Life's Good

Some people describe me as a bit crazy and I resemble that remark! Woke up early today and got more done before noon than I have in a week. Freaking Georgia weather has turned again. It was in the seventies this past Sunday. Tonight's low is twenty three. I got lucky this week and have two days off in a row. Another server called me around one wanting to know if I would work for them? That'd be a negative, Ghost Rider!

I took TJ to work at ten and headed to Walmart. I wish their groceries weren't so cheap, but they are and so am I. It wasn't too bad today. I would have gone Krogering but needed a filter for my furnace, weather stripping and a couple of other household items. One thing you can say about ole Walmart, it's one stop shopping.

For the first time in months all the laundry is caught up, folded and put away. Zach keeps his room neat, he's freakish about it and is one of the things I love most about him. The other two Lost Boys, not so much so I just keep their bedroom doors closed.

Tonight's task is dusting, a chore I absolutely abhor. Amazing how much easier it is to endure when you enjoy a lovely adult beverage while you do. I can't just dust, I have to carry a bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap around with me to get down to the actual furniture. I detest doing it but sure looks better when it's done. Too bad I have three big dogs who feel the need to shake their coat like crazy every single time they get up to move from one spot in the house to the next...and don't even get me started on the slobbering faces.

My new best friend (until I take Johnny Dear out of hibernation) is the Mr. Clean magic eraser. I'm here to tell you, they ARE magic!

Thanks to my sweet sister who totally redid my kitchen,  inspiring me to attempt to get the rest of my house in order as well and not to brag, but recently updated my Facebook status: "My house is so clean it smells like we only have ONE dog."

Put a giant roast with potatoes, onions, carrots and celery in the crock pot around noon so dinner's done.

Icing on the cake is I have tomorrow off too. The kitchen is full of groceries and we have plenty of dog food. That's all we need for me to not have to leave the house until work on Friday.

Classic Cotton story: I came home from work day before yesterday and walked into the kitchen. The blinds from my back door were in a broken shambles on the table. The plastic frame which made it look like our back door had individual panes was broken into a million pieces from the middle down and all over the floor. One of the Lost Boys came home and asked him what the heck happened? He said he took Ziggy out back to play with and left Charlie the bulldog in the house. He heard Charlie whining at the back door (Chally2Phat doesn't like being left out) and came back inside. Charlie had destroyed the blinds and chewed off the plastic frame trying to get outside. For Pete's sake, does it ever stop? I cleaned up the mess and headed to Lowes with one piece of the frame after measuring the door.

Whadaya know...they don't sell just the plastic frame but can order one. I asked if it was expensive and the Lowe's dude said "Naw!"

I considered $56.00 VERY expensive so just stopped by Walmart and bought another three dollar blind for the door. I went home and tore the rest of the chewed up frame off from the middle down. I lowered the blind to cover the top half still with fake panes and called it a winning solution. These dog's better be glad I am such a pup lover.

Tim's in the running for a wonderful opportunity with a new company and have all our fingers crossed, praying it works out.

Life's good.

Life's what you make it. It can BE bad,  but if it isn't bad every once in a while, how can you tell when it is really good? Needless to say we can tell around here!

Massey has applied to be a camp counselor this summer along with her room mate. There will be some lucky little girls if they hire those two and I have a feeling they will. She's really grown up this past year and couldn't be prouder of her.

Life's good.

For the first time, I've started to realize I'm the momma of three grown ups now. It's a pretty amazing feeling. I guess that nurse at the hospital was right when I went to take my first one home from the hospital after giving birth and told her I was pretty nervous about taking care of a newborn. She patted me on the back and said "Honey, don't worry none...they're HARD to kill." I just shrugged my shoulders and said "Okay then, let's put him in the car seat and take him home."

Life's good. If you wake up on this side of the dirt, call the day a success.

Til next time...COTTON

Another Day...That's a Good Thing!

I saw this photo on a friend's FB page and every time I look at it, it still makes me chuckle...which is also a good thing.

Unfortunately I worked another double shift but between shifts picked up Massey from school. She got in the car and informed me that she was graduating from  high school with honors and ranks 155 out of a graduating class of 575. Another good thing!

She's a good kid. All three of my kids are good kids...in different ways but I love them all to death, even though at times thought they were trying to kill me to prove my point. So far I have survived to tell the story. They have all struggled, who hasn't? They all still often tell me they love me...some kids don't. That's another good thing!

My kids had everything they ever wanted when they were little...yet another good thing.

When we hit the skids unfortunately they were all old enough to know their parent's were broke. Not a good thing when you are a parent. It's embarrassing but facts are facts.

We survived...another good thing.

I'm finally having to realize that I am getting older. Not a good thing. I have exhausted myself over the past few years. The good part is I have two kids still at home and have learned how to boss them around and push  their buttons.  You want my car? Put gas in it. You want to borrow my car again? Do some laundry and clean the kitchen. It's amazing what kids can do when they want something from you.

Massey is applying for a job opening at a day care center. Perfect job for her, she's great with kids. Zach is doing wonderful with his new job and TJ is making his own mark on the world...another good thing!

Sometimes you have to step back from the current picture and look at the entire picture.

I have three healthy kids. Yes we hit a rough patch but it taught my kids a valuable lesson. Nothing is a guarantee in life. In life you roll with the punches and come out swinging. You fight back and look for a friend in your corner.

If you are a good person, you will have friends who go to the mat for you. You will have people who have your back and friends who help unasked. That, my friends is a marvelous thing!

I am almost there. Next  year this time I will only have three pups to yell at. It's gonna be like starting over. One is a young pup that wears me (and the other two dogs) out. Another is going blind and the last is a fat lazy bulldog who acts like he can't hear, unless you pour dog food in his bowl.

One more graduation party to  throw. One more time sitting in sweltering heat at a football stadium waiting for them to call my kid's name.

This time it will be with honors. That's a new one for THIS mom!

Doing it again tomorrow. A double shift, picking up Massey  from school and going back to work.

If I have made it this far, what's nine more months?

 An honor graduate and a feeling of total success as a Momma, that's what it is!

Til next time..COTTON

It's A Dog's Life

I've realized quite a few things with this latest puppy addition.

I am over fifty two years old, my youngest is a senior in high school . My oldest did wonderful after finally being not so gently nudged from  the nest and my younger son is looking to get a place of his own. "Looks Like I've Almost Made It!"
   (Not)

 While on my hands and knees tonight after work, spraying so much Resolve carpet cleaner on dog spots that the problem SHOULD have been resolved by the time I got through spraying if the label's bragging rights are correct ; thought about how ridiculous it was to think I was almost there.

Now I'm left raising a seven year old, six year old and four month old. At least there won't be anymore teacher conferences or recitals and if one of them gets locked up, good luck with THAT one phone call!

So what they don't know how to use a door mat? Neither do my kids. My kids gripe when they are hungry. When my pups are hungry,  they just wait for me to remember. They love me when I am in a good mood or bad mood, and when I am in a bad mood they seem to love me more.

They never gripe about anything  but they don't have to.  I can read their always slobbering faces. It's a bond you make with pups. They only want to be loved and all three of mine know without a doggy doubt they are.

Cleaning up doggy poop is a breeze compared to raising three teens.

If I can survive raising three teens I can survive raising twelve more paws.

Til next  time...Crazy COTTON

Just Another Night

I cut grass for three hours today in balmy 97 degree weather. Didn't quite have time to finish all the weed eating but decided to quit early for a long cool shower before heading into work...a little bonus for my customers!

Got seated a party of seven, two on walkers and one with a cane. Their grown children were with them and a teen aged grandson with an AC/DC tee shirt on and a smart phone in his hand. He didn't take his eyes off the screen one time the entire dining experience. After it was all over, I almost agreed with his decision.

It took them five minutes to all shuffle back  to the room where their table was. Two minutes to to store the walkers and prop up the cane. Another five for the women to boss the men around and tell them where to sit and where not to. (one renegade at  the table tried to decide for his self where to sit but was quickly hen pecked to death)

The patriarch of the family had the chair at  the head of the table after he was clearly instructed to do just that.

He waved me over with one of those huge "Hey! Come over HERE!" arm signals and asked if we had Bud Light? He said he wanted a draft and I told him we only had bottled beer. He asked if we had Miller Lite then? I told him we did and he cranked his neck around to look up at me and said "I'll have a Miller Lite then, and I want one of them TALL drafts."

His wife almost screamed at him "She just TOLD YOU  they don't have draft beer!"

He said "Well I'll take the Fettuccine Alfredo." I didn't think his wife's voice could get any shriller but it went up a good ten decibels and she flat out hollered "WE'RE NOT ORDERING FOOD YET!!"

I patted the ole gent on  the shoulder to let him know it was okay. I'm a touchy feely kind of server. The customers I know very well almost always get a hug. I pat their arms, shake their hands and will even tuck in a tag on the back of a woman's dress or blouse for them. I'm a full service kind of server!

The daughter seated next to Pops said  to bring him a bottle of beer. I got him his beer and started to take their order.

 I got to  the third person, either a son or son in law and when I asked him what he would like to order and he said "I'd like a Bud draft" was the only time I saw the teen look up, or laugh.

They were really a nice family and enjoyed the meal.  I enjoyed peeking into their world for a hour. You could tell  they loved each other in their own eclectic (or maybe resigned) way.

They reminded me of a comedy bit my sister told me about.  A stand up was talking about the difference between elderly men and women in nursing homes. He said the women always dressed nicely and just seemed  to look mildly ticked off, like they had always thought they would have gone to  Europe but never did. The men always had a wild eyed crazy stare weaving their head about with  their mouth wide open seeming to look like they were expecting you  to tell them the answer to a big secret question "Where's the GOLD???"

I also got to wait on one of my Fave Former co workers from  The Western Sizzler. He put himself through college working for the evil giant and got out just in time. He has a great wife and great job now. That's what happens when you  are a great  guy! He came in with his mom and I had a great time chatting with them. "Great" tables are the best...I have so much fun I feel like I should tip them.

Massey is getting closer to home and her senior year in high school. She's in Missouri.

Zach starts his new job tomorrow with  a $1.50 raise right from  the jump.

Ziggy is down to peeing in the house once a day.

Haven't gotten a cut off notice from a utility company in almost a year.

YEP! I'd say  things are looking up.

Til next  time...COTTON

Here She Goes... Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Tim and I have two more days left on the beach. Tim is driving Massey to Daytona early in the morning to catch a flight to Destin. She is driving to Colorado with her aunts "Dellen." (as she calls them) Dear friends of mine and just great peeps all around. I would trust Del with my life and often have...now I am entrusting Massey to them for the greatest road trip a sixteen year old could ever dream of.

She will get to spend a night in Baton Rouge, visit New Orleans, Dallas, Colorado (where they have a house) Cincinnati and many other places along the way. I am excited for her and still thinking about squeezing my tiny self into her carry on bag!

We have had a great time here, enjoyed having my Maw in Law over every night and visiting with Tim's two brothers that live here. My niece rode down with us to visit her Dad and it has been nice to spend time with her as well as my new sis in law. I have done nothing but relax, tan, eat and drink.
Water all day and Natty's at night!

Massey and I have been joined at the hip the past five days and it has been great. The lifeguard stand is directly in front of where we dump our junk on the beach every day and I'll have to agree with Massey...it's been pretty nice scenery. Buff tan young guys with waves as a back drop. Massey liked the "Beach Scene" and I will have to admit sometimes I was glad I had my sunglasses on so I could stare at them as well !

She leaves tomorrow on her big adventure and I know  I need to get used to this. Next year this time she will be leaving for college and unfortunately it won't be with Del and Ellen. It will be JUST her.

Thank The Lord I have twelve months to mentally prepare myself.

 TJ is in Los Angeles visiting a friend and by the pics on his FB page is having a ball. Zach is enjoying having the house to himself and has checked in more often than I thought he would.


How did my kids all grow up so quickly? I often wonder if I did a good job as a mother but when I sit back and see all of their accomplishments I would like to think that I contributed to their successes.


Yesterday was eye opening to Massey (as well as me) and think we both came away from seeing a stranger die to realize once again how precious the gift of life is.


Tomorrow my girl heads off into the wild blue yonder...and I will sit on the beach and ponder.


Mother, mother ocean, I've heard you call 
Wanted to sail upon your waters 
Since I was three feet tall 
You've seen it all, you've seen it all 

Watch the men who rode you 
Switch from sails to steam 
And in your belly you can hold the treasures 
Few have ever seen 
Most of them dream 
Most of them dream 

Yes, I am a pirate two hundred years too late 
Cannons don't thunder there's nothin' to plunder 
I'm an over forty victim of fate 
Arriving too late, arriving too late.


I love the ocean. I always have. Now I will have two days to sit on a beach for the first time in 22 years without any kids and ponder my life, all the whats whys and howcomes.


I am proud of myself and proud of my family. I am proud I have made it this far...sometimes I didn't think I would, but I did.


Once Massey makes her connecting flight and reaches Del and Ellen's arms I can relax...TOTALLY.


This means I will finally after many, many years and many ups and downs have 48 hours of ME TIME.


Tim comes and goes on the beach. Me, I go down at ten in the morning and can stay til four in the afternoon. I love to read, I love to people watch and believe it or not I like to simply do nothing but look at the ocean. Mother Nature is a mighty beast and fascinates me minute by minute, wave by wave.


Still haven't blogged about my Maw in Law but that will have to wait til my youngest makes it to Destin!


Til next time...COTTON 

Sometimes Reality Bites

It's been a long couple of weeks in my tired ole life. I am almost fifty two and should be  10 years from retirement, instead my retirement date seems to have been pushed back to my funeral. At least that will make it a party too!!

I've attended the funeral of a young neighbor my own oldest son's age who grew up at my house eating and tearing up everything in my house along with my own three kids and at least half a dozen other kids...I loved every minute of it. Our house has always been a kid magnet but at least I knew where they were all "sticking together."

The funeral  was one of the saddest  I have ever attended and being over fifty I have attended more than my share. This kid was shot in the chest, point blank at a local tavern after a shove during a dispute about the guy flirting with my neighbor's girlfriend after she had asked him to stop. He stopped flirting with her and immediately stopped another young man's life.

The funeral was held in his parent's home town about twenty minutes away at their church. It was packed ... with people standing in the back. It was filled with young people, all friends of Chris and the minister took the pulpit and not only had us all riveted but hanging on to her every word. It suddenly made me realize after going through my third tissue that when I die I want not only a black minister but a room full of black folks. (No disrespect intended calling them blacks. My high school was a 50/50 mix of whites and blacks..."Ebony and Ivory")  When African Americans send off their loved ones they do it loud long and large. They don't preach to show off , they preach to teach and when the peeps sitting in the crowd agree they don't just sit there, They raise up their voices to be heard loud and clear rather than nod off  or simply nod their head in agreement.

Three days later I was sitting outside a courtroom with my younger son,  witnessing how pathetically slow our justice system works and even more  pitiful how much of our society is. You couldn't even get into the court room so my husband and I sat on a six foot long bench outside the court room with our son waiting to be called in. Once again, standing room only.

When I was brought up you dressed up nice for church, picture day at school and  court dates.
 Obviously that rule has changed.

 There were peeps in pajama pants and people wearing tank tops they had airbrushed on a trip to the beach. One couple was snuggled up asleep together on one of the benches like they were at home in bed together while an eighty five year old man stood hunched over his walker in his own pajamas. It was a sad statement of our current society but one I was unfortunately included in.

 I made my son wear Khakis a starched shirt (Thank you me) and a tie. After two hours of waiting I went back downstairs to get my book from the car...obviously I was in for a LONG wait.

Being born in the early sixties I knew how to dress..."WEAR a dress!" I got into the elevator to go down and was accompanied by a lone man around the age of thirty. After ten seconds he simply said "You a lawyer ain't cha." I thought about saying  "No but I  play one on TV."

Hour number three later I left my husband and son and went to throw some  money at the blood sucking Verizon network that unfortunately keeps us all connected 24/7 and in this world cannot live without.

By the time I got back the deal had been struck. Zach pays $17.50 a day for thirty days to live in prison. He paid a fifty dollar application fee (seems that background check is an oxymoron) and just another way to get money .

At least this seems to be the beginning of another end. I have learned in my decades of being a parent that it truly NEVER ends but ebbs and flows.

When I take a look at the BIG picture...my life's okay. When I start breaking it down, kid by kid, bill by bill and event by event it's pretty discouraging. On the upside, at least I am still around to be discouraged.

With God as my witness, I will  hang in there til the Fat Lady sings  (Glad I am skinny and not fat)

Til next time...COTTON

My Day Off

Today was my lone day off. Like an idiot I let Massey talk me into signing up to be one of the chaperone's for her Chorus field trip to their Festival in Hampton...a town mostly known for being the home to Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Yesterday wasn't really a banner day for me. My back's still hurting and I had to get up early for a field trip with Zach, my youngest son who is nineteen seemingly going on 14 with the mind of Bill Gates but the motivation of a slug when it's really tired. He made some  bad choices last year and although I was tremendously disappointed,  I still love him just the same...maybe even a little more now. He was forced to own up to his mistake and I had to switch to my tough love mode and let him sit in jail overnight although it nearly killed me. With our "Gran Pa" of a swift justice system his court date has been put off for nearly a year. Last week I got the notice...be there at 8:30 on Wednesday for arraignment.

I was going to just let him take my car, my husband wasn't going he said "The boy's nineteen he should have known better. Let him grow up." I was worried they'd lock him up and I'd be without a car for work that afternoon so I took him. We screamed into the parking lot one minute before he was due there and people were lined up outside of the courthouse like they were going to a concert. From  the looks of the line we were attending a Snoop Dog concert with Hank Williams, Jr. as the opening act. It was the most despairing group of people I have ever seen. Once ushered through the metal detectors we were all herded into a court room intended to hold maybe a hundred people...there were over 300 of us there to see the show. Zach was standing against a wall that was already three people deep when a woman asked me as I entered if I needed a public defender?  I said "Maybe" and went to ask Zach if he had signed up for one. He said no so I shoved him back to the table where all the "Concert" goers were signing up for free legal assistance.

After almost a hour I spotted one empty seat  in  the middle of the room and scooted between the Crips and Bloods, homeless vagrants and obvious totally red neck scums of the earth and took a seat. My back was killing me. It was embarrassing number one because I was even there. It was embarrassing number two because a lot of the lawyers in the courtroom come in to eat at  the restaurant where I work.

Almost three hours later we got a court date and an attorney.
The things you'll do for your kids. (As Massey would say SMHS.)

Today was a better day although I dreaded it as well. My one day off  would be spent on a bus carting forty screaming girls to their chorus festival. School buses are not known as smooth riding vehicles and I had foregone wearing my back brace. I already LOOK old...if I was going to wear a back brace I may as well have worn a sign around my neck "Massey's mom's an ole fart."

We got to the Festival site and as the girls milled around out front I found a nice sturdy pole to lean against pressing my shoulders to it for some relief. Another mom that went was cute as a button, at least ten years younger than me but we quickly became friends. The place was crawling with teen age girls all with their fancy hair do's and all tucking their cell phones into their bra as they entered the door. I mentioned to the other mom "When did bobby pins become a hair accessory or decoration?"

When I was a teen you did all you could to hide bobby pins. You placed them where they would never show.

Girl after girl after girl walked by us today with bobby pins all over their heads. Some in Cris Cross designs or in patterns on their head...all for the world to see. Had there been a metal detector on THIS field trip the line would have been longer than the one at  the courthouse yesterday. They were using them like they were a bow or a cute clip they picked up at Claire's with their mom's money. It totally baffled me!

The girl's knocked it out of the park and got straight superior ratings. We loaded the rickety ole bus for the ride back home and to my amazement were even louder than they were on the ride there.

So I'm a mom. Not a mom of perfect kids but I'm a mom none the less. I have kid's that have floundered and I have kid's that seem to flourish. It's a nice mix . It's called "Life."

You take the good with the bad. You try to forget the bad times and relish the good. Regardless of how it goes you simply love your kids and try to be there for them. Some times you feel bad about the situation they are in and sometimes you are proud to be there  to witness it.

The important thing to me is that I will ALWAYS be there for my kids. They make me proud and sometimes disappoint me.  They worry me to death and they are most probably the reason for most of my aches and pains but I wouldn't have it any other way and even if offered a "Do Over" from a magic Genie...I'd turn the offer down.

I've done my best. (at least I hope so) I have seen them stumble and  falter, seen them succeed and have stuck by  them either way.

It's not like "I" got it right the first time, not even the second but I kept on keeping on and had support from amazing family,  many friends and mentors.

To my kids and  the rest of young people everywhere...in the words of Dr. Seuss:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

Til next  time....COTTON 

Happy Fourth!!

My last day off was June 21 so today gave me even more reason to celebrate! I celebrated by staying on the couch til after one PM watching CNN and chatting with Massey. She finally hauled my carcass up and we went to the store for brats and all the fixings. By the time we left the store it was storming...that only meant one thing to me, time for another siesta on the couch. By five o'clock I felt sufficiently rested and decided to shuck a few ears of corn to go with the baked beans Massey had made and the brats Tim was grilling when he got home from work.

Shucking corn is exhausting work, especially when you have to sit up to do it. I somehow struggled through and crashed back onto the couch to recuperate from my shucking. Tim got home around 6:30 and fired up the grill and I opened a beer. NOW it was a holiday!

I tend to push myself to limits that Wonder Woman would shake her head at and then crash like the Hindenburg. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but it is just the way I am geared..."All or nothing."

Day after tomorrow is my middle child's birthday. He will turn nineteen going on twelve making me feel  sixty five. At least we are both still breathing and he still tells me he loves me.

Raising kids is the hardest job I've ever had. Sometimes it is a cake walk and sometimes it is a pile of steaming dog do that only a mom can clean up. Dad will take the bag out to the can but the stinky part falls into my hands...no wonder I have such rough looking hands.

I was no angel as a teen and have kept that in mind. My parents would wear me out with a belt, I tend to wear my kids out with my sharp tongue and sarcastic but even sharper wit (two of my better qualities as a parent.)

I am happy to be off on the Fourth. I am happy to be alive. I am happy to have teens and young adult children. They are happy they were born in a country that frowns on parents beating the crap out of them when they do stupid stuff.

You take the good with the bad. I am married to a wonderful man that somehow loves me. Being married to me is like being married to a ninety nine pound Roseanne Barr when she first began her TV career. We drive each other nuts because we are so polar opposite but both realize each of us signed up for the long road trip of marriage and parenthood over two decades ago  and have settled into our perspective seats, turning the mental radio up when you want to drown the other out to catch  a short rest. You married them because they were sexy and cute to you but after  years start to blur together and life throws  a few curves you tend to sometimes forget. But wonder if you split up and they meet someone else, started acting all "Perfecty" and ended up married to THEM?  I say hang in there and take your chances, trust the instincts you felt decades ago and know that when you finally grow old together it may just be the best part! (Will someone copy and paste this last paragraph and email it to my spouse?) 

 Dang...that ought to be the definition of parenthood in the dictionary!

Glad to be an American this Fourth...great feeling. With all our problems and infighting it is still hands down the absolute best country in the world. Glad to have a God that loves me even with all my faults. Glad to have a husband that is still hanging in there after over twenty years with the lunatic I call "COTTON." Glad to have three kids that have brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined and enough drama and sporadic emotional trauma to have paid back how bad I was as a teen ten times over. Guess we'll call that parental inflation! Glad to have a job I love and that for some bizarre reason loves me right back. Mostly after God loving me...I am grateful that I have a family that loves me. I mean they love "ME."

I've never been the greatest daughter, sister, aunt , cousin , co worker, friend or even adversary but I think I have given it a pretty decent shot after a few youthful fumbles and a few late life hot flashes.

Hoping my writing will one day soon pay off and I can buy them all the mansions they deserve!

Then I could still act like Roseanne and they'd have to act like they still liked me...I gotta get busy with this publishing thing...it may be my way back into the will!

Have a happy Fourth.
I live in a great country.

I have a family that loves me unconditionally  and literally tens of thousands of men and women protecting my freedom, something we all too often take way  too lightly.

YEP...I'll call it a good day!

Til next time...COTTON

Alone With My Thoughts

This is a picture of Massey with Rosie just before she left for Florida (the FIRST time). Both my girls look happy and remind me of how lucky I was to have such a great dog and how lucky I am to still have a great daughter.

Life is plodding along and ever so slowly getting better. I absolutely LOVE my job and all the crazy people I work for and with. Tim's new job seems to be much better and pays more, but when you are years behind you can't expect that first paycheck to automatically make everything right...but I was still hoping. (Didn't happen)

Massey has been gone since the first of June. Stayed with her aunt's for almost three weeks in Florida and came home for two days to repack and throw some more crap around on the floor of her bedroom and left for another week in Florida, this time with her BFF and her parents.

It's given me lots of time to work (a good thing) and lots of time to think (sometimes a troubling thing).

I wish I was a better parent...and if I had it all to do over again I would be a magnificent one! My teens would probably hate me but I can remember a time as a teen when I felt I hated MY parents. Stupid me...I thought they were ole fuddy duddy's but it turns out they were silently high fiving each other  behind their bedroom door after I stormed off to mine (slamming it loudly) when they not only put me on  a month's restriction but imposed it with no early release.

Dang...in hindsight I was an awfully lucky teen.

Massey does great in school. I even got a Thank You note from one of her teachers. To reward her I let her live in a pig sty and leave a trail behind her every where she goes. Both my boys struggled as teens and I bailed them out time after time after time. I wish I  kept a score card....it would read "Mom: deep in denial and debt /  Boys: Master manipulation  a complete success."

Massey's flaws are superficial and I tend to cut her  slack. My boys have tried to kill me and almost succeeded numerous times.

I am a wuss when it comes down to it...I love my kids so much it hurts, especially when I see THEM hurt or in trouble. I rush in to fix it instead of waiting for THEM to figure it out on their own. My parents would have never done that and  I am eternally grateful.

I don't want to say I am a bad parent...but I could be a better parent and strive for it daily. It's not like raising teens in the sixties or seventies.

 It's  raising teens in a gone wrong society...sometimes making me ashamed of what this world is becoming and realizing at the tender age of fifty one  it is up to me.. one of the little people (small pun) to right this world one step at a time.

You can't give up...you just need to "Step it up."

My kids have been spoiled beyond belief.  But I hope  the values and determination I have shown rub off on them one day and they have the same wake up call I did.

"Momma and Diddy are pretty stinkin' smart."

I strive to be "Smart" on a daily basis. Hope I am one day!

 All my kids still end  phone calls with "I love you."

In 2011...to a Mom..."That's the bomb.com."

Til next time...COTTON

Kids Will Be Kids...Even When They are 24

No one under the age of fifty will recognize this picture.

When I was a kid, Art Linkletter had a show called "Kid's Say the Darndest Things".

This was back when reality TV was Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Candid Camera and Art Linkletter... unless you considered Let's Go to the Races as reality TV.

I know I just confused anyone under the age of fifty and made everyone above the age of fifty chuckle.

I have been working like a steam engine... eleven shifts last week and eight this week (because I screwed up on when Massey's competition was) so I will be picking up another double Sunday and bumping back up to ten!

It's wonderful to have a job where I can work as much as I need and bring a paycheck home after every shift.

Tonight after it slowed down we were all standing around talking when I mentioned my MLK blog to the owner and remarked "What were white people THINKING in the 50's and 60's?" Not to mention that we loaded them all up on a boat and chained them together and brought them here to be treated like animals, and sometimes the animals got better treatment!

He whole heartedly agreed. I asked if he thought ANY of those people that fought SO hard AGAINST equality for everyone were embarassed today by their actions then?

We agreed that some are and sadly, some are not.

I mentioned that when Zach was in fifth grade... still sweet and "Un"Anti Everything, he was a big advocate of equal rights. He used to get really upset about bigotry and bias and was ALL over the self serving politicians.

He wanted to change the world and for about 2 years I thought I may being raising a future presidential candidate. I almost got excited about moving into the White House and having someone else to clean up after my family of slobs.

In fifth grade the kid's write their first "Real" paper. Zach's was in February so of course being "Black History Month" he was all excited. The paper had guidelines and rules. It had to have sources and be backed up by facts you could show.

Zach came home beaming and said "I chose Martin Luther King III" to write about.

I immediately said "Why don't you write about his father?"

Zach said that every one was writing about him and he wanted to (bless his little young Liberal heart) do even MORE!

We checked out every book they had on Martin Luther King, Jr. and there was hardly ANY mention of "Marty'. At least we learned he had a nick name.

We could find no sources saying where he attended school or what he was doing in in his younger years.

I guess when you know you are in the cross hairs of society you keep your kid's life pretty private.

Zach sat down and started writing about how smart Marty was and I said "How do you KNOW that?"

I told Zach he had to back up all of his paper with facts. The smile faded after two hours of finding nothing more than Marty was MLK Jr.'s son.

He was required to report on their education and accomplishments. He was to report on when and how that person had died and back up all his facts with sources.

He spent hours on the computer and proudly gave me the report to read.

Thank the Lord he wasn't in the room because after I read the first paragraph...I immediately called my sister to read her his report.

He skated around every rule of writing the paper that he could...and did it quite well for a fifth grader.

Where he was to report about his subject's education, Zach had written "We can only assume he did well in school".

It went on and on with "Assumptions" and when it came time for him to tell when and how this person had died, he typed "He is not dead, but is happily alive".

I told my sister that his teacher probably had his paper tacked to the board in the teacher's lounge just to give all the other teachers a laugh.

My boy meant well...and that's all that mattered to me.

I kept that paper for years but went looking for it last year and couldn't find it. I guess Zach found it and decided to destroy the evidence.

My kids have given me so many laughs and wonderful things to look back on and remember. It is a good thing I write them all down.

I remember as well... Zach had a crush on a girl in third grade that wouldn't give him the time of day if he was on death row the morning of his execution.

He came home from school and said "Melissa hurt her leg, she's on crotches".

Or when he brought home his new best friend in third grade to spend the night and announced "He's spending the night. He's a severe alcoholic but brought all his own stuff with him". I asked Zach "I thought he was Diabetic?" And Zach said "Yeah, same thing."

I miss when my kids made me laugh. They still give me a chuckle every now and then so I guess that counts.

I hope every Mom writes down all the things their kids say and do. They will be priceless memories for one of the grand kid's to read back to us in the ole folks home as they shovel jello into our mouths.

KIDS..ya gotta have them. Be good to them...they are the one's that will pick out our hospice!

My kid's have given me so many smiles and laughs...far outweighing the negatives.

They tend to rebel as teens but if raised right, they will come home to the values you instill in them as children and continue to make you smile.

Til next time...COTTON

Am I Living in a Sitcom?

When I got married at the ripe (make that RIGHT) age of thirty I had grand ideas of what my life would be . I would be June Cleaver with a job. Maybe I wouldn't wear dresses all the time and maybe my house wouldn't be as spic and span but I would live the American dream...raise kid's that would be wealthy enough for me to retire early and THEM take care of ME!!

I can pretty much scratch that first dream off my list. My oldest son has decided to be a "Gradual Student" and drag his college degree out until he hits his thirties.

My middle son is a senior in high school, studying to be a homeless drifter.

My daughter is a sophomore in high school and currently majoring in "Drama"...and doing quite well!

My husband is a wonderful man that for the love of Pete, seems to love me. I can't be easy to live with... especially if you are him.

He is as laid back as I am manic. I want and need things done "NOW" and he is of the mindset "Okay, baby...I'll try and get it done".

Trying don't get it in my book.

He works long hard hours out on a loading dock in this freakish Winter weather and I'll give him that.


What he doesn't understand is the life and role of "Mom".

I am the one the school calls when our son is late to class for no apparent reason...both his legs work just fine when he is running out of the house to jump in the car with his buddies.

I am the one who runs the Funnel Cake stand at every football game going straight from work to the game.

Granted when he had a day job he helped me with the Funnel Cakes but this year I have flown solo.

He works long hours but five days a week. I work at least ten shifts a week. My shifts are short, usually four or five hours but it leaves me with one day off and squeezing in Massey's practices , grocery shopping, occasionally cooking dinner and taking care of our three pups leaves little time to spare.

I call home from work to make sure the dogs have fresh water, and the kids assure me they do. I get home and they are drinking water that is nothing but slobber from their jowls with a couple of snails that have managed to climb in. "H2O with escargot".

I am reaping what I have sewn.

I am a "Doer" and after all these years they have let me be JUST THAT.

I came home from work tonight after working another double shift... have another double tomorrow and another one Tuesday.

When I left this morning I told Zach to drag the Christmas tree that Massey had undecorated two days ago back to the woods .

I came home tonight to find it outside the back door. Granted my two males dogs found it a nice convenient place to hike their legs...that wasn't where I had told him to take it.

So being the "Doer" I am I dragged the tree out to the fire pit to just burn. It was dark and I stepped in a hole that for some unknown reason Zach had dug right by the fire pit. My right foot sank into a hole filled with icy water and I said a few bad words.

At least the tree was out of the house..so we'll give him a "C" . Didn't follow my instructions but at least heard the part "Get the tree out of the house...TODAY".

I thought I would be June Cleaver but have ended up being "Roseanne".




At least Tim rubs my aching feet when he comes home from work and I am waking up to go to work.

He doesn't want to, and my Boxer/Boyfriend Ham gets really jealous but it tends to be the thing that saves me from snapping. That and rubbing my shoulders...It's hell being fifty!

Came home from my double and they had cooked and left the kitchen a mess.

Guess what?

I piled it all in one sink and refused to load it in the dishwasher. If they don't mind a sink full of dishes why should I?

At least I know they ate.

The stove top was covered with grease so I wrote "Please clean me" with a wooden spoon handle and went to blog.

They all help...don't get me wrong, but THEIR idea of help is much different than MINE. If I start a task or project it isn't complete until it is totally done and I have the wonderful satisfaction of feeling the job is well done.

My family has been conditioned to know "Just give it a shot and Mom will know at least we tried".

I am a freaky sort and knowing that helps me tolerate THEM.

If I don't tolerate them...who will?

I guess that's what you get when you have three kids and three big pups...a whole Lotta work.

I wouldn't trade my life for anything, but wouldn't give up complaining and writing about them either.

I kept a written journal from the time I was nine until Massey was born. After that the days, months and years flew by so quickly that I have turned to blogging.

I still go back and read favorite posts. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry.

Sometimes I sit down with all my written journals, read them and wonder where that nine year old girl went?

Tonight she dragged a Christmas tree out to the fire pit, wrote with a wooden spoon on the grease that was left on the stove top, left her shoes that had been soaked in a hole out in the yard to dry in front of the space heater in the kitchen and made herself laugh about it all.

I may not be June Cleaver and I am too skinny to be Roseanne.

What I AM ...is a happy woman with a wonderful job, a wonderful husband and three kids ... three pups and a life that I am incredibly lucky to have.

Would you read about me if my life was dull?

Heck..I wouldn't even have a blog if life was perfect.

What makes it life is the spice!

And I am ONE HOT MAMA...

Til next time....COTTON

The "Funnel" Score... ECHS 53... Losers 13

So I am officially the "Funnel Cake Queen."

I guess there are a lot worse things I could be (and have been )called.

 Here sit my fryers...awaiting my magic wand. No, make that my magic ring and spatula.

 I took a picture of the thermometer in the oil...already hitting the red zone...also known as 450 degrees.

 I'm not the only one working...what's worse, frying french fries or frying funnel cakes? These guys are pumpin' out some taters...crinkle cuts (my fave.)

 The guys in the char pit are cooking burgers, dogs and brats as fast as they can. Obviously no one eats before an East Coweta game.

I had me some help tonight...Can't tell you one of their names, I called them "Fry Lady one"  "Fry Lady two" and "Fry Lady three." When you're frying funnel cakes there isn't time to learn names... you just learn who is going to hand you a plate as you pull the cake out of the grease so you don't burn the poop out of your hand (which I did twice tonight.)

It may sound insane...but I have gotten to where I look forward to frying up plates of crap and powdered sugar and am continually amazed at how people will stand in line for a $4.00 funnel cake. Our stand is constantly busy and sometimes the line is fifteen to twenty people deep. I keep waiting for someone to advance to the front of the line and expect to be getting on a roller coaster.  I sure wouldn't stand in a line for twenty minutes to buy a funnel cake but believe me..they do!

I walked up to the tent tonight and they acted like Oprah had just walked up...one of the women actually clapped. Talk about an ego boost! I told them  that, yes... I did have my degree in "Fryology" and was at their service.

We were in a tent out in front of the stadium and never got to see the game but it seemed like every five minutes we would hear "SCORE...East Coweta."  I finally asked who we were playing, was it an elementary school?  I know the other team hated it...there is nothing worse than losing a high school game when you are a teen. The kids that come to the games may not watch the entire game but they WANT their team to win. I had never even heard of this school  and never made it into the stadium to even see what their colors were. But by the score their colors must be "Black and Blue."

I lose so much money taking these Friday nights off from work...but it is so absolutely therapeutic to me. I am totally appreciated for running the Funnel Cake stand...Heck! No one else wants to and I have found my niche...Helping out where help is needed. I have kids coming up to the stand yelling "Hey Ms. Cotton." And kids coming up yelling "Hey Massey's Mom." I almost feel like a celebrity!

It might not be Broadway...but it is "MY"way of helping out and enjoying being around a bunch of kids that are BEING KIDS. They aren't doing drugs or drinking or having sex...they are being teens, they are supporting their school and even if they don't actually go into the stadium to watch the game they wear the school colors and they have the school pride.

You know I have to include a pic of "MY Pride." This is Massey walking out with the band after the game. After we have turned the fryers off, washed all the crap and taken the tent down. The money is turned in and all that is left is to watch this amazing group of kids march out and know that somehow, someway I have helped . It is Karma my friends. Just to be recognized by all the kids is a boost to me. To see my daughter smile as she walks by is merely a bonus.

The video is of the ECHS drum line...I LOVE me some drum line. I can still remember the cadences from my own high school band. I think ECHS has an awesome drum line.

You tell me! Click on all the pics and the video as well.

Washing the batter and grease off...getting up to have Massey back at the school by 8AM and loving every moment I can of my youngest child doing what every teen should..."Enjoy being a kid."

Til next time...COTTON

Whew!! What a Day...

Here's a picture of my baby as a new born. I found it on google after entering "Adopted GX75's at birth."

I can't say much about the sterility of the birthing room but in comparison to my own garage it is like a
private room with a view.

Now that I know he was born in 1996 it all makes sense. I am riding a teen ager. They constantly challenge you...always need a new  pair of shoes (or tires.)

Give them a week or so off and they whine like a baby when you try to wake them up for school (or for a quick cut.)

OH..he tried to get out of work today...complaining about a back tire being low (he probably let the air out himself.)

I shook the can of fix a flat right in front of his steering wheel and dared him to not have his valve in the six o'clock position that is required on the label of the can.

I pumped his lazy back tire up and screamed into the back yard that looked like a wheat field  after the three inches of rain we have had and never took him out of 5th gear.

There is a method to my madness. I cut blowing all the grass OUT from the house, leaving  cut grass piled up and once I have circled my fire pit in the center of the yard turn around and begin to go back over all the cut grass blowing it finally into the fence at the edge of the yard. That way the dogs aren't running through a pile of loose grass and by the time I go over it again in the opposite direction all the loose grass is blown into the edges by the fence and I am left with a nice trim yard with all the cuttings blown against the fence.

Then I crank up my trusty weed eater ( who is obviously an adult) and cut the crap out of the edges and  "BAM" all the loose grass is spread evenly and my work is done.

Am I insane? "Yes."

Am I smarter than Johnny? "On a good day."

He only has a couple  more cuts til he hibernates for the winter.

He whined and bogged down because the grass was so high but I screamed into his ear (exhaust pipe) and said "You're running like a GIRL."

I think that dig got to him. The yard looks great, I am whooped (don't tell Johnny) and  "All's well that's trimmed well."

After finding out he is a teen (born in 1996) that answers so many questions. Teens are a handful. Teens push you until you push them back.

One more cut and he's done for the year. I went into the garage a few minutes ago and patted his tail pipe. I don't want to  him to go to sleep without knowing his Mama loves him.

It's like  teens...give them too much freedom  and they take advantage of you...ride their ass daily and they know what you expect from them and know what to deliver to survive and continue to be a reciprocate of your love and support.

Not too sure what this says about me as a mother...but my kids all know how much I love Johnny and if he helps me reign my kids in and keep them on their toes...Heck, I'll push the yard...Mr. "Slow Lee's"  too.

Suffering From Carpal Funnel Syndrome

What a day!

Got up at 8Am. Took Zach to school... waited til I actually saw him walk through the doors knowing the cruel authority figures waiting inside would take over  from there and went home to get ready for work. I was scheduled to work a split shift and the guy who had asked for my PM shift had backed out. It was homecoming at Massey's school and I was supposed to help run the funnel cake stand. I dashed off an email to the woman in charge of concessions and told her I couldn't get my shift picked up but would definitely be at the next home game.

I was at work opening the store when the guy who wanted my shift called me back and said he could work after all.

We had a GREAT lunch...I had a party of 10 women and then a party of 16. Made terrific money and decided I would cut my loses on the night shift and go work the ball game. Of course Massey was thrilled. I left the restaurant at 3:50 to dash to the bank to continue my expertise of beating the system. I made my deposit at 3:58 with two minutes to spare. My deposit covered all my checks and I was the proud owner of  86 cents siting in my account waiting on me to spend them. I was pennies away from a $34 NFS charge. I was PUMPED ! I told my co workers when I got back to work to finish my closing work that it's pretty sad when 86 cents makes you incredibly happy. They all agreed with me ...It IS an incredible feeling!!

I called the concessions woman and told her I could make the game if she still needed me.

I got to the ball field an hour before the game and they had four people in the funnel cake stand. Last home game I worked it by myself. Zach came to help me (very begrudgingly) for a short time but for the most part it was a one woman show.

So when they know I can't come they have FOUR people working the stand? When I walked up to the funnel cake tent  they all acted like  "Emeril" had arrived. I swear they looked like they were going to give me a standing ovation. The head of concession's  husband was standing there and said "Kelly ran this whole stand by herself last home game."

So if they know  I am coming...they schedule no one else. If I am NOT coming they have four people there. I am not sure if that is a compliment or the total abuse of a fifty year old woman.

There were so many people at this ball game that you would have thought it was an NFL playoff game.
It was wonderful to have help and it was more wonderful to have others experience the gross job of frying funnel cakes for three hours non stop.

By the third quarter the grease was getting over used to say the least. Some of the funnel cakes came out so heavy with grease that I told the woman behind me  taking the cakes from me while I was pulling them out of the vat "Here's another Imodium needed  funnel cake."

The line was over twenty people deep. Who in the heck waits in a line that long for a plate of sugary crap? Obviously a LOT of people. But we got 4 bucks a pop from each of them.

When I got home my back was aching from leaning over two vats of 4oo degree oil with the batter sometimes dripping down my legs and at other times popping onto my stomach. (You know me, I had my shirt pulled up because it felt like a zillion degrees under that tent.) There's something to be said for weighing under a 100 pounds. Someone came by the tent and asked if we needed a drink and what did we want? One woman said "Only water." I said "A coke please..if I want water I will lick it off of my face."  I was sweating like Mel Gibson at the Apollo.

At least these other people realized what a chore it is to run a funnel cake stand. I can almost assure you that they are all signing up for hot dogs at the next game. The one man that helped me fry all night was sweating more than me when we left the game. I told him we had worked three hours together and I didn't even know his name. He said his name was Ryan...or maybe I heard him say "Fryan."

At least I have carved out my niche with the band..."Funnel Cake Queen."

It's a great band program that Massey is involved with. I try to do my part...I guess I  "FRY" to do my part.

Came home exhausted...I washed everything from the tent and  can go the entire rest of my entire existence on this earth without ever wanting a funnel cake.

When I got home my dogs were overjoyed at my sticky and greased up state. My bulldog licked my legs and shoes for thirty minutes. I included a video of Charlie having  himself a snack. He didn't even have to stand in line or buy a ticket.

The things you do for your kids (and your dogs.)

What is crazier is that I enjoy doing these things for my girl and her band program. I can't count how many times I had to turn around from the fryer when kids would say "HEY Massey's mom...I love you" or "You rock Ms. Cotton."

Nothing rocks MY world more than making a difference...even if it is just at a funnel cake stand.

Thank the Lord next week is an away game!!!

Using My Degree In Fryology Again

Football season has rolled around once again.

Tonight was the first home game. HUGE crowd. It is unbelievable how many people still attend a high school football game . That is one of the great things about ECHS...We love our Indians! The line of people buying tickets right before the game had a LEAST a hundred people in it.

I didn't have to stand in line. If you have a degree in "Fryology" and offer to cook funnel cakes they will escort you in the gate so quickly it makes you think you are fixing to be detained, deported or arrested.

I had the roughest day. Zach chose last night to push me to my already stretched limits. He left when I got home from work to go off with a buddy. I told him as I walked into the house that it was a school night and to be home early. At 3AM when he still wasn't home...I was LIVID. He didn't answer his cell phone (that I pay for) or return any of my texts. I tried to keep my cool in case something terrible had happened but when he strolled in with his buddy at 3:20 I let loose on him like stink on poop. I was furious, I was worried and I was tired.

Just like all eighteen year old boy/men he had a ton of excuses...none of which made sense to me. I got to bed at four...got up before 8:00 to take Massey to school and then came home to find Zach standing in the driveway waiting for me to take him to school. I didn't say a word to him the entire way. Silence is golden when you are really pissed, and I think I got my message across loud and clear.

So with less than four hours of sleep I stumbled into work a day shift. Got off around 4PM...came home and got ready for the ball game.

I had invited Frances (if you read my blog you know who I am talking about) to go to the game with me. She lives in Digby...halfway to Griffin from my house. The traffic was horrible. I guess everyone from Coweta County was using highway 16 to escape for their Labor Day weekend.

I got to the school later than I usually do but my funnel cake tent was all set up with the grease vats a poppin'.

Last year there were six people scheduled to work the funnel cake stand at the first game. By the second game it was the "Tim and Kelly" show.

Tim is working nights now so it is "The Kelly Show."

Frances sat with me as I got everything set up to go. The resource officer at ECHS is a relative of hers and came to take her to a seat in the stands as I starting 'Fryin.'

As I saw the hundred deep line of people at the gate I frantically called Zach (who owed me BIG TIME) and convinced him he needed to come help me. I wouldn't really call it convinced...more of "Told him to get his butt up to the school PRONTO."

Of course he took his time getting there but at least he brought a friend with him. He and his friend helped me dig myself out of my Funnel cake hell and he went to check on Frances in the stands. He brought my cam corder which I had forgotten at the house and took it to Frances and showed her how to use it to film the half time show. I had mentioned to her earlier that I wanted her to film Massey for me in the half time show. She said "Can an idiot do it?" I told her "Well I can."

She did a great job of filming and I hated leaving her alone in the stands but Zach checked on her and Massey went to visit her during her third quarter break.

Went through two five gallon buckets of batter...burned the crap out of myself more than once but we won the game, I survived my solo flight as "The Funnel Cake Queen" and Zach came through for me.

Massey and several of her friends came by and asked why I always did the funnel cakes?

It's because it's a job no one else wants to do...therefore it is a job that needs to be done.

Call me stupid...it won't be the first time.

It's the least I can do. I don't mind hard work, never have. But on less than four hours of sleep and coming straight from my "REAL" job to a volunteer "CRAP" job made for an extremely long day.

I hated to leave Frances alone but I think she had a good time.

You know what is even crazier? I had a good time.

Zach felt better helping me...I could tell. Massey is always proud of me when I am helping at the school...and by the tons of people that came by and said "So you're the expert on funnel cakes now" lets me know that I am doing something right...something helpful and paying it forward.

I don't mind paying it forward...but bubbling grease vats wouldn't be my first choice.

Sometimes you don't have a choice but a decision to do what's right and what helps the most.

I am dog tired...I am covered in funnel cake batter and can still smell them as if I were still frying them.

Missed a huge night at work...probably at least a hundred in the hole for not working, but feel pretty darn good. Zach came through, Frances got to come and film for me and I only cursed out loud once when the grease popped on my arm.

My clothes are filthy, the dogs have licked all the dried batter off my shoes and I am going to bed exhausted...but a good exhausted.

Three more years and all this crazy high school stuff will be behind me. What is even crazier is that I really think I will miss it.

Call me crazy...it certainly won't be the second time or even the last...it's just what I am.

Til next time "CRAZY COTTON"

Better Day...and There's Always Tomorrow

Woke up today to many encouraging and helpful suggestions. (God bless networking.) I am a firm believer in Karma and a believer that "All's well that ends well."

Went to spend the day with Massey out on the asphalt from 9:00 til 3:00 and just felt better being with my girl and the friends I have made in this whole new "Guard World."

It was hotter than heck but we were blessed with a few breezes and wandering cloud cover.

This video is when just Massey's section performed. I never knew "Beast" was a good thing...but obviously it is and they appeared to be "Beast" in this video.

When you are fifty, it is great to be around teens. Their exuberance and exhaustion is on a collision course in 99 degree heat index and somehow the exuberance always wins out with these kids. They are resilient beyond belief. I sweated like a pig for six hours and was just sitting watching them, refilling water bottles and making sure they didn't fall out.

My worries from yesterday were replaced by worries today for these kids in incredible heat and another 12 hour day.

It is no wonder they are such champions and so feared by other guards...

When I have a bad day...I just spend a good day with Massey's guard and it all makes sense.

Work hard...be committed...have drive and desire to be the best. Give life your best effort and keep going when you feel like giving up. The end result is amazing ...as another guard mom said to me today "Sometimes it gives you chill bumps just to watch these kids."

From the mouths of babes...I can be "BEAST" if I gotta be.

Til next time...a persevering COTTON

Growing Older With "Grays"

I think we a set like each of these at one time or another in our house when I was growing up. TV's were like pieces of furniture some as big as a love seat. Ours always had a set of rabbit ears on top with aluminum foil crumpled around the end of the antennae..it never seemed to help but we fiddled with it endlessly and no one dared to take it off.

I remember when we got our first color set...I thought my Dad must have surely struck it rich. Happens he just struck a deal with someone on a used color set.

When I was a kid there were three channels (not counting PBS that we only watched in school for our Spanish lessons.) Channel 2 channel 5 and channel 11. That was it...no wonder no one had bothered to invent a remote control yet.

When Ted Turner came along with WTCG (before it was WTBS) we had a new station to watch. Problem was there was nothing NEW on it to watch. Their repertoire was "The Three Stooges" "The Little Rascals" "Roller Derby" and old cartoons. But it was a new channel and all us kids were mesmerized. It wasn't a VHF channel but a UHF channel which meant the picture was even fuzzier and you could crunch and re crunch the aluminum foil on the rabbit ears but 'kinda' fuzzy was the best you'd get.

Ted later on changed it to WTBS and a star was born! He added "Let's Go to the Races" with Freddie Miller emceeing a horse race from who knows when that you could get little tickets for at the A&P and hope your horse won. I never knew anyone who had a winning ticket but he also added "Blondie and Dagwood" to his line up and it was our favorite channel as kids.

We never had an ice maker either. We had the little metal trays with the handle you pulled up to loosen the ice. I remember when the plastic trays came out and once again I thought my Dad had struck it rich. All you had to do was bend them from side to side and the ice popped out like magic!

We had one phone, a black rotary dial hanging on the kitchen wall...one TV set, in the living room and my mother bought one six pack of cokes to last a whole week. Everyone got one coke and since there were five of us my Dad got two. (maybe he WAS rich.)

Times were simpler and sweeter. If something was broken my Dad fixed it. If we needed new clothes my Mom sewed them. Our car was never new, most of the times embarrassing and my Dad worked on them as well. I remember the time he bought a new (used) station wagon with an electric back window right before we went on vacation. My brother , sister and I sat in that wagon all day before we left on our trip, mesmerized by the fact that you could push a button and the back window would roll up and down on command. We woke up at 4AM to get on the road early. Our cars didn't have air conditioning and it was best to get an early start in the middle of July leaving Atlanta and heading to Panama City. The car was loaded and we all got into our seats. My father hit the ignition and nothing happened.

We had played with the automatic window so much the night before that we drained the battery. My Dad was furious as we all got out to push our wagon off to jump the engine while my Mom sat behind the wheel. In the words of Jackie Gleason..."And AWAAAY we go!"

I honestly don't know if my three kid's could have made it growing up in the 50's and 60's. Kids are so spoiled today. The kids of rich parents are ridiculously spoiled and my own kid's growing up in middle class aren't far behind.

The past year has been a wake up call to them and in my mind that is a good thing. They now realize how lucky they have been and know for the first time in their young lives that "Life ain't easy."

When I was a kid you played in the dirt til you were old enough to learn how to ride a hand me down bike so big that your feet didn't even touch the ground. We skated the streets in skates you strapped onto your tennis shoes and tightened with a key. We did move on to white shoe skates (black ones for boys) and once again I just KNEW my Dad had been made vice president of SOMETHING!

We never dreamed of helmets or knee pads...that was what Bayer aspirin and Mercurochrome were for.

If you had told me when I was a ten year old little girl listening to a transistor radio and writing in my diary that I would have three kids one day, they would all have cell phones and TV's with remotes in their room...do you know what I would have said?

"That means I'm gonna be really rich!"

No wonder I so much gray hair. No wonder neither of my parents did. My Dad died when he was 77 and hardly had any gray at all.

I don't know if I am growing old with grace but I am certainly growing old with grays.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't change my life for anything.

I WOULD like to transport all three of my kids back to 1960 for just one day. Wouldn't THAT be a hoot?? I 'd love to see them trying to text me on a rotary dial phone. Do you know how impatient they would get just waiting for the dial to click back around when they had to dial the O ?

Til next time...a time warped COTTON

Why Did I Wait So Long?

I just got home from work. It was a slow night...not that it matters at my new job.

As one of the cooks pointed out tonight..."It's quality here, not quantity."

I only had four tables all night but walked out the door with almost a hundred dollars in my pocket. The people that eat with us are there for great food and great wine and leave with the feeling that they have had their money's worth. I haven't gotten under 20% for a tip since I started and know that it will only get better as I feel more comfortable with my new job.

I thank the Lord every day for sending me to this restaurant and giving back my confidence as a server.

Tim has started a new full time job, Zach is passing all his classes and all his friends seem to like hanging out at my house. Massey has started therapy for her bum knee and my dogs are on YouTube. I am one lucky woman.

Friends and family and yes, even strangers helped us make it through to the 'other side' and is a most tremendous and welcome feeling of exhalation. I have been holding my breath and holding in my stress. I have aged ten years in the past ten weeks but feel the wheel of time slowing down and letting me catch up with it.

My husband has been my soul mate all along...we drifted for a while and squabbled when things got tense. We hung in there and by the grace of God and many others have finally seen the light and both need knee pads now from the major amount of time we have both spent on them praying for an answer.

One door was closed but a HUGE picture window opened and the sweet fresh air is filling our lungs and giving us the oxygen to move on and move up.

Even my dogs seem happier!

If it had just been me and Tim, we would have probably killed each other by this point. When you have kids the equation changes and takes on an entirely different sum.

You bring kids into the world, they didn't ask to be here but are here because of you. It is a tremendous responsibility to be a parent (if you do it right.) It is also one of the greatest blessings you can ever have. There will be great times, good times and even some bad times...but if you are a parent that it what it is all about.

Keeping your kids safe. Raising them to know right from wrong and leading from example.

I hope I have done alright in these critical areas.

I have tomorrow off again...it has been years since I have had two days off in one week. But still working nine shifts and the feeling of complete calm and reassurance makes it seem like I am working part time.

Working in the yards tomorrow and cutting the front of the sub division again. Nothing like a day doing yard work to make me feel relaxed and grateful to be one of the creatures taking care of the nature God has blessed us with.

Unfortunately Mr. (slow) Lee is out of town and won't be there to gawk at me on my John Deere but I will cut his yard anyway and pull weeds in my flower beds and make the entrance to our sub division a vision of "Delight" with my other best friend "Mr. Weed Eater."

You cannot imagine how relieving it is to feel good about yourself after such a dry spell and feel that you have made it back from the dark side.

I have so much to pay forward that it may become a full time job in itself...but that is fine by me.

I am just happy to be here, happy to feel good once again and still have the good fortune of being able to do what I can...make life happen one day at a time and make the most of every breath I take.

I've gotta start remembering my sunscreen. Tonight at work the young dishwasher who is a sweet Latino kid who knows Zach from school asked me "Why are you so dark when Zach is so white?"

I told him it is hard to get a tan in your bedroom... guess who might be pulling weeds with me tomorrow after school?

Til next time.. COTTON

Back Home, Snug in Her Bed

My girl is back home, snug in her bed, visions of World Championships dancing in her head.

Back from Ohio, worn out but ecstatic...bubbling when she got into my car and didn't stop talking until she crashed into her bed.

Thanks to another guard mom for all these pictures...they tell the story of a long road for these young adults and what it means to have perseverance and dedication.

The competition was in Dayton, Ohio and was the World Championships. There were teams from Australia and even Japan.

Our team came in 20th...a pretty remarkable feat for this group of kids. Led by their fearless leader who pushed them long and hard all season, it paid off. Just to look at these pictures and see the smiles on their faces and looks of determination warms my heart.

I love the picture of the saber being spun high in the air and the ending of their show with the guard in a close circle with the confetti being thrown into the air.

Massey was talking 90 MPH to Tim and me in the kitchen as he got ready for work and I packed his lunch. She said "I even got Aunt Cindy something for her birthday." She pulled out a round yellow pin that says "GUARD AUNT."

I thought that was so sweet and was thrilled she didn't pull out another one that said "GUARD MOM GONE WILD."

After having two boys that just wanted to 'Get out of school' as quickly as possible, it is nice to have a kid that is taking advantage of every opportunity she has to savor and enjoy her time there, and make the most of just being a teenager.

I absolutely hated missing this trip, but it just wasn't possible to go. Instead I stayed here and worked...made great money and still got texting from her on an almost hourly basis and spoke with her every night when I got home from work.

The picture of them all dressed up is from the luncheon banquet. Massey said she didn't expect to... but cried at the banquet. This team is a tight one and the love running between them all is even tighter.

They all had matching practice suits (with their names on the back) compliments of two of the guard parents, matching bandannas they all wore and just had an all round wonderful experience and created memories that these kids will think about years from now.

The last picture is of the guard in their circle before warm up (I think)...Massey is the one shoving food in her mouth, but the way they huddle together and they way they bond not only makes me proud but makes me smile .

My girl is home again.

She had many 'Guardian Angels' (BIG pun intended) watching out for her on this trip, that it made the separation so much easier and I have several Thank You notes to write.

So her season is over...I can honestly say I am sad to see it end. What a great organization and great school...but HEY at least she is just a Freshman!!

The picture above is the saber spin and one of my faves. The guy to the left is the hard nosed leader that makes them the champs they are.

This picture is the finsh of their program and brought tears to my eyes...they just LOOK like they are celebrating, don't they?

Yes, I guess I am "GUARD MOM GONE WILD."

As always, click on the pics...