OMG...Turning Fifty Felt GREAT!!

Geez..how amazing can turning fifty be?

My girl..my BFF..my reason for my most of my gray hair..planned it all behind my back.

Some of my best friends from high school were there.
It was incredible and it was just what I needed.

There were friends from high school...two of them drove up from Destin just to hug my neck. There was another friend from high school that came straight from her vacation to do the same.

My champion on FB and a champion that has helped us out time and time again came.

Massey's BFF and her mom came.




My in laws came.

Nurse "Becky" came...from guard camp and dragged her husband along with her.

A friend from the church I grew up in came. We haven't been in touch in over 30 years but via FB have re connected and she brought the fanciest cup cakes and gave me the profile pic of a life time.

The friends Massey and I stayed with in Destin drove up JUST for my birthday party...how can you thank friends for that type of commitment?

I knew that a party was being planned...I didn't know that so many people loved me so much.

I came home overwhelmed and grateful.

My kid's first grade teacher showed up with my partner in crime from the ASP program I used to work in...I was strictly the entertainment.

I turned fifty...I have made it to AARP status.

Just let me entertain for a few more years and I'll be "OUTTA HERE."

What a great birthday...what a blessing...what a lucky person I am.

Thanks to every one, my heart is full.

To be loved is a precious thing.

To have friends and to have champions that help you through is not only amazing but renews your faith in the human spirit and gives you inspiration for "Paying it Forward."





I intend to do just that and hope that everyone
who has helped me knows that I am focused on "Paying it Forward."

Thanks for the night off...Thanks for an amazing day...thanks for loving us!

Frances...you were a hit...EVRYONE that reads my blog (all of the people there) know who you are and were amazed at you...Keep Kickin" Franny !!!!

Thirty One Years Down the Road...Seems Like Yesterday

Today is my daughter's thirteenth birthday.

That also means that my Mother died thirty one years ago on this day.

13

31

Those two numbers seem so connected for me on this particular day. Complete opposites...yet both have such a significant meaning.

Thirty one years ago I was a seventeen year old, left numb and quivering with the desperate realization that my Mother was gone from my life forever. It has been a struggle and somewhat a weight on my shoulders.

Thirty one years later, I have a thirteen year old daughter who was born on the day that my Mother died. A daughter that is named after her...and keeps my Mother alive to me every single time I speak my daughter's name.

My heart breaks to not be able to see them together, or have them interact as grandparent and grandchild.

But if God did ONE thing miraculous in my life (and He has done MANY)...it was most certainly sending me my youngest child as a joyful blessing to replace the most horrible memory of losing one of the greatest people that I ever had the honor of being born to.

How can it possibly be that thirty one years have gone by?

How can it be that God sent Massey to me on the same day that he took my Mother?

I just do not think it is coincidence. Actually I KNOW that it isn't.

He sent me my daughter to fill the void, to make this day a happier one...and to make my life all the greater.

I still mourn the loss of my Mother...always will.

But now August 19 is my daughter's birthday. It is also the day that my Mother died...but the day that God gave it back to be to be a happy day.

A day that my Mother found her home in Heaven, and a day that my beautiful girl found her way into my life.

You have to take the good along with the bad. You have to find reason with God's decisions and plans...and you have to find a way to have it all make sense in your heart and mind.

I will miss my Mother forever, and the hurt hasn't faded much after thirty one years.

What this experience HAS done, is give me a daughter who reminds me of my Mother and reminds me that although God took my Mother from me on August 19...He also gave me my daughter on August 19. My Mother's birthday in Heaven...and my daughter's birthday on earth.

LIFE TAKES AND GIVES!!

It is up to us to find the beauty and meaning... to enjoy what we are left with, and make the best of the situations and decisions that are ultimately out of our hands...but to realize as well that luckily we are all in God's hands...and that is a wonderful place to be.

Happy Birthday "Mama"

and Happy Birthday "Massey".

I love you both, and YOU BOTH make me the person that I strive to be. I hope that I don't let either of you down.

With a full heart and complete sense of gratitude to you both...This post is for the both of you...and for my own comfort as well.

With love and admiration,

Your daughter...and Massey's mother... till next time COTTON

They Say That the Number Thirteen is Unlucky...But it Is Incredible to Me

My youngest child...my only girl, is turning thirteen.

How did she progress from being a four pound "preemie" to being a young woman already more grown up than ME??

Her birthday is Tuesday. Being that school is in session, we have decided to have her party this Sunday so that all of her school friends and hopefully all of my family can come.

By the way Elizabeth, consider this your invitation...because I am working my butt off these last few days , trying to get everything together, and I know you read my blog.

ANYHOO... back to my girl.

We are having a "BLOWOUT"!!

We have rented a forty foot long slip and slide that they come inflate on our back lawn. It stands about four feet off the ground and has water spraying from arches all along the way. It is the most fun thing I have ever done legally, and all of the nieces, nephews and neighbors absolutely have a blast.

Just a shoutout to my kinfolk in LaGrange...We rent it from a place in LaGrange, "B&E Happy Hoppers". You should call them up next time you have a party for your "grand youngin's". Put a couple of drops of baby shampoo on the slide and it gets even better!!

We have kids in my neighborhood that only come to my house once a year...just to get their turn on the massive "SLIDE".

We are cooking burgers, dogs, having Chicken salad with Pineapple and almonds, and giving my girl the greatest send off into her teens that we can think of (or afford).

Her room is ALWAYS a wreck...she is unorganized and unfocused...but she is so stinkin sweet, honest and loving that I forgive her for her shortcomings, and praise her for her attributes.

I may regret it one day, but after raising two boys...she'll probably always be the easiest to influence...and she is A LOT easier to bribe!!

If I didn't have my kids, I don't think that my life would have much focus of any kind.

They are the reason that I work so hard, worry so much and pray so hard....Maybe they are what is keeping "ME" in line!!

If you live near NEWNAN Georgia...drop on by on Sunday! We will be glad to have you!!

I don't want to brag on myself (but I will) I have had over 5000 hits on my blog and want to thank every person that has read my blog and that has contributed to my postings.

Keep it up...and keep on reading for the re-cap of the big "Slip and Slide" event.... We may even give out medals, since it is the week of the Olympic Games. If any Chinese gymnasts show up...we WILL check "ID'S" . Till next time...COTTON

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

This blog is dedicated to two of my favorite people... my oldest son and my sister. Her birthday is the 9th, my son's is the 10th. Let's start with my sister (I've known her longer). She has recently survived open heart surgery...her husband's! I love her dearly...but Florence Nightingale, she ain't! It was a traumatic time for us all; mostly for my brother in law...but not easy on any of us. He is in the early stages of recovery, and she is in the early stages of "sometimerz's". I consider myself her own personal memory stick, she has NO capacity to remember the smallest or biggest detail, but I am there for her, and feel grateful for the fact that I have her in my life. (Even if she forgets that I am her sister....I remind her of the fact with all my phone calls and emails). She is my ROCK, she is my best friend; and most luckily of all..she is my sister!

On to my son... where should I start? Maybe with a "Balance Owed" sheet!! Kids have a marvelous way of sucking you dry at every point in their life. I know this from experience... I did a GREAT job of it with my own parents, and obviously it has trickled down to them as well. But I do truly love him, respect him and only want the best for him. He is a handsome, smart and headstrong young man that not only gives me heartaches, but heartfelt love . I believe in him; have tremendous faith in him, and feel that once he finds his path...it will be the right one. It is hard to believe that he is turning twenty two.... am I REALLY that old? I guess that I am , because I have three kids that are wearing me out on a daily basis; and would not have it ANY other way. My "TJ" is a special one to me... my first child, my oldest and not only my son, but my friend. I hope that he knows how much he means to me... and how much I want for him to live up to all the expectations that I have for him. He has his entire life ahead of him. If I knew then, what I know NOW... my life would have been such a breeze. Well, maybe not a breeze...but a whole lot easier. But as a parent...unfortunately you have to let your kids find their own way in their own time. If only; ONLY they knew how fast life flies by you, how quickly things can change in an instant. But that is not a part of being young..it is a part of being older and wiser. I remember when you used to wake up with nightmares in the middle of the night. Now it is me waking up in the middle of the night, hoping that you make the right choices, and that I have been a good parent to you. Enjoy your youth, but make the most of it. I mean this so sincerely, and with a heart full of love and emotion... feelings that you will not experience until you have a child of your own. You make me proud every day, mad every day, and happy every day that you are in my life, and that I can call you my son, and feel honored to do it. GODSPEED.... Go take the world by the horns, and show it JUST WHAT YOU ARE MADE OF!! Happy Birthday, you "little squirt" from my past, and make not only me and your father proud...but yourself as well. I have ALL the faith in the world in you, and I know that you won't let any of us down. We'll always have your back...and YOU will always have our hearts. Go out there and grab life like it was meant for you to have... you deserve it, and know that I will always love you... always be your mother... and more importantly... that it will be my most amazing accomplishment in life so far.. to see you make a mark on the world that I know you are capable of, and to make a future for yourself that is worthy of your great desires and ambitions. MAKE ME PROUD... more importantly...make yourself proud... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Till next time..COTTON