IT'S A MAJOR AWARD!

It's official.

I'm a little bit country.

And I have a First-Place Blue Ribbon from the NC Mountain State Fair to prove it!


Even if we Clemson fans might still be feeling a bit of a "sting" on this day, this one still has reason to be a proud wearer of orange.

Our first stop at the fair this morning had to be, of course, the competitive exhibits hall, where I left the crowning glory of our little garden patch at the beginning of the week. At dropoff, I felt pretty confident the pumpkin was a winner. It dwarfed the large watermelon next to it.

But on Thursday night, the local news showed a few shots from inside the exhibit hall. Clearly, there were a number of nice pumpkins on display, and one or two that were quite a bit larger than mine.

So, I didn't have my hopes set too high when we walked in this morning. The result, then, was overwhelming exultation when I saw that beautiful orange orb so complementarily decorated with the brilliant blue First Place ribbon. I admit, I got teary eyed.


One of the administrators offered to take our family picture. She was so pleased for us. She said in all her years of working with the fair, she had never seen anyone so excited over their winning vegetable. So then I felt a little sheepish. But why should I? It was glorious, so just for today, I'm going to soak that in.