I'm Growing Older But Not Up

This is one of my favorite Buffet songs, so thought I would share it with you to get this next post rolling.

It speaks to me, especially as of late. 

I'm probably the silliest sixty year old woman you'll ever meet.

 There's nothing I like better than laughing, and doesn't matter in the least if it happens to be at my own expense.

There's never a reason, to ever be an Ole Fart.

I love laughing at my own jokes, stories and memories. I can be brought to tears in the drop of a hat, and strive to do just that, on a daily basis...several times a day. (if I'm lucky)

Being a server for forty years and a mother for over thirty, has given me more ammunition than you could ever imagine...trust me.

I've had a pretty great run in life; with a few minor hiccups, a couple of major losses, but a whole lot of LOVE. 

Sometimes Love is all you need.

The even greater thing about Love, is the more you give, the more you receive.

"The redemptive power of Love."

We took our kids to Disney World every February for a few years when they were little, with our tax return. There's no better way to blow two grand, than to let your kids feel like they  have two ultra/ awesomely cool parents for thirty six hours...once a year, for as long as you can keep up the facade. Disney in February and a week at the beach every summer.

So we did just that...for our kids.

Then seemingly just as suddenly, we were broker than my weakest jokes. And it lasted longer than just a few years.

We went from life without a care

to living on a scare.

He went totally gray and I became permanently shrinkled (shrunken up, with wrinkles).

The highlights I force Massey to put in my hair every few months (we both hate doing it) cover all my gray hair, so at least there's that...and if I could put back on ten more pounds maybe a few wrinkles would be stretched apart and away, like a free face lift.

A girl can dream.

It took well over ten years but we are finally not only caught up but just a tad bit ahead of the game...

after thirty two years of trying.

Or at least vowing to.

When we first met, we were total opposites from jump. He grew up in a house with a twelve foot deep swimming pool, pool house, tennis courts, a shuffleboard court and an underground game room with pool tables, air hockey, pinball and video games; walls surrounded by granite from the roots of Stone Mountain, complete with a kitchen, bar and restrooms.

He was a rich Peter Brady.

 I was from a totally (above blue but just a bit  below) white collar family.

 It was awesome.

I grew up in a modest but absolutely respected household, rich with love and laughter...and a magnet for frequent visitors. People loved to be at our house, and so did we. I never wanted for one single thing...although like most brats I probably bitched a lot about nothing.

I was the baby, and like a hair in my siblings' biscuits. I know I had a lot of boogers...always pointed out to me, and was a total and complete pest.

It's a wonder I'm still alive.

Thank God for Love.

I could never imagine our family taking a photo like this.

We had ones like this:

Wait...What?!

Or this:

Ole Jed was strictly  Republican when I first met him.

I was so far to the left I was almost back around to the right. 

But things just clicked. 

(I think it was his Casio...or maybe his mullet)

We fell in love with each other pretty much from about the second date for him, third date for me, and bonus points for my ridiculous self, he was absolutely head over heels for a hick like me, regardless of my political affiliations or financial status.

Next month we  celebrate our thirty year wedding anniversary, after having lived in sin together for two years first.

Neither of us vote a straight party ticket... never have.  How absurd would that be?

Bad guys are everywhere.

Over the years we've mellowed, leaning one way on some things but can swing towards the other side on others. The only place any of this matters though, is in a polling booth, which we both frequent for each and every election. We do not debate politics with each other. That is a strictly private matter once you insert that ballot...as it should be.

But now none of us can get along?

Really?

How sad a statement is that?

All good questions.

V.O.T.E.

And I don't mean just every four years. We can't get rid of the big crooks if we keep letting small time local crooks sneak in during an off year election...one by one, office by office...level by level.

Ole Jed and I do not agree on a lot of issues, and that's okay. Most are finance or foreign policy related.

But we both agree that Trump is not a morally good person, and in fact is a bully of the worst kind.

Unrelenting and inept at the task in front of him, even if he could move his massive ego out of the way with his tiny arms for just one hot minute.

Unfortunately he can't, hasn't and won't.

We'll have to live with the results of the election and so will you.

Think about it. Is it about you, or is it  about all of us?

Till next time,

COTTON

The Realities and Fantasies of Life

I think that I am going to have to start carrying around a notebook so that I can jot down the hundreds of things that come to my mind.

My most recent thought is of a recipe that a dear friend of mine gave me.

I love recipes and always want to try new dishes.

My friend told me that she had found a wonderful new dish of pasta salad.

BABY..I love me some pasta and I LOVE me some salads.

She found it on the internet and told me she would bring me some to work the next day.

The next day...she brought a bowl of bow tie pasta that looked so forsaken and lost ...just waiting for someone to come to it's rescue.

She informed me that it called for a cup and a 1/2 of mayo (she had substituted low fat mayo "YUCK" ) and said that red bell peppers were too expensive to buy.

She also said that it was to have green onions diced and added..but she had left them out. Also it was to have grape tomatoes added, but they were also too expensive to purchase. "HELLO..it's called a recipe for a reason"!!

The result was a bowl of noodles mixed in low fat mayo and it was at the LEAST...unappealing and bland.

Of course this particular friend relies on me for all of her "SNACKS" when I work with her... and after getting the "REAL" recipe...it was absolutely delicious and a big favorite of all of my co workers.

Maybe they know me too well. Maybe they know that I love to cook and feed the masses.

Maybe they are just "Playing Dumb" knowing that I will bring in a dish that they will all fight over and snicker behind my back..."She ain't got a CLUE that we like her cooking".

I do it every time that I work a day shift.
I went into work today and the manager sifted through my bags and said "What did Cotton bring us today"

I am not sure what my mission is on this earth. Is it to raise my family, or is it to raise an entire company?

I love my family dearly, but I rely on my job to keep the money flowing.

Sometimes I think that the two are intertwined ... I have been at my current job for ten years and sometimes think that THEY are my family as well.

I actually DO love my job (which is rare these days ) and they compensate me wonderfully.


I care about, love and respect everyone that I work with, and I honestly think that is why they treat me so well and that is the reason that I continue to work for them.

To be "LOVED" is a great thing.

Not only am I loved by my family, I am loved by the people that I work with.

Let's look at it this way.. I could be "super sizing " it at a drive through or just be hoping to.

I am blessed, my family is too.

What more could an American hope for?
A better recipe than the American Dream.... I DON"T THINK SO!!!
...What better recipe for life could we all have ???

YOU TELL ME!!!