Homecoming

I'm not sure I can call it Homecoming when I live here. But other people come "home," and I benefit.

While I enjoyed college, I haven't once wished I could go to class some more. Living in Murray means I get to regularly attend Racer football and basketball games. And, yes, sometimes I wish more of my college friends lived here, although I'm happy a few do. That just means I enjoy catching up with my college friends and meeting their families as they grow with spouses and kids.

And in this parade-obsessed town, the Homecoming Parade is my favorite. [It beats the hot weather of the Fourth of July Parade, which features plenty of patriotism, stars and stripes, and the cold weather of the Christmas Parade, which still seems strange but is usually good with different holiday floats.] But the Homecoming Parade has much spirit and, thankfully, Autumn decided to join us for the weekend.

Parade-watching is serious business! Cate was so cautious and meticulous about getting candy. If a piece was out of reach, she'd ask if she could get it. And if there were a few pieces, she'd pick up one at a time, asking each time if she could get the other. [Below] Cate waved to Racer One. "Hi, Racers ..." and then "Bye, Racers" as he walked past her.

Although she definitely enjoyed the candy, these hand clappers she got during the parade were a fun toy at the football game ...

"High five, Daddy!" And hooray for Homecoming.

After the game, we went to have a party with Murray Christian Fellowship alumni at my in-laws' house. [That's everyone pictured above.] Again thankful that Autumn decided to join us, we ate chili, warmed up around the bonfire, went on a hayride and enjoyed catching up with old friends.

As a fund-raiser, Josh Sharp was donating his time to take pictures of people at this fall scene. Any donations went to the campus ministry. Thinking they would completely deny my request, I asked Luke and Cate if they would let Josh take their picture. Without hesitation, they did. In fact, Luke liked sitting there so much we had to ask him to get up so we could have a family picture taken!

There are more pictures from Homecoming, and, really, all of October in an album on Facebook.