Just a girl....

There are so many other things that I need to be doing.   So many….   However, my mind just keeps going back to the events of last week and the loss of a special person.   My previous mother in law, Brenda Steed passed away on Tuesday of last week.   It’s no secret that I was married previously before I married Bryan.   Robert and I met my junior year in high school after my friend (who also happened to be his sister, Robin) introduced us when my date for my junior prom backed out at the last minute.   Robert and I went on one date and were inseparable after that. Our casual dating quickly progressed into a serious relationship.     I was also quickly adopted into his family as if I had been there all my life.   Robin and I immediately declared that we were sisters.   And His mother, Brenda, took me in and treated me as if I was her daughter.    If there was a need or want for something then Brenda found a way to get it...

I am having company this weekend.  So, as usual I am running around a few hours before they get here trying to make sure the house is clean and presentable.  I began to make up our bed and realized that I was a little more than unhappy about the way those sheets looked.  I folded the covers back and stood at the edge looking at the wrinkles.  I just couldn't be happy with the way it looked.  I noticed that I started to get a little negative about everything I did after that.  I began to think:  There were clothes in the hamper- I can never stay caught up on laundry.... there were a few stray dishes in the sink...why cant anyone ever take out the garbage.... I will never get caught up on my work stuff...  All thoughts that were going through my head.  Those dang wrinkled sheets were going to ruin my excitement over my family coming.  It was at that moment that I had an epiphany!!  I think that sometimes we let our ...

Some of you have heard me tell this story already.  However, I felt the need to share it with everyone.   A few weeks ago, I was in Ozark catering a rehearsal dinner for my cousin. I had worked half a day and then went to finish buying food and flowers.  It just seemed like nothing had went the way it was supposed to.  And if you know anything about our family...nothing is ever simple.   I got aggravated, tired, and hungry. The family and I decided to go to Rodeo's for lunch.    By the time I arrived at Rodeo's I was just about on the verge of an anxiety attack.  My week was catching up with me, I was missing Bryan, and then we had to decorate AND cook the next day.    I was eating dinner and felt a tap on my arm and it was Stella Sanders Jones and then a few minutes later Daphne Hughes Johnston came to the table. We began to talk for a minute or two. Out of no where it seems, ...

It seems like just yesterday that I was 12 years old. I would spend my summers at my granny and granddaddy Downs' house. It was a small wood frame home with an inviting porch across the front, complete with a porch swing. The house was nestled between Oak and Pecan trees. The Pecan trees provided ingredients for baking during the fall. The oak trees provided entertainment by giving us "ammunition" to shoot at each other. Who knew that a small piece of PVC pipe could be bent to make an "acorn" gun? And believe me when I tell you that if you could sling that pipe just right, when those acorns hit your bare legs, it would make you want to surrender! My cousin Krysten and I spent many a warm summer day under those oak trees in that yard. We entertained ourselves by playing "Ann Varnum". For those of you reading this who are not from the Wiregrass area, Ann Varnum was a local television reporter. She had a morning talk show that included cooking ...

August 2nd, 1997…….. Does anyone remember what they were doing on this date 26 years ago? I do. It was the day I married my first husband—Robert. I was the ripe old age of 18, only two months out of high school, and was convinced that I was marrying the man that I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Sure there were some things in my head that I was questioning right up to the minute of the wedding but I pushed back those concerns and put on a big smile. I could make this work. I would make this work. I would finally have the "little" family that I wanted for so long. After the traditional wedding and reception ritual we said goodbye to our families and left on our way. What should have been the happiest day of my life ended with a fight before we were out of the state of Alabama? Oh well, so much for the fairytale. Was the honeymoon over before it even began? My heart screamed: Take me back to my mama! My head screamed back: What? You did this to get away ...

My only "child" OK, I know for some of you this blog will be somewhat controversial. Right off the bat I want to address the two groups that are bound to have some negative annotation regarding this blog and my feelings discussed herein. For all the people that have human children and for the others that don't understand "doggy moms" like me: Please do me a favor. Go ahead and read this blog anyway. What I am about to say may not make sense.... and I am sure in some people's minds there will be some sort of judgment cast on my sanity. For those folks, we can just agree that I am mental and leave it at that. For the others, I hope that it sheds a little light on why I am the way I am. For all the others: (sympathizers, fellow doggy parents, and anyone else that might understand) I appreciate your continued understanding of my feelings. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted children. When I was 12 or 13 I used to beg my mother to adopt a ...

Eulogy for my Grandmother! (this was written on the morning of her funeral 4-28-07, I was able to speak at the funeral. Thank God, I didnt break down! ) What can you say in a few words about the passing of a grandmother? There are so many memories that I could share, so many things to say. Each of us grandchildren has so many memories of her. However, today I want to share a few things that granny taught me. Granny taught me a lot about life. She taught me the importance of living a good Christian life. – She always made sure that we heard about Jesus. And if she wasn't telling us to go to church….then she was taking us to church. And if she wasn't talking about the bible or Jesus…then she was singing about it. I remember so fondly those times in church…… sitting on that second row at Ebenezer Baptist church. You could always hear her sing. Even as she got older and her vision failed. She would sing from memory. She knew the words and never missed a note. She had t...