Getting Ready For "Winterization"

I was born in summer. I had all my kids in summer. I got married in late summer. I live for summer. I can cut grass in hundred degree heat and enjoy every moment. We had our Indian summer last week and just so happened on my last day off. I had to cut grass and my Johnny Dear was sickly so had to old school "Push". I sweated like a three hundred pound fat dude in a corduroy suit with the vest buttoned. It wasn't easy but even more rewarding to see my handiwork done on foot pushing a mower uphill over rough terrain...and survived to tell the story.

 I have six months to get Johnny running again before I need him. My neighbor around the corner I bought him from is going to try and weld the decking. He's a pretty handy guy and bet he can do it.

My life has kinda taken the same course. I was riding a mower for years and years and years. It was a piece of cake. Then life's riding mower broke and I had to push. After riding a mower, pushing seemed a lot harder, and was.

But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

After self pity didn't seem to help, I put on my helmet and chased the elusive cheese.

Once people noticed my helmet, they helped as well.

It's taken us well over half a decade...but are back on the road and doing better than ever.

Granted my husband is living a thousand miles away but has a great job and we will all be together again in less than a year's time.

To sum up what happened to us takes three words.

"We were broke." (for a while)

Over the course of going from sitting on easy street to almost living under a bridge (felt that way at the time) and coming back stronger and even better, have had time to reflect and think of things which have happened to ones around us; ones close and dear and ones not so close but also dear to our hearts.

We've never lost or had to bury one of our children. I can count at least ten of our friends who have.

We've never been without a roof over our heads. Hundreds of millions have and still are.

Our kids have been healthy. They may have wanted more at times than we could give  but never been devastated by cancer or life threatening illness. Many of my friends or people we know haven't been that lucky.

Our house never burned to the ground.

My husband never died and neither have I.

No one in our family committed suicide.

We've both lost jobs but always found another one.

My husband nor I have ever been hospitalized or needed to be institutionalized. (unless you ask my husband who would be right about me being just a notch away from certifiably crazy)

We didn't have insurance for over ten years but have great insurance now.

A lot of our friends have no family support system. I have the greatest brother and sister in the world.

I've always been a waitress and lucky for us, people always eat out.

Thanks to another dear friend of mine, I now have the greatest serving job in the world and make more money than I deserve.

I know now.

It took me a while so obviously am a slow learner but at least am a learner!

You get what you give.
If you're not getting, you need to be giving more.

There's always the exception to the rule but luckily we skirted around that one.

I was at work just tonight, talking with one of the cooks. He made the comment "I wish more servers were like you."

That's the biggest compliment I think I've ever gotten. (Thank you Rashaad)

Here's a man who hands down is one of  the reasons I make the money I do. More servers need to realize this.

Life is a food chain. (the zombies just represent my addiction to The Walking Dead)

Eat or be eaten.

I plan to survive and baby, we're surviving!

Sometimes you just gotta step up and step out.

Til next time...COTTON