Granddaddy's Loves

I have some wonderful memories of my Mother's Dad. I have heard that his fatherly skills were not the best but as our Granddaddy he was great fun! I will give you more details about him some other time. But some of the things we always remember were the thing he loved.
• Dr. Pepper
• Pringles
• Whatchmacallit candy bars
• very red hot dogs
• Pork skins (grandmother loved those too)
• old western movies
• walks outside
• sitting in the rocking chair

These are some of the things that remind me of him along with many others.

Aunt Sally and Outhouses

Yes, I have used an outhouse for its intended purpose.  I was very young but I still remember it because I had no choice.  My parents took me to me to visit my Great Aunt Sally.  She was old even then but she had a house that never had a restroom until right before she died.  She had some running water in the house (one of those pumps like you see in Little House on the Prairie) but did not want a real restroom because she did not need it.  Aunt Sally was from a time long ago and I often remember visiting her and that she might or might not have her teeth in.  She always dressed well for church and she always pinched my cheeks, I think.  She was so unique a character that I still have memories of her and can still smell her house.  

I have learned more about outhouses since then.  My aunts and uncles share laughingly about the wonderful two seater which sped up the visits if you had a big family.  The Sears & Roebuck catalog was a popular item not just for reading but as a substitute for toilet paper.  I also understand that old corn cobs were also used.  And you think you got it bad!  

My uncle tells stories of running fast to the outhouse at night not only because it was scary but also because it was often cold and if you were in a hurry you wouldn't take time for coat or shoes.  I recently saw a video where one of my grandmother's was shown walking out of an outhouse with another woman.  One of the first color videos of our family.  We all laughed hard at how normal it all seemed! 

Beginnings

I think they gave me sweet tea in my bottle!  You can not - seriously - can not have been born and raised in the South and not had sweet tea.  It is like the Tide without Bear!  Recently, I have started to become nostalgic for my time as a child raised in Alabama.  There are so many good stories about my crazy family that I thought maybe a blog would be a good place to put them down so I don't forget them as I am getting older.  Also, I figure (another word only used in the South) that there are many of you who have very similar stories and will get a kick out of these.  For the most part I am going to try to keep names out of this because some of these stories could be embarrassing ... to me, probably not my family!

So let's see, just to get you started I should tell you a little bit about this family.  My dad is a semi retired minister who once worked as a manager at Winn Dixie (grocery store) and was in the Air Force for a few years.  My mom is a semi retired homemaker, seamstress, cook and yes she has been paid for some of these jobs.  I have a brother who is 3 years or so younger than me who has been a chef at a country club, a construction worker until he fell off a house and broke both arms (they are fine now) and a computer systems administrator.  My sister is 12 years younger than me.  She will always be the baby and she was not a mistake but there were some misses between my brother and her.  She is a sweetie who is loved by all studied to be a teacher but ended up processing insurance policies.  My husband of 18 years is the only sane one among us and I feel lucky to have gotten some sanity from him.  My daughter is the light, heart and soul of my life and provides just about as much entertainment as the rest of them.

There are others you will meet along the way...my mother's twin brother, my dad's twin brother (yep, it's true).  My aunt who retired both from the Marines and from teaching school!  My other aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

Most of what I have learned in life I learned during those first years growing up and spending time with my grandparents.  You will hear a lot about them because unbeknownst at the time they were my best examples of how to be caring, loving and Southern!

Come back because I plan to add things as I remember them or talk about them with my family!  It should be fun!  Especially those stories about outhouses!!

Could be worse but really?!?

It seems that my medication is not working as well as it did before.  Every day now I have some burning issues. Nothing as bad as without the meds but still there.  I live with my feet out of shoes whenever I can, my hands often feel like they are in gloves and my right ear is attached to a heater.  However, I listen to people who have it much worse and who can not work.  I find it interesting how surprised people are when I explain my pain.  They look at me in shock as if it does not show up.  Those who spend more time with me can tell when my face gets bright red that I am not mad but dealing with the pain.

Right now, my feet are burning in the heels, my right cheek is burning, I have twinges of pain in my legs, back and arms.  That is how I live most of the time.  But you know what, it ain't cancer or something fatal.  What does not kill you makes you stronger.  I have learned alot about myself during this problem.  I am not a complainer.  I really need to be more of one.  I have a high pain tolerance and that is not always good.  I am creative.  I have even put wet cotton balls in my ears during meetings to keep my head and ear from burning too much!  I need more will power.  I need to eat better and exercise more but who doesn't!  Yoga and meditation help but I don't find the time to do them like I should!  I often am surrounded by people with strong personalities.  Somehow it is my destiny to have these people in my life and to handle the stress that they bring to me.

Every day is another step in the journey.  Sometimes those steps are slow and painful and sometimes they are light and joyful!  I hope that if nothing else I present a strong example of how to deal with this pain and keep moving!