Remembering the girl...the perfect gift

'as we all know',
there once was a girl...

blonde ringlets,

curls and bows, 

twirly dresses,

little stubbed toes.

a heart of gold,
a spirit kind,
 tender and sweet
baby girl mine.

lots of kittens,

gerbils too,

Sassy, a frog,

and a fishy blue.

the 'number rock',

close your eyes, swing,

Dad and Columbia,

 a Carolina thing!

a school girl and,

a girl scout true,

an Irish visitor,

 other friends too.

  Barbies,

 American girls,

friendship bracelets, more,

 the mall, holidays,

  the Limited Two store!

'wada' minute Carrie,
no more monster van for you,
a license and a car,
now you're driving too!

high school, track,

  basketball, friends

 newspaper, cheering,

Yellow Jackets win! 

prom, graduation,

and college, oh my!

Time is going faster now,

It is flying by.

Love, marriage,

a home of your own,

But always our little girl,

though time has flown.

It may seem so far away,

but really it was just yesterday...

Happy 25th Birthday to my biggest baby girl...

Remembering the boy...

As I was organizing some saved files, alas, sign of a true nerd, organizing computer files...

I found an e-mail sent to me by my oldest son. 

He sent this to me after reading one of my blog posts written after Memaw and Grandmother died. 

This was a particularly hard time for him, as well. 

He lost his Grandmother and his Honey dog just days before he left for his first year of college. 

I really worried about him then, and still do. Grief is hard. Sometimes we shove it inside to deal with the daily pressures of life. Eventually it will surface. What follows in this post is an e-mail he wrote to me. Oh, how I love that boy...

I logged online today to find another blog written by you. 

It really touched my heart, Mom, and made me think about how hard it must be for you not having Grandmother and Memaw anymore. It made me think about it for the first time in a long time... 

I can't even imagine how it would be if you were not around for me anymore. I love you so much. 

Your words are powerful about 'being there' for your next generation of daughters...

You inspire me. 

I was going to write a comment about it but I couldn't find the words. 

I still can't to be honest. 

'Our House' came on and I know I haven't heard that song in probably ten years,

a long time... 

Then I started listening to the rest of the songs on your playlist. 

Music is amazing, how it can bring back such strong emotions and memories,

so nostalgic. 

I remembered listening to you and dad sing that song to me at bedtime. 

And dad telling me stories about the boys, 'The Boys Story'... 

I remembered playing outside till the sun was fading

and the bell you guys obnoxiously rang for dinner. 

We were rednecks, huh? 

I listened to the 'Hobbit Song'

and remembered my days of fantasy reading, out in the woods till I couldn't read anymore. 

Imagining a world filled with magic,

the world of my home-school days. 

The days where my Honey roamed the broad realms of Middle Earth with me, 

and we never lost a fight. 

 I listened to 'Return to Pooh Corner'

and I remember the days sitting at home with you. Piling up couch cushions and watching American Gladiator,

MacGuyver was always the best then. 

Its amazing how fast I've grown up,

these memories seem like they shouldn't be so long ago... 

I just wanted to thank you for these memories, Mom. 

Memories that are much clearer now... 

I love you.

And I love you, son, very, very much...

Barbie wants her brush back, Pop!

OK,

so I walk in the bedroom to see one Grand sprawled across a chair watching 

"Follow that Bird".

This is one of my all time favorite movies!

Yes, I'm kind of intellectual like that...

only 

to spot the other Grand

hard at work intently combing 'Pops' hair 

with a microscopic, pink, barbie brush. 

Priceless!

Oh, by the way Pop, I hope you're not in a hurry;

with that tool your stylist make take a while. 

The Rules...from one nerd to another...

As I was cleaning out some papers, I came across something that I had put on the refrigerator as the kids became teens. At some point in time, it was put into a pile, then stuffed in a drawer. Now, low and behold it showed up in a stack of memorabilia. I love to read and so often when I find bits of wisdom I tuck them away. Well, I'm going to post it, so I can revisit when in need. This was written by Charles Sykes (thank you Cartoon Characters). I love it and my teens and young adults know I do... This is as relevant now as then.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it.

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you can feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will not make 40,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is not real life. Real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. 

As a nerd, rule 11 is my personal favorite ;)