Every Day Is Different

So I worked a mid shift today at the airport. I had an attractive couple at one of my tables. Very nice, soft spoken. Nice looking dude and gorgeous petite blonde.

One of the cooks came up to me in the back and asked if I had table 213? He was stunned and told me that the guy was famous from UFC.

When I went back to the table noticed he did have a pretty terrific body, not to mention a beautiful girl with him. He left to go to the men's room and I was chatting with the woman who told me they had just been married in a beach wedding on Pawleys Island. I told her I had read a few books by Dorethea Benton Frank.

When I took their bill, told him my youngest son would think I was cool when I told him I had waited on him. I told him Zach had worked at Hooters where UFC is a really big deal. I told him I guess in the south, drinking and fighting went hand in hand!

Dang...talk about a six pack!

So in other airport news, I was talking with one of the S.A.'s (servers assistants) tonight. She's a young chick I met on one of my first days at the airport. I was riding MARTA with her and  struck up a conversation. She was working out on F with me but at a small sandwich shop/ bookstore. We met a few more times on the commute and in the terminal and told her she should come to work where I did.

She finally did apply and got on as an SA, to transition into a server. Very cute and smart girl. She had just recently moved to Atlanta and after talking more realized she was renting a house in my old neighborhood of East Point, actually four blocks away from my childhood home, renting a house next door to a former high school classmate's mother.

Go figure!

The most senior SA in the restaurant is a guy from Ecuador...y muy loco. I like him!

I could file my fingernails on his spiked up hair. We took this selfie at the airport MARTA station one night when riding home at the same time.

Here's the thing. An "SA" gets paid bare minimum but makes their money off  tip outs from servers and bartenders.

I've been a server for thirty five years. Some servers are just cheap when it comes to tipping out and that really bothers me, especially here.

There is a guideline. You're supposed to tip out .02 to the SA.

Big deal....Right?

Trust me, I'm a Lifer server and if you are on top of your game at this place and doing your job right, you'll make enough money that 2% is nothing.

Well let's say ten servers are greedy, cheap and squelch on their tip outs. That's a lot money when you add it up at the end of the year.... or two.

I'm not secretive about what I make...

We were audited by the IRS years and years ago when the kids were little and learned quickly how important it was to claim all your tips. I always claimed mine because when buying a house, car or applying for a loan seemed to me better, to be able to actually prove your income instead of brag on one income and pay taxes on another.

Anyway, back to my story...


My little friend I encouraged to come over and join our team is a really hard worker and always look forward to seeing her. She has a great attitude but guess I got her in the restaurant on the wrong foot.

Suddenly some new girl comes over from another store nearby in the terminal and airport oldies start talking about them being some kind of a spy for corporate or something.  (extra huge eye roll)

For Pete's Sake you idiots, we're not dealing dope, smuggling babies, illegals or trying to blow up a plane...she just wants to get her foot in the door. The worst thing she could tell corporate is that YOU are cheap!


Carlos, on the other hand has no problem whatsoever calling you out or asking for a tip out you forgot to leave him.

We use these cardboard coasters at work and Carlos always has one in his pocket with server names written, dates and when they worked. When you tip him out he'll scratch your name off...if you cheat him he mentally scratches you off and don't blame him one bit.

I'm bringing home a thousand a week just working five days and shifts.

Do you not think the SA's are seeing the tips left on your table when they bus and clean them?

HELLO??

What's two percent and be real...it's called "Paying it Forward" and not only that but Karma.

Yes they eventually bus all the tables but whose table do you think they will go to first...mine or yours?

DUH!!!

Sometimes you just can't fix stupid.

I've decided to give Carlos a special Christmas present. I'm going to get him a little coaster laminated with spaces for the AM servers on the front and PM on the back.

My little new friend/ spy had a great idea to give him a dry erase marker to fill it out every day.

After they all started calling her a spy, TJ came up with "Inspector Gadget" but after she tumbled on the escalator the other day on the way to work, had horrible bruises and scratches said maybe we needed to call her "Pink Panther."

I liked that!

I shortened it and now call her "P -Squared".

Come on people now, smile on your brother...you need to love somebody right now.

Love is but a song to sing
Fear's the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
And you may not know why

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Some may come and some may go
We shall surely pass
When the one that left us here
Returns for us at last
We are but a moment's sunlight
Fading in the grass

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

If you hear the song I sing
You will understand (listen!)
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It's there at you command

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Til next time...COTTON

It Was a Good Christmas

It came early and quick with Thanksgiving being so late this year and passed like a flash but was a pretty great Christmas. I paid for everything in cash and the kids got most everything they wanted and everything they needed.

Massey is the girl so was very explicit with her list. She wanted one of the cowl's Jennifer Lawrence wore in Catching Fire.

BINGO!

 I have a good friend from high school who crochets and made her one. It turned out awesome and think my friend may get quite  a few orders for more once Massey return to college with hers.

 She also wanted a small angel wing pendant to wear around her neck to hold some of my late Diddy's ashes. (yes I am a hoarder and saved some) We got her an opal ring (my momma's birthstone) and a super cute maxi skirt. I picked her up a few more little things and she seemed very happy. My brother got her a pair of kick a** knee high lace up leather boots and she got plenty from my sister, brother in law and her cousins. We went to my in laws on Christmas Eve and she came home with another load.

Zach got a much needed wallet, some nice sweaters, a few beanies he always wears and another pair of shoes. The boy owns two pair of shoes...all he needs "He says." I broke down and bought him an iPhone. I found it on Amazon. It's just like the one I have only there is a tiny quarter inch  crack in the upper left hand corner of the back. When the case is on it you  can't even see it and the people sold it because they updated to an 5s. I got it for one fifty and told him all he had to do was  pay to have it activated and choose a plan. Now I can have my phone back! He works late at  night and always have him take my cell in case something happens on  the road.

Massey and I went to Ross-Mess For Less and got Tim some nice dress pants and shirts. I made sure all the zippers and buttons  were there and worked  and sizes  were right. You gotta pay  attention at Ross'!

Everybody was happy Christmas morning. I was even surprised with a present from Tim and the kids.

It was a rough pre Christmas week. I got sick a week before Christmas as the Flu stampeded  through my workplace. I went to work every day came home, fell in bed and got up the next  day thirty minutes before I had to leave for work. I washed my hands at least fifty times a shift, was careful not to touch food  and coughed into my sleeve. My fever finally broke after four days and  started to feel somewhat better.  I should have gone to the Doc in the Box but thinking about how many presents I could buy with the money kept me away. I mean the Flu is the Flu. You have to be careful about contamination, wash your hands relentlessly and pump yourself full of vitamin C.  Not one of my regulars came back sick so guess I did a pretty good job.

I lost five pounds and my New Year's resolution was to gain ten. I'd better get to eating!

We all spent the day together and had a fantastic time. I know Tim's family is my family too...but THIS is my immediate family. No parents left, just three kids and the kids they've had. (or in Chris' case, spoiled)

TJ, my oldest was still in Australia. It was me,Tim, Zach and Massey. We went to my sister and brother in law's house joined by her  two sons and their partners. My nephew Casey and his fiancee brought her daughter, Ava (a delightful girl)

My sister gave my brother a sleeve of "Nose Cups." Funniest  thing I've seen in a while.

No the cup isn't clear, it's white with the nose and top lip printed on them.

Tim just hangs  around because he can't leave without us but know how much  he loves my ultra cool, fantastic and loving family.

We don't have a lot of money but got a butt load of love going on and always have each others back.

These three kids who all showed up, in outfits our Momma sewed to have our picture taken at Harlan Drive Day Nursery (where momma worked)  have grown up from this pic

and ended up still just as tight as we were on the back of our station wagon in the early sixties.

We had the greatest parents on Earth and that's a pretty  great start.

I've semi grown up and married a man who loves me unconditionally.

I grew up in Mayberry on Bayard Street In East Point, Georgia. Every minute, every  memory was pleasant and beautiful.

I may have had a few hard knocks since I've been in my middle age but what reassures me most is I will  always, ALWAYS have my sibs to fall back, rely and depend on.

None of us are this young any more but what makes me smile is that we are still this close.

My Momma (on the left) was younger than me in this photo and is the last photo taken of her. She died two days later when I was seventeen.

When my parents married (the above photo) I'm sure thought they had the entire world ahead of them and would be spoiling grand kids into their eighties or nineties.

Momma didn't make it long enough for even one grand kid, Diddy made it for six but blazed out early from West Nile virus in ten days. God takes the good ones early.

My brother, sister and I often talk about how lucky we are that our family takes the express checkout.

When you are a Leach, you live hard and you  love hard. You don't drag out your life, you simply do your best and then let go.

How you live your life every day is how you will be remembered. I try to think about that every  morning I wake up and draw a breath.

Here's to 2014.

I was born in 1960 and feel pretty lucky to still be kickin' in 2103.

Turn to your neighbor who you haven't seen outside in a while and ask what you can do?

Make a new friend and help them out no matter how insignificant it may seem. A car  ride or just an ear to listen .

See someone in need...that could have been  you.

I'm one of  the lucky ones and therefore is my destination to at least  try and pay it forward.

Hoping you all had  a happy and blessed  Holiday Season. Want to be blessed more?

Pay It Forward.

Blessed Beyond Belief, COTTON

Another Year Behind Us

I can remember when I was little and thought about the year 2000. It seemed a million miles away and now is thirteen years behind me. When I was a kid anyone who was thirty years old was middle aged. I am almost fifty three and find it hard to think of myself as middle aged...it freaks me out. Truth be told even if I am extremely lucky I am well beyond middle aged which freaks me out even more!

I'd call chapter one my childhood. It was a happy chapter. We had the greatest parents a kid could ever wish for  and every one, young and old loved being at our house. It was a great place to be, in Ann Leach's kitchen at 2545 Bayard Street.

Solid working middle class family with so much love we all felt rich beyond belief...and were.

Chapter two was a scary chapter. We lost our mother within the span of thirty seconds on a shopping trip. It was Momma, my sister and I who left for a day of shopping. We  came home without her and it changed all our lives. It's been thirty five years but I  can still see the scene in  the store, I can still remember the panic I felt. It was the first big lesson I learned in life...that it can be gone in an instant.

Chapter three: I met Tim,  we married and I immediately started shoving him down the path of life. We've got three great kids who are all so different I often wonder how they all started out from  the same place yet end up in such different places.  None of them look like or act like each other but the older they get the closer they become and it warms my heart. After all, variety is the spice of life!

Chapter four: For over twenty years it was full steam ahead, always moving up and advancing, economically. Here's the thing I have learned in chapter four. You need to go back and re read chapter one.

My parents didn't have a lot of money but were loved by every person who met them. I am in no way as good a person as either of my parents but have been loved so much in chapter four that it makes chapter five easy  to write.

Chapter five:

I have made it from the above...to this.

I have made it from this to this...Just us three kids left now but enough love to fill an ocean.

Even when times got really bad and my pup got sick, People, friends and even strangers helped me get to this point...

Helping Ham has been an amazing journey. This was us at  the vet specialist for his eyes.

Chapter six:
Love is a great blessing. We are still in our house, thanks to help from many. My kids are all healthy and happy and on the road to success. My pup, Ham is on the road to recovery and regaining his sight, thanks to many.

Chapter seven:  "Count your blessings, name them one by one and you will see what The Lord has done."

When upon life's billows 
You are tempest tossed 
When you are discouraged, 
Thinking all is lost 
Count your many blessings, 
Name them one by one 
And it will surprise you 
What the Lord has done. 

Chorus: 
Count your blessings, 
Name them one by one 
Count your blessings, 
See what God has done 
Count your blessings, 
Name them one by one 
Count your many blessings, 
See what God has done. 

Are you ever burdened 
With a load of care? 
Does the cross seem heavy 
You are called to bear? 
Count your many blessings, 
Ev'ry doubt will fly 
And you will be singing 

When you look at others 
With their lands and gold 
Think that Christ has promised 
You His wealth untold 
Count your many blessings, 
Money cannot buy 
Your reward in heaven, 
Nor your home on high. 

So, amid the conflict, 
Whether great or small 
Do not be discouraged, 
God is over all 
Count your many blessings, 
Angels will attend 
Help and comfort give you 
To your journey's end.

It's a New Year . These three kids above sitting on the side of this old station wagon are now all in their fifties. Both parents are gone but they are hanging as tight as they were in this photo.

Life is a journey.... a long one if you're lucky. There are going to be hills to climb, valleys to climb out of  and  mountains to conquer.

It never stops and you shouldn't either. Sometimes I am embarrassed by needing help but have helped others when I could. Sounds trivial but is under rated..."Love is all you need."

My husband loves me, my kids love me, my brother and sister love me. My friends and in laws love me and even strangers have loved me. It's a great feeling to be loved and one that should always be paid forward. You get what you  give...I don't remember giving as much as I have gotten but promise to give even more in "Thirteen."

These two people created us  three  sibs.

The three sibs  rocked it in the eighties.

It all began here at a wedding shower. She opened a present, married my Diddy and gave life to us three. My only regret is they are gone.

The rest was destined to happen. The definition of Destiny is  "The fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot."

I've had a lot, I've endured a lot but have been blessed a lot. I'm calling it a win! By the way, Webster's also defines a win as "To achieve success in an effort or a venture."

So I am over middle aged...at  least I have made it this far. Hoping that in 2013 I can help others like they have helped me.

I am a blessed person and intend on paying it forward!

Til next  time...COTTON

When Will Life Be Simple?

My boyfriend is still sick out in my garage...he won't  whine or even turn his engine to even look at me.

I originally thought his battery needed charging so like an idiot I asked my twenty year old son to help me. In hindsight it was a bad choice. I should have known better...when I was twenty I did nothing to help my parents, granted I only had a Diddy but  gave him nothing but grief until I was at least twenty two.

I had Zach go over to my next door husband's house and borrow his battery charger. Actually Zach just called my next door husband's son (his buddy) and he brought it over. They hooked it up in the garage that night I  thought I would be good to go come morning.

The next morning I went out in the garage to discover not only had they hooked Johnny up to a battery charger but had left his key turned on. Well at least I knew NOW I definitely needed a new battery.

When I told my sister about it her comment was "Why do we even ask them to help? They don't even help when they TRY!"

Next  stop was the cheapest battery I could purchase so Massey and I headed to Wal Mart. The bolts had rusted off the post so we needed more and of course in  true WM fashion the guy sold me a set that didn't fit...swore they would and seemed to mean it when he handed them to me.

Lucky (or not) for me my old neighbor Mr. "Slow" Lee was out in his driveway peering at us over the back of his diesel "PickemUp" truck and declared the bolts the wrong size when he helped me install the battery. He did find some that fit in his garage and that WAS lucky! I know he wants Johnny fixed almost as bad as I do since I cut his yard too.

New "battry" (as my grandfather used to call them) was installed. I jumped on my boy and turned the key. All I heard were the crickets in  my back yard...I was devastated. Then Mr "Slow"Lee started poking around with his fingernails that he could pick a banjo easily with and declared Johnny had a bad switch.

Next move was to call in the big guns. My next  door husband is getting married on  Saturday so I felt bad even asking him so I asked my brother in law to help. I called their house and when no one answered left a message in a deep voice: "Harvey, this is Johnny. I don't feel so good could you  come see what's wrong with me?"

He came over yesterday and told me he thought I needed a new switch. (Shout out to "Slow"Lee for calling it right) and today I trucked up  to the John Deere store and purchased a new switch. Came home, put it on and what did I hear when I turned my brand new switch? A big fat nothing...

I called my BFFL at  the JD Clinic and he said he would try a solenoid switch next. I trucked BACK up to the clinic and when I went in the second time a young mechanic who actually WORKS on the mowers was sitting at  the desk. He asked what model I had and I told him. He said he wouldn't spend anymore money on parts until I found out which switch was bad and as old as Johnny was I could unplug and circuit around the bad switch with a paper clip and electrical tape. I felt like asking him what time he got off work and did he like leftover spaghetti but decided instead to take the four paper clips they gave me and a John Deere ink pen off the counter. He also told me to use a tester light to see where the bad wire was. I thought he meant a flashlight but it seems there is some nifty tool you can buy to tell which wire isn't making a connection.

Next  stop...Autozone. They had several and I chose the $3.99 version. It was little but so is Johnny. He rang it up and said "That will be three dollars and twenty cents." I thought that was odd  once they added tax it went down a dollar but who am I to argue with a scanner and took it home. Mr "Slow" Lee said he knew how to use a tester light and would help me but when I pulled back in my driveway he was hosing down his chimney top that had flames coming out of it on a balmy seventy degree day.  They burn a fire every day from October to June no matter what  the temperature and it looked kinda scary so I just went inside and left him to save his house.

I have no idea how to test the wires or switches or even where to find them...and what's a ground wire? It sounded important because there was an exclamation point after that part of the instructions.

I opted to just start dinner...I KNOW how to do that.

I would say I'd just crank up the push mower I bought from a guy at work for forty bucks two months ago that is self propelled but Tim burned the motor out the first  time he cranked it up trying to surprise me by  cutting the back yard when Johnny had two flats  and the grass was high and the blade was down too low.

Can my life get anymore "Redunkilous?"

On top of that I have three dogs..one GREAT one, one bad one and one REALLY bad one but  love them all. I have three kids and despite their mistakes, failings and terrible decisions love them all too...and not one of them ever crapped in my floor. They wrecked cars but they were all potty trained.

Here's the thing:

No one said life would be easy, although it is for some. The one's who have it easy are missing out. My life has been wonderful. It has also been horrible. I have been the same person I have always been and for that,  have always been loved back.

"Love is all you need."

My body has taken some hits and I'm about fifteen pounds under my fighting weight. Through it all I have managed to laugh at myself and situations we have been in. Laughter is the greatest medicine of all.

What has it done for me? It has made me survive and determined to succeed. I've used shortcuts, rationalization and the help of many others.

So  Johnny won't start. Yeah I'm ticked at him but over the past few years I've felt like not startng several times.

Somtimes you have to take a break from life, regroup and go at it again when you feel stronger.

I have a house and I have a husband who loves me. I have three kids who have survived having me for a mother. I have a brother and sister who are my biggest champions and a network of friends who support and urge me on.

“If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too.”
― Dr. Seuss


It's something different every day here but I've learned different is better than dull. It's never dull at my house...and on top of that I still HAVE a house!

As broke as we are , we are rich beyond belief. My goal is to be a good wife and mother. To be a true friend and to reach out when others need help. It may be a dollar or it may just be a prayer but at least I help.

If you don't help your fellow man... how can you expect help for yourself?


“I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”
― Dr. Seuss

We will be okay and I am totally grateful that my biggest  current worry is getting my lawn mower cranked.

It's the millions and millions of others who don't even have a house or yet let alone a bed to lay down on.

How can I feel like we have it bad when so many others would feel lucky to just have MY life?

LOVE YOUR  FELLOW MAN.  Never prejudge and be grateful for what you are blessed with and always pay it forward.

Til next  time..COTTON

 



The Latest "PupDate"

 It's been a year  since we lost our precious Rosie. We offered to make a Craig's List posting for my friend at work to sell her remaining boxer pups in exchange for getting Ziggy. The day before we picked him up I almost called her back and said I had come to my senses. Three dogs again...seriously. I was worried about the two males I already had at  home. It took us a year to get them to quit fighting...and a fight between a Bull Dog and an Old English Bull Dog / Boxer mix isn't a pretty thing to witness. I have the scars to prove it.

We don't live in an extravagant house but we have an awesome back yard. It's 3/4 of an acre fenced in with woods at the back, plenty of shade and plenty of room to run. I was most worried about Charlie, the Bratty Bull Dog. He started every fight he ever had with Ham. We would separate them only to have Charlie come back for more, even though he got his butt kicked every time.

 When we went to pick up the puppy, my heart melted and my good sense went quickly away. My friend breeds dogs and we told her we didn't want to pick one since she was giving us one. She said, as Ziggy tumbled sleepily out of her van (where he had vomited on the ride) "He's the most chill one we have and I think he will do okay with your other two males."

 I was all worried about Charlie liking him. I should have worried more about Charlie raping him. Charlie couldn't sniff him enough. Ham was on the fence. I think it bothered him that Charlie was so fascinated with the pup.

 Charlie is a spectacular looking dog...and  as stupid as he is spectacular... but I love the fat goofus.

Ham has taken some time to get used to Ziggy, but Ziggy knows his limitations. He already knows the difference between a mean growl from Ham and a "It's okay" growl from Ham. I sit out back at night reading and have noticed sometimes Ham will even push a ball towards Ziggy wanting him to play.

Yep! I am a dog loving idiot.

Should I have gotten  another dog? As Massey would say "Probs not" but I did it anyway and only being a week into it am glad I did. Ziggy has re energized my other two dogs and made us all smile as well.

Zach had a tough year, but when we brought this puppy home I noticed Zach grinning from ear to ear. He comes in from work at night and actually laughs at  Ziggy's antics and goofy disposition. Zach royally "Effed" up but he also "Manned"up. He did his time and owned up to his mistake. More importantly he paid for his mistake and learned from it.

After the past few years I had,  I needed something to make me smile...and this little pup does it.  Tim loves him too... and he was the biggest objector to me getting him.

Ham has always been my baby, Charlie gravitated towards Zach since TJ moved out and now Massey has her own pup.

It's been a tough few years here but we survived. We are still battling but swinging large and wide.

This pup has turned out to  be just what we needed. A new face...happiness and a reason to smile.
After my meltdown on Father's Day at work, they have insisted on me taking at least two days off a week. I thought they wanted to get rid of me but realized they only wanted to "Keep me."

Life is good. The sunset tonight was magnificent. It was like God smiling at me with a soft orange glow.  My luck seems to have finally turned the corner. It will be still be a hard road, but I have reached the smooth pavement.

I would like to take all the credit but I can't. I have so many family members and friends that  not only helped me weather the storm but gave me shelter from the storm.

One thing I CAN say about myself for a fact (other than I am too skinny) is that I am truly blessed and loved.

I think The Beatles got it right when they said "Love is all you need." Maybe add "Get by with a little help from your friends."

I have tomorrow off...something I am not used to but will take full advantage of. Cutting grass, cooking for the family and kicking back.

I know there are millions and millions less fortunate than me. I know with all we have been through, there are people  who would kill to be in my shoes...literally.

For the first time in over two years, my job is done and I am headed to bed before Larry King comes on. (That's how long it has been)

I am a blessed woman, I am a loved woman.

Take some time to  think of the millions and millions of people that live in squalor with no water, no shoes, no roof over their heads or even a place to lay their head down.

So what gas prices are down? That's great for me. Let's all look at the BIG picture.

Help a friend when you can, help a stranger when you feel compelled to...Just help,  this world would be a better place if you do.

Pay it forward...Pay it forward...Pay it forward.

May sound crazy but a concept that has not only helped me but one I intend to live for the rest of my life.

Til next time...COTTON

Mother's Day is Looking Good!

I am a firm believer in not giving in or giving up. Sometimes I falter and just like anyone else sometimes get depressed. If you don't have a depressing day every once in a while how would you know when you are having an awesome day?

Today was an awesome day. I went in to do a catering for the restaurant at ten this morning. I was back home well before noon. Got a few  things done around the house and took a nice hour nap. Zach was originally supposed to get out Monday morning we thought but the Major talked to Tim and said he might be released Saturday morning.

That kind of put a small kink in my otherwise perfect day. Zach had gotten paid on Tuesday and after I picked him up and took him to the bank I returned him to the "Po key." When he got out of the car he took enough money to pay off the remainder of his "Rent" in the big house, asked me to take the rest home and put it in his bedroom.

I stopped by  the store on the way home and bought some groceries. I used some of Zach's money but thought I had til Monday to replace it. Now I owed Zach eighty bucks and made a mental note.

Tim got up to leave for work at midnight and needed gas money so I pulled another twenty out of Zach's cash...telling myself Monday was a ways  off and I would bank on Mother's Day at work. The next  day I was off which means although I get to rest , I don't make any money. Tim left for work again that night and needed money for gas. I guess by  now you know what I did.

I did a catering job  this morning but don't get paid til the restaurant gets paid. My gas light came on as I pulled into the catering job...thank goodness I had been smart enough to bring a bit more of Zach's money with me!

I had also used another twenty  to pay Verizon some money so they would quit texting me. I had most of the payment but that extra twenty got me current. I reminded myself once again that I had Friday night, Saturday night and Mother's Day to make all the money back plus some. (I can rationalize like no body's bidness when I gotta)

Today when I picked Zach up for work he said "The Major filled out all my paper work today. All I have to do is sign it in the morning and it's a done deal...I'm out."

As I smiled at him, patted his knee and rubbed his little shaved bald prison head I was thinking on the inside "Holy Crap" I gotta have his money back by tomorrow morning! Like the positive thinker I am I just thought "Okay...if I bust my butt at work I can make at least $150.00 tonight and I'll throw Tim under the bus and say he needed gas money and I'll replace it with Saturday night's tips.

We got to work early so Zach could eat something other than the cheese sandwich he had been served for lunch and I got all my dinner napkins folded. I was talking with some of the other servers about Massey having trouble in Algebra III and remarked I had tried to contact one of my former co workers from the Western Sizzler where I used to work. This particular girl is one of the few I miss. Her mom died when she was around the same age I was when I lost my own mother. Unlike me...she is smart as a whip and was voted "Most Likely To Succeed" her senior year at ECHS where Massey now attends. She put herself through Georgia Tech working as a waitress and I developed a close bond with her. She is a beautiful person with the prettiest eyes I have ever seen and the sweetest face I have ever wanted to hold between my hands.  She has cute almond shaped eyes that almost look Asian and as I have followed her tremendous success at Georgia Tech I felt like a proud Mama. Actually she often called me "Mama" and I took it as a huge compliment. After graduating she got a job with Tech, completed her Masters and has traveled all over the world with her job.

I tried to call her yesterday learning via FB she had moved back to Newnan for a while (another blog altogether) to ask her if she could help Massey out with her Algebra. I never got a call back and wondered if she was once again out of the country.

It took forever for me to get my first table at work tonight and I was getting worried about replacing the money I had "Borrowed" from Zach. I knew when he got released he had to go straight to his probation officer and wanted to give his entire paycheck to start paying off his fine.

I  finally got my first table and walked up to greet it. Who was sitting  there but my buddy "Pater" with her cute Asian looking eyes and her sweet daddy sitting with her. I thought she had gotten my message about Massey but learned she had changed her cell number. I believe God sent her to me. I got her new cell number and she said to have Massey text her anytime...take a photo of the problem or they could skype and she would help Massey any way she could.

Once again...Am I a lucky woman or what?

It was so slow at work tonight and I was getting nervous.  I know Zach owes me more than I could possibly ever owe him but he has been working 12 hour shifts to pay off his fine and I never once mentioned I had been pinching from his paycheck.

Pater reads my blog so she and her dad got a free dessert and since it was slow I got to sit and chat with them.

I got a couple more tables but had time to hug her neck before she left. I seriously love this girl as if she was one of my own.  I know she lost her mother at an early age...but let me guarantee you that her momma is in Heaven bursting the seams of her angelic robe with pride over the accomplishments this young woman has made.

I went to clear off their table. The whole while still fretting over it not being busy  when I NEEDED it to be. That's the way when you are a server. It's a crap shoot. You either bank big or go home broke.

I picked up the bill. I had to put my glasses on. Through tears I saw a 230% tip.

She had tipped me most of the balance I owed  Zach. I only had a few other tables but it was like they all secretly knew I needed money. It was a slow night but I walked out  of the door climbing the steps in the above photo. There were no hand rails to balance me and I felt dizzy but still climbed.

I felt like a thief entering her huge tip into the credit card machine but knew it would get me to the top of the staircase. Zach would get released in the morning. Almost half of his fine would be paid when I took him the money from his paycheck and he would be closer to being done with this entire mess.

To my dear friend "Pater" I fully intend to pay back the exorbitant tip...keeping only 15%. That's all I wanted but what you left me once again changed my life.

I may sound like a broken record but "Pay it Forward" has gotten me through the past year. The other two years I was too broke to "Pay behind or even on time."

Picking my boy up in the morning and picking myself up again tomorrow afternoon to do it all again.

God is Good. Life is good...True Friends are hard to live without.

I will be having the best Mother's Day I have ever had.

Til next time...COTTON

Rounding The Corner

Another day off tomorrow...a girl could get used to this! Actually I have TWO days off this week. My boss told me he wanted me nice and rested for Mother's Day (a brutal day in the restaurant world.)  Business has been good at  work and I am making some headway.  That means I'm not ahead but headed that way.

Worked a killer brunch shift yesterday. Seems it was first communion for  Catholic children and lucky for us they like to get their drink and eat on as soon as it's over. I didn't know what was happening at first. I  saw a tiny eight year old bride in a long white satin gown complete with a veil walk in with her family and twenty others. I thought maybe she had met the man of her dreams at a Toddlers & Tiaras competetion. The Catholic faith is way too complicated for a simpleton like me, guess that's why my parent's raised me as a Protestant.

Came home with a fist full of dollars though and Massey and I went to Wal Mart and got some things for the house we have been needing. Number one a new mail box. Someone hit ours with a bat over a year ago (probably one of my neighbors ;) and the door fell off.  About a month ago I started noticing pine straw in the box along with  the bills. When the pine straw  stack becme bigger than the stack of bills I started pulling it out. I discovered a Robin's egg at  the back of the box. (Click on above photo)

Massey demanded I leave it...so I did. The bird showed HER!! The baby hatched and they now all live happily in the bush in front of her bedroom window and often dive bomb into her window screen scaring the poop out of her.

We bought some ice trays for our new fridge which doesn't have an ice maker. I couldn't care less about an ice maker...the one in my old fridge quit working over a year ago and I simply brought ice home from work with me.  It was nice to introduce Massey  to  the world of 1960 when I was born and no one had an ice maker. We had aluminum ice trays that you had to open with a handle...this was before some doofus ended up being a millionaire by inventing the plastic ones.

I can remember the trays getting worn and when you tried to pull up the frozen handle it would bend and sometimes break off. That's when your mother would yell "We can't have anything nice in this house  with you  around!"

I bought  new flood lights for outside the garage, a new filter for the A/C unit...even splurged on the exspensive anti alergen one with a cool Febreeze scent. Thought I'd just go crazy so I bought some stick on numbers for my new mail box while I was at it.

Came home and Massey put the mail box together while I unloaded the rest of the groceries. As we walked up the driveway to replace the pitiful old mail box a bird sat perched on top of it, resting  after  stuffing another beakful of pinestraw into it. It flew away as we approached and I said "Sorry little fellow but we're taking our box back."

The screws were stripped attaching the old box and finally Massey just tore the box off the post...leaving us with no mounting bracket.

Not to worry, that's why they make Gorilla Glue! Massey commented "Only our family would glue a mailbox to  the post."

Massey ate some frozen Chinese food she zapped in the microwave and I pushed through a load of laundry. Then we settled in to watch "Pay it Forward" together while I folded laundry as she sat with her lap top doing the social networking thing. Ten minutes into the movie the lap top was shut and she was totally getting the movie.

Here's the thing..my favorite movies of the past twenty or so years have been "Crash" "Slum Dog Millioniare" "Sling Blade" and "Pay It Forward." Massey was too young to watch any of these when they came out so we are making up for lost time. I decided "Pay It Forward" was the most important so  that's where we started.

My life over the past couple of years has been nothing,  if not a TOTAL "Pay it forward." The idea and concept of "Pay it forward" is such a no brainer ...  if only people could grasp hold of the concept...it could quite literally and drastically change the world as we know it for the better.  I know it didn't win an Oscar... it should have won a Nobel Peace Prize.

I am off on Tuesday and  debating whether we should watch Slum Dog , Crash or Sling Blade next. I think we'll start with Sling Blade..."UMPH...Ain't got no gas." I quote this movie often (I aim to kill ya) and although I am not a big fan of Billy Bob Thornton (Boy ought not talk like that)... he did an excellent job with the movie and I will always despise Dwight Yokum because he played his part too well.

Zach is getting restless  too and I keep  reminding him he is almost there. Took him back tonight after work and teared up  when I left him. It's not easy seeing your kid walk through a prison gate.

Rounding the corner. Almost there. Day off to relax. Tomorrow I intend to "Pay it Forward" in some way , some how. That's the way life should work and the world would be a better place.

Just a COTTON'S take on it....

"Super" Tired

 I thought tonight was called the "Super Moon" because it is huge and I am "Super Tired." Seems I was wrong about one of those facts.

Got up early this morning to get my "hurr did" which I have had to put off for over two weeks.  Had my handy $9.99 coupon and with a 50% tip still spent under twenty bucks! You  gotta love a low maintenance cut.

Came home to get ready for the big move!! My former neighbors across the street were giving us the refrigerator out of their old house and it was a Cadillac! Tim  hired the firm of "Three Saps and a Hand Truck" also known as my next door neighbor bringing hand trucks , Tim and his (now former) best friend. My kitchen is on the ground floor right off the garage.  I told them I thought it best if they just left the junk in the old fridge and wheeled it out into  the garage, plugged it back in and waited til we had the new one in to transfer the contents. It's only fifteen feet from where the old fridge sat to the garage.

I told Massey as soon as Tim's (former) best friend got there "Let's go the the store for garbage bags, I don't wanna be here for this."

 Maybe I should have stayed.

Seems that while we were gone they discovered our old refrigerator wouldn't fit through the kitchen door out to the garage and by  the time we got back they had dragged the old carcass of a fridge across the kitchen and through my dining room, bumped up the four steps into my living room and now had my front door taken off the hinges trying to get it out the front door...leaving behind a trail of water, dirt and a couple of broken pickle jars.  You have to be specific with men. I should have said "If it won't fit through the kitchen door, unload it." You know what... At least it was getting moved and it isn't like I am OCD about my house. As they started trying to shove it out the front door, Tim looked down and said "Looks like we need to buy some more eggs."

They finally got the old fridge out the door, down the five steps on  the front porch and around the house into the garage and Massey and I plugged it back in.

Bringing the new Cadillac in wasn't much easier except now we knew we had to bring it in the same way  the old one went out. While they were hauling it up the front steps I mopped up the water and dirt on the kitchen floor with Mr. Clean and some old beach towels. My next door neighbor's son had to leave to go to work so I filled in for him as we maneuvered the Caddy through the front door (which was still off the hinges laying in  the living room floor letting the 89 degrees outside flood into my hovel of a house.)

It felt like lifting a house but I hung in there. Into  the living room we went. Back down the four steps to the dining room we bumped. Hit a snag when we hit the kitchen doorway. We had to take the doors off the refrigerator to fit it through the tight doorway and ninety degree turn. My kitchen was a wreck, my carpets were worse but after a hour and a half I had me a new refrigerator that almost seemed to be smiling at me in his little corner of my kitchen.

 It fit perfectly! Massey and I washed all the shelves and I felt giddy putting them back in.

Tell me this doesn't look like a happy face! That bottom freezer door is definitely smiling.

It took me two hours to clean my kitchen floor but I have never been happier to do it. I got through just in time to iron a work shirt and jump in the shower for work. Massey had to work tonight and so did Zach. We left for the Po key in  time to stop at Chic Fil A for some free sandwiches with cards another one of my wonderful friends sends me in  the mail several times a year. Zach chowed down on  the way into work.

Work was an even bigger nightmare. Busy doesn't even begin to describe it but it all worked out in  the end to my advantage. Massey was working at  the host stand with two girls she loves to work with.  One woman has worked there quite a while...I call her Aibileen.  She is big and black and one of the funniest sweetest women I have ever met. She is kind, she is smart and she is important (to me as a friend.)  She has taught Massey  a lot about being African American,  from the south and not being rich. Massey one time asked her why black people called their houses "Where they stay?" My friend simply said "Because it's just temporary." The other girl working with them at  the host stand tonight was a Latino girl a couple of years older than Massey. She is one of the hardest working teens I have ever met. When she can't get host shifts she picks up shifts washing dishes in  the kitchen...which seems just above shoveling dog crap from a pack of  fifty dogs with diarrhea in  a tiny hot room to us middle class white people...but she does it with a smile on her sweet face. Massey was asking Miriam about Cinco de Mayo (which is actually a made up holiday for bars to sell more booze) when my fabulous friend Aibileen chimed in "Girl...black people get a month, let'em have a day."
After I got off work... Massey and I were driving home and she told me that story. I bet I laughed for five minutes.

Massey is learning a lot about reality working with me...sometimes too much but at least she's getting paid for it!

I came home to a sparkling clean kitchen floor and a huge new refrigerator that is absolutely hands down the nicest appliance I have ever owned. Paying It Forward...a hugely under rated idea and one that could change the entire world. I asked Massey if she had ever seen  the movie "Pay It Forward" and was shocked to learn when I watched it with my younger son she was too young to watch it with us.

Guess what movie Massey and I will be watching tomorrow night when I get home from my day shift?

Til next time...COTTON