!

Generally, and after all the fun over the past couple of weeks with the children, this was not a huge photo week. But I did try to pay attention to the world around me, especially here in Tarboro. Looking beyond the gnats, the mosquitos and the abject heat, this place is actually quite lovely in the summertime.

I am at that point in (writing) my memoir where Rebekah and I move to North Carolina. We came in the summer of 2013 and I describe how overwhelmingly relentless the heat had been in Florida. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the south of England, but I had missed the natural rhythm of four distinct seasons.

In England the mix was more Winter (30%), Spring (25%), Summer (15%) and Fall (30%), while our experience in South-Central Florida was more Winter (0%), Spring (10%), Summer (85%) and Fall (5%)!!!

Here (in my non-scientific and completely subjective assessment), it seems more Winter (15%), Spring (25%), Summer (40%) and Fall (20%).

The balance may skew a little more in the direction of summer than I would prefer, but I know the Earth still tilts at a 23.5-degree angle and autumn will come to Eastern North Carolina regardless.

Right now, however, it is hard to remember that “Heat & Gnats” is not all there is!

So today I choose to engage with my life in the context of gratitude rather than comparison. Because, always, “This is the day the Lord has made. [I] will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24)!

– DEREK