Has It Been A Year Already?

Are you kidding me? Is it really December?
Has another year come and  almost gone?

Finally got some good news yesterday...unfortunately it wasn't from Johnny Carson's old sidekick holding a big check but it was close.

Tim finally got put on full time status at his job. A fifty percent pay raise and full benefits. Insurance for the entire family and just the present we were praying for!

I have made a full recovery from my year long illness and my entire family seems on the road to recovery as well.

I went in at 10:30 this morning for a brunch shift. I had a hour between shifts and scooted to downtown Newnan to see Massey in the big Christmas parade. It was like attending a parade in Mayberry. The guy emceeing was ridiculous. "Here come the horses. Now we have some dogs. Here's the NuLink truck coming by." It was like he was close captioning the entire parade for blind people. I think we could all see that they were horses...the crap they dropped on the street kinda gave that away. That's a Christmas parade in a small town.

I stood freezing in the street waiting on Massey and her band to come by. Every once in a while it seemed the entire parade stopped...letting the tap dancers perform and then letting a cheering squad do their thing. I was standing by two guys who remarked in the bitter cold and wind "For God's sake, it's not the New York Macy's Day parade...get on with it."

 I told him that Newnan was the "New York" of Coweta County and we all just had to suffer through it.

Of course Massey's band was the last one to march through and my feet were frozen to the street by the time she came by. I threw up my arms and screamed her name and made sure she saw me.

That's all it takes for a daughter.

Mom was there. Mom saw her. She felt loved and I felt proud to see her and  the look on her face as she picked me out of the hundreds  there.

I can't say that I am that great of a human being but I CAN say that I know when something small can mean something HUGE to a kid.

 She was freezing as well but at that moment...at that percise minute in time I saw a smile and look on her face that melted my heart and warmed my entire being.

We have had quite  a year, and my kids have stepped up to the plate.

Not once have they complained about living in the crapper for a year. Not once have they blamed Tim or me for the bare existence they have been living. Not once have they asked to be adopted by another set of parents.

For all my complaining..I have the best kids in the world.

My biggest regret is Massey missing the Hawaii trip. I know it stung her and  was a huge pill to swallow but she did it with grace and just a little nudging from me.

I have promised her that she, my sister , Del and Ellen (two close friends) and I will all take a trip to Hawaii that will make Don Ho feel like an outsider.

Sometimes you have to be patient. Sometimes you have to wait. Sometimes you have to let the world orbit one more time before it is your turn to get on and take a ride.

I have waited. I have prayed. I have been taken care of and I have been blessed.

I feel like my turn is coming.

I can hardly wait to hear God say "Watch your knees and exit to your left."

What a wonderful roller coaster  life is. I have been plunging down a hill for over a year. Now I  hear the clickety clack of  me climbing the hill again , the building anticipation of the thrill of racing down the track of life and zooming back up the hill with my arms held up over my head and declaring "WOO WEE!"

Ups and downs. Good times and bad . Health and sickness. Poverty and riches.

One thing I HAVE learned...take nothing for granted and be grateful for everything.

It's Christmas.

"A child, a child sleeping in the night will bring us goodness and light."

I hope everyone is as blessed as I am this season.

A TRULYgrateful and humbled COTTON