Ordinary Life

    I let my full weight fall against Burger King's heavy glass door and pushed against it. By nature a fairly passive person, I knew the door would absorb my unusually forceful shove with no loss of dignity. I even imagined it welcomed me a little. Better doors than people. (or...doors are better than people?)    We were en route to the bedside of a very sick relative and I knew we may not make it in time to say good bye.    Over the course of the morning, I had morphed into a tiny black rain cloud, prone to outbursts like thunder claps and sudden showers that washed away any semblance of "strength".     Once inside the ladies room,  I wiped away what streaked mascara could be budged and sighed a prayer of "please".    I wasn't praying for extra time. I wasn't praying to get there. I was praying for peace and that all would be well with my uncle...soul wise...you know..." It is well...it is well...with my soul ." And I wa...

General Jackson Carnes There has always been a small, unofficial tradition that accompanied visits to my grandparents' home. Whenever it was time to leave, generally after many, many false starts that resulted in visiting just a little longer,  they would walk us out, give one last round of good bye hugs and kisses, and then they would stand in the drive way, smiling and waving until our car was out of sight. I have noticed this tradition spill over into visits with my parents. And on those rare but wonderful mornings where Clay and I are able to steal a little porch time together before he heads out to work, I find myself remaining on the porch, where I see him off in much the same way...even when he is past the point of seeing me, I stand waving (or flicking the porch light), watching until he fades from view. It is really a way of saying "I love you so, I hate to see you go..." During my grandfather's funeral, I remarked to a few people that I saw a similarity in t...

SUNNY SNAPSHOT This weekend, Grammy & PaPa came to visit. The Big Kids were excited for days before in anticipation- Chandler sent Google maps to help them arrive at the right place. They worked as a team making up the bed with fresh sheets, creating a pallet on the floor for Logan(she had insisted G&P take her bed instead of going to a hotel). The children were asleep when they arrived (it was after 1 AM) but only a few hours later, we filled the weekend with fun. On Saturday, we all got up early, ran hard and retired weary. We started with Logan's cheer :    PaPa was allowed to push Rye for 3 whole seconds before she protested... she took her own sweet time warming up to  "Grummy & Grandpa"  I'm smiling because I know they have FREE COFFEE inside :)  LoLo & Lilly Logan Aleece Taking a break from the demanding world of cheerleading... We stopped long enough to get cash from an ATM & tea from Zaxbys (sorry, Uncle Ben!) before heading over to ...