Another Week Behind Me

Just finished a nice skype with TJ in Australia. All three pups were behind me so he got to even skype with  the dogs. Charlie didn't want to be bothered, only seen sleeping on the couch behind me but the other two came over to the camera for a little face time.

It was good to see TJ's face and hear his voice. He seems to be doing well and has a nice little room which I had a video tour of. I'm not a big fan of all this modern technology, it seems to dehumanize us but when you have a kid living halfway around the world comes in really handy. As I was getting through talking with him, Zach hooked up on skype from his friend's house and I  left the conversation for my two boys to continue.

Things are settling back down around here with Massey finally graduating. A few more short weeks and she will be gone too. Zach's doing great as well and I have no complaints...other than my aching back, night sweats, daily hot flashes, chigger bites from working in the yard and really gross hairs that sporadically appear on my chin. How do you not notice a hair sprouting out of  your chin til it is a half inch long? For Pete's sake, I can't keep my reading glasses on 24/7.

Yes, I have somehow wandered, and or stumbled into "Old Lady Years." My eyes are terrible, I can't read a book without my cheap dollar store glasses. I can't read a credit card number or name at work without them and certainly can't type up a work order at  the furniture store without them.

On the up side,  I can load a king size mattress onto a truck , move a sofa and loveseat by  myself and still work circles around most all the young kids I work with at  the restaurant. I'm calling myself a winner.

I have one kid living halfway around the world doing what I should have done when his age, live life to the fullest when you can. I have another headed to college in a few short weeks and yet another who bottomed out, paid the price and  is making not only me but himself proud. Yep...I'm a winner!

Tomorrow is my day off. I only need one. Give me two days and I don't want to go back to work. I have a date with my Johnny Dear. That's my therapy, being in the yard riding my lawn mower. When I'm riding I think about things and figure out solutions. I think about where we've been, where we are going and how to get there...and all  the while make my yard look inviting and a nice place to see every  time I back out of the driveway  to go to work. The chigger bites simply remind me how much I itch to do better.

Massey and I took Ziggy over to my sister's house today after work to try and socialize her new boxer pup. She's named Zola (after our grandmother) but seems more aptly named Zoloft. She's the most nervous pup I have ever met. Let me put it this way, she's terrified when my sister gets out a broom to sweep the kitchen. We took Ziggy out into their side yard where Zola was nervously waiting. I had to let Ziggy off the leash because he was about to tear my arm out of the socket. Massey  said not to, Cin was kind of with Massey  but I thought it best  to let dogs be dogs.  Ziggy  took off like a speeding bullet but Zola had at least a twenty foot lead on him. Ziggy  caught her in under five seconds and she immediately turned over in the submissive position. She got up and took off and they  chased each other around the yard for thirty minutes non stop. After thirty minutes they were both frothing at the mouth and panting like they had run a marathon. Zola warmed  right up  to my "Good Bad Dog" and was smiling with that boxer smile before we left.

Massey  took a video of  them and I will upload it onto  this blog tomorrow.

We may be moving soon, but not counting the chickens before they hatch. Been there, done that.

All I "Do" know is we are making strides here, got three kids making their marks on the world and making me feel really old.

Stumbling through a new job, cruising through my old one with the cut in hours and pretty much enjoying life for the first  time in almost five years. Got three kids on track for success and one  day off to boot!

Life could be a whole lot worse.

Til next  time...COTTON

It Was Worth a Shot

Still hanging on...my latest fiasco has been with my car. I have a 1995 BMW 325 convertible we bought with the insurance settlement we got when Zach totalled out my 2002 Passat. It's a rattle trap, all four shocks are gone, the radio hasn't worked since Tim put a new battery in and since we don't have an owner's manual, BMW wanted $175.00 to tell me the code to reset it. I decided to just sing while I drive. My back two tires were showing steel belts and  when I bought two new tires from my buddy at  the tire place he found a bad bearing in one of my back wheels. With no money to fix it he suggested putting the new tires on the front since the bad bearing was what was making the tire wear and shoving the two still good tires to the back. He didn't use the word "Shove" but that's the way I thought about it.

It's what I always do...shove something over or rearrange. Duct  tape is another thing I always use to fix things. Paper clips also come in handy and I love me some twist ties and Gorilla glue.

He put the new tires on the front and the semi good tires on the back and I was good to go! He told me I needed to get the bearing fixed because it would wear my back tire quicker and eventually the wheel would fall off.  Eventually to me, is a LONG way off and considering it would cost several hundred dollars to fix I told him I would save up the money  and come back to see him. He also told me it sounded like the rear end was about to go and I'd be looking at  a couple of grand when THAT happened and my best bet was get rid of  the car. I told him I really didn't have that option but it was nice to be informed.

It's taken six months but the bad bearing finally wormed his wicked way to my back tire that USED to be semi good. My  son noticed last week that I had steel belt showing again on the bad wheel.

Dang...what to do when you can't fix it with duct  tape or Gorilla glue?

Ding Ding Ding!!  (That means I had a brilliant idea)  I told Zach yesterday  to check the spare I have never even looked at in my trunk and see  what  the tread looked like. He said it looked fine so I said "Well slap that bee-otch on the bum wheel and let's get another reprieve!"

He and his friend changed the tire and the spare looked a little low so they drove it next  door  to my next door husband's house (who doesn't have Gorilla glue or paper clips but every actual tool you could ever need) and they pumped up the tire with his compressor.

As usual I woke up for my day shift with zero minutes to spare. Four minutes for a shower, three minutes for make up, two minutes to give the dogs food and water out back and out  the door I went!

There sat my little Beemer...with a flat tire. It used to be called my spare tire but now it was called a headache.

I called work and the owner answered. I told him I had a flat and he said "That's why you have a spare...start changing it." I told him it WAS my spare that was flat but I'd get there.

I called a taxi and the guy said he had two people in front of me and it would be forty five minutes. For Pete's sake...what's he got, one cab?

I  called my sister who was luckily at  home and came to my rescue within fifteen minutes. We pulled into the parking lot at work and  the cab I had tried to  call strolled across in front of us. Whatever!

The night before another server had called to say his mother had been admitted to the hospital and asked if I would work the night shift for him after my day shift. Number one I have GOT to quit answering my cell phone on my day off,  number two I caved and said I would...not knowing I would wake up to a flat tire.

After my sister dumped me off at work (only fifteen minutes late) I plotted my next  strategic move. I called another server who was sick and off til Friday and asked if I could borrow her car? She said sure and I thought about calling back the "One Car" Taxi service when yet  another server came into the restaurant to have lunch. I asked her if she could drop me off to pick up my friend's car when she left and she agreed.

I picked up my friend's car and headed to the high school to pick up Massey (who's car was in the shop) and took her to pick up her car. I made it back to work with five minutes to spare. (Spare being a good thing this time)

I woke up  this morning and decided to just take the bald tire to a used tire dealership and buy a used one. The first place I stopped, which SHOULD be named "Casa de Viejo Tires" was no help at  all. All the amigos were busy putting thousand dollar rims on used tires on pimped out 1996 Chevrolet's and Cadillacs and were no help at  all. Fat boy behind the desk told me to try somewhere else and when I asked where he replied "A mile or two down the road."

I went to the place my Bro & Law had mentioned and walked out twenty minutes later with a brand new USED tire mounted and balanced for $49.00.

At least I am on the road again! I tried a quick fix which quickly turned into a disaster, but at least I tried!

When I took Massey to pick up her car yesterday, the guy who sold it to us ( fixed her problems and replaced her two front tires for free) told me he would take my car on a trade for a 2000 Audi he had put a new engine in and let me make payments. I am tempted.

I love my little Beemer but I just can't afford fixing all his ailments. This guy can fix and sell him whereas I can barely afford the gas for him much less shocks, bearings and a new rear end.

I think this may be the way to go. If it were the beginning of summer I would balk. I never put my top up between May and late September. I loved having a convertible. I'm just gonna think I had a good two year run with my little buddy but it's time to turn him out to pasture.

I guarantee you when we get back up to snuff  I'll get me another little convertible Beemer. But winter is coming, we ain't getting richer as fast as I hoped and with cold weather coming it may be a good thing to have a hard top over my head again. Maybe the car even has a radio that works!


Take the good with the bad. When you hit the bottom there is nowhere to go but up, unless life sends you six feet under and so far I have manged to stay on this side of the dirt.

Life is like a roller coaster in the dark. You don't know when it's gonna turn or go down or up. You never know what is around the bend...just make sure you are buckled in and  make it to the end of the ride.

"Watch your knees and exit to  your left."

Til next  time...COTTON

A Light At The End of The Tunnel. Well, THIS Tunnel...

Family SupportSearch Amazon.com for teens

It's been quite a year. It seems like five but has only been one. My life took a totally unexpected turn a little over a year ago. I was in the above photo but with the light to my back.

Turns out the light to my back was the light of many many family members, friends and even strangers. When I thought I couldn't go on one more day...something happened to inspire and urge me forward. My family was always steadfast and overwhelmingly loving. My friends from high school kicked in overdrive. Churches helped us, relatives that I had only recently met helped us and along with the grace of GOD we have come to that last curve in a really long tunnel.

Zach graduates on Saturday after screaming and kicking his way through a brutal Senior year. I often screamed right along beside him and realize  all I have been through hasn't exactly been conducive for a great last year of school but the boy did it anyway and it makes for a high point in my life as a parent.

The tides seems to be changing...the wind is blowing in a different direction and the air smells sweet.

Tim got a new job with wonderful opportunities and a huge raise if he does well after six months.

 Zach totalled my car three weeks ago and  I am now driving the car I always wanted as a twenty year old. Granted it is older than my car but looks newer.

 I was still apprehensive as I drove it home. Would it explode, overheat or be sideswiped before I made it back to the Grady curve? (Atlanta landmark on our ridiculously traffic overloaded highway system.)

We made it back to Newnan. I was still in denial. Then it passed the emissions test.

 Still wary, I drove it to work today and encountered a downpour  the likes of the one that made Noah start building an ark. It's a convertible and I thought...every thing else is working fine, the rag top must be the weak link in this fantasy I seem to be currently living. I got to work and the bottom fell out. The wind was blowing so hard I couldn't open the back door. When I managed to get it open the wind whipped and slammed it open so hard I couldn't get it shut. Everyone in the kitchen was staring and laughing at a ninety nine pound soaking wet ole lady just trying to clock in.

When I left work tonight the car was nice and dry inside...BINGO!

Tim starts his new job next week...going to Nashville for training (or maybe they will keep him and just direct deposit his paycheck...totally kidding, unless you talk to Tim. He might be DOWN with all that!)

Having fam and friends over on Saturday for the /MY  graduation par-Tay. Two kids down, one to go. My house is a semi wreck but I spent six hours on Johnny today making the front of the subdivision look fantabulous and cutting my own yard as well. I may have to make people stand out in the yard waiting for me to bring them a plate so they don't see my HUGE dog house on the inside but it's all good to me.

My boy  is "Gradiating" and that is a milestone I have dreamed of for several years.

 All the rest is just a bobble in the game of life, a tumultuous time that reminded me  how much I am loved. Massey's band family helped us as I tried my best to help them. I got a great new job that has helped us time after time after time.

It's like I am scared of being happy but thrilled that I am all at the same time.

I have so many to thank. I have so many to pay back and I have so much to pay forward. I have to work a double shift on Friday but if I can get Zach out of high school I can do ANYTHING!

Will give the house a quick "Fluffing" when I get home from work tomorrow night and have all the burger patties made up before I go to bed. My next door husband is in Hawaii and I am dragging his grill over to cook on. It will be a great day...oh yes it will!

There are  millions and millions worse off than me, even when we were at our aboslute worst. I feel ashamed that I ever felt sorry for us.

The curse has lifted. I feel empowered. I am the only one in control of my own personal destiny, but  would never be standing in this light without the help of so many and the help of the Man upstairs.

So it is Memorial Day weekend...it will certainly be remembered by me.

Gloria Gaynor said it best "I will survive!"

Til next time...(that means tomorrow)  COTTON

Living in "Ordinary" Time...Not Easy With My Life

 The first picture above is from the 100th year anniversary at our childhood church in East Point. Double click on the photo and right above the knob  on the door to the left is a picture of two of my parent's best friends...J.E. and Cookie Tyler. Number one, who could make up those names?

 Number two,  why was I so blessed to not only grow up with them but still be great friends with their kids?

I told one of their son's who comes in to eat with me at Mama Lucia's that his Dad looks like "The Great One" in this photo. For my younger readers that means "Jackie Gleason". (google him)

 Lynn (I don't think he will mind me using his real name since he has finally been pardoned) LMAO... and  his wife have been regulars of mine since I worked in my old hell hole of a steak house and have loyally followed me to my new digs. Our family's spent every Summer vacation together and every Fall we  went to the mountains ... Nantahala,  to rent a huge place that slept at least thirty. Our parent's weren't swingers so every one had to have a bedroom. Those are some of the fondest memories of mine as a teen.

We would spend a day in Gatlinburg cruising the street...Ripley's and the many fudge shops and I even remember Lynn's cousin buying a "Lute".

We used to drive up on Friday and one of the parents would stay in town to drive all the teens up after the football game. One year we thought they had arrived only to discover it was a bear tromping through the garbage cans on the porch .

Those were fantastic and precious times.

Over the years I lost touch with quite a few of these friends but have reconnected with them and they are some of the many that have helped push and carry me through this last year. Lynn's  sister , Tracey is  one of them.

She is another friend of mine that is gay (That means happy and carefree in MY book) and when I ran into her after 30 years at a funeral she introduced me to her partner and said they had been together for over 20 years... she remarked "That's 150  in straight years." I laughed for five minutes...

Yes I love all my friends and my family. (straight or gay) Yes I love all my gay relatives (shout out Mr. Joey and Mr. Kevin)  Yes I love all my Re pub friends too. I LOVE... That is what you are required to do according to the BIG Man.

To me that seems to be the problem. Too much hate and criticism and way too much bashing.

 Some people have no idea what it is to be different by genetics and not by choice.

 To me, that is totally THEIR loss and a huge part of the person I AM.

 I am a person that loves without conditions.



I have a large and eclectic family. I have arms that are short and small but that can wrap around anyone that loves me or needs to be loved.

I have been laughed at for days about my post before New Year's actually hit. I don't blame them..I laugh with them too. My greatest quality is knowing my faults and I knowing I am an idiot...but a good sort of an idiot.

I went into work today and the bartender (the one we'll call "Hooters Extraordinaire") told me about a calendar that we had at the restaurant. It was bizarre...some of the days were marked "Ordinary Days".

Sometimes it would say  "Fourth Sunday in Ordinary times". Or it would say "Easter Sunday in Ordinary times".

This calendar came from a regular at the bar at work.

 HMMMM. It came from his Catholic church.

Those Catholics are a crazy bunch. They got that Pope in that fancy Bubble Mobile and who is to say who is in charge of the calendar?

No wonder I got so screwed up with midnight on New Year's...I must be a Catholic by mistake. Dang...Now I gotta whole nother faith to be thankful for.

 I got me a smiley face made out of birds and a NEW YEAR that screams "Let's GO Kelly".

I don't even have to go to confession to know that the Pope  is saying "Remind her she grew up in East Point Christian Church" but    BTW "WE love everyone".

Hoping  2011 is as good for everyone as it is going to be for me!