The Silent Spat

I very rarely ever have differences of opinion with either of my two siblings, we're a tightly knit three.

 Always have been.

My sister and I both know better than to get in an argument with our brother; he's way too much like our Diddy.  Diddy got mad when major league baseball players (underpaid to play a game for a living?) went on strike in 1994 and vowed to never watch another game.

He didn't... for literally years.

My brother is the nicest person in the world, unless you make him mad...so we don't. Of course we all three fell from the same tree so pretty much are all stubborn.

One of the hardest things about moving out of state was leaving my sister behind. For the first time in well over half a century, we wouldn't be less than an hour away from each other. Granted I'd live near my brother again and was a saving grace but not having my sister near was like leaving half myself behind.

It has proved to be a hard transition to become accustomed to.

She got upset with me one time when I visited Georgia for a couple of days and stayed at our old house in Newnan (I went back to clean out the house and garage) instead of staying with her. It took us four weeks to get past it.

We finally agreed to disagree about my decision and let it go... and did.

I know I sound like a brat, but my feelings have been hurt that she hasn't come to visit me here more often. She came once, at Christmas but we had Christmas at my brother's house this past year.

I want her to come see me.

I want her to want to come see me.

I want her (retired airline employee) to get on a plane and come down to spend just six hours with me one day.

Any day.

Any time.

Her pick.

Massey and I would pick her up at the airport, we'd drive to Cocoa Beach and be there in thirty minutes. We could sit in the sand, look at God's water bowl and laugh together for three hours. Then we could grab a bite to eat together and head back to Orlando towards the airport(near my house) stopping by our tiny rental first so she could see the pups and change clothes.

BOOM...back home in six hours, maybe seven.

I need an updated picture of Massey, her and me by the beach.



I know my sister has a lot going on. I know she does a lot more than I do and am proud of her relentless service for others.

Call me "Jealous you're such a good person but lonely in Orlando".

Call me selfish.

I've invited her her down several times for a get together at our brother's lake house but something always comes up.

She accepted my latest offer but had to decline the next day after looking at her schedule again.

I guess I need to realize the world doesn't revolve around me.

My bad.

Thanks to modern technology our latest spat has been via text. It got ugly, by sister standards. I got my feelings hurt, she tried to explain but all I read (and felt) was rejection.

She (called) back when I was at work, it was busy so just texted back "At work". She texted back for me to call her when I got off.

I didn't.

I didn't want to.

My feelings were hurt, probably not even valid feelings but my feelings at the time.

She called again this morning, didn't answer because I'm still pouting.

We'll get past this, at least I hope we will.

I feel like she thinks she has to take three or four days off to come visit me in Orlando.

I don't want that.

I just want her to take six or seven hours off, on any given day at any given point in time,check the flights and jump on a plane to spend four of those hours with me.

Webster's defines 'Squabble' as  "To engage in a disagreeable argument, usually over a trivial matter".

These past few days of being on the 'Outs' with my sister have been on my mind twenty four seven.

If our brother is mad at me, I'm scared. If my sister is mad at me, I'm broken.

I'm the nut in our family. I've always known it and they have too. I'm almost proud of it. It's my greatest accomplishment as their sibling. I'm the tie dyed black sheep of the family.

That doesn't necessarily make me the weakest link (of course I am) but totally makes me the hardest link to love, and appreciate the fact my siblings still do love me.

So me and my sister had a text spat.

Every thing's still going to be (hopefully) okay.

North Korea hasn't attacked...yet.

We are both worried and concerned about the same things. It's what makes us one. I just want us to be one again.

Webster's definition of spat is "to engage in a brief quarrel' and hopefully ours will be exactly that.

I love my sister and know she loves me.

"This too shall pass."

Yes I was a baby and exaggerated my disappointment by not replying to her text. Yes I had my feelings hurt.

How do do you heal that relationship?

With a silly love song?

What's wrong with that?

I can live (maybe) without technology, but I can't live without my sister.

Till next time...COTTON

Now THAT was a "Thanks Given"

We spent Thanksgiving at my brother's new house in Orlando this year. He invited us all down for Thanksgiving, his treat. He just bought a big house on a beautiful lake and even has a twenty four foot Sea Ray. We were all excited!

Sometimes a lake house is a bit of a walk from the house,  not in this case.

We went down in shifts. My sister, my daughter and I left first on Tuesday around noon. We drove thirty minutes and stopped for lunch...you  gotta love driving with women.

We ate and gassed up the car and headed out for real. My  daughter posted on Facebook  we were leaving and immediately got two or three warnings about bad weather and to drive careful.

That turned out to be a HUGE understatement.

My sister started out driving as the rain began to fall, just a drizzle at first. After about an hour or so she asked if I would drive a while and I said sure.

My Cotton luck kicked  right in around Tifton, Georgia and rain began to pour in buckets. The wind was crazy, the people driving were crazy and then the lightning was crazy. Her defroster only semi worked but the windshield was still hard to see out of and I was a nervous wreck. I hated to be a sissy and tell her how much I despise driving in the rain, especially since she was the one who letting us bum a ride down with her. So I'm in the slow lane, forcing myself to go fifty when the first lightening bolt hit that seemed like it was twenty feet away. My nerves were shot and kept hoping to see an exit sign. We finally saw one and told them I had to stop for a minute. We pulled into  the first gas station and I pulled up next  to a pump even though we had a full tank. (The pumps had a roof over them)

We went inside and the young girl inside said  they were under a tornado warning. I asked where the rest room was, looking around the store when she said "Sorry, they're around the side of the building."

My  daughter and I made  a run for it staying as close as we could to the side of the building and opened the door to the nastiest rest room I think we have ever seen. It was so disgusting I was worried about even squatting but I did, since  that last lightning bolt  about made me pee in my pants.

We  went back around the side and entered the store again. I told Massey  to buy me a coke, handed her some money and tried to calm my nerves outside as I watched the rain blow sideways. My sister went to the restroom next and  came back to announce  she had seen  cleaner rest rooms in Cuba while on a mission trip.

Feeling braver I got back into the driver's seat and off we went again. I got on the highway and the guy behind me started honking. I looked down and saw I was going 40 MPH so I took a deep breath and kicked it up to 55.  Not ten minutes later while Cin was talking on her cell to her husband I heard a thump coming from the fast lane and saw a car hydroplaning then spinning in circles headed straight for the front of our car. It was close enough for me to touch it out the window. I slowed down so it wouldn't hit us and the driver over corrected and started spinning back the other way. The car hit the median and came to a stop against the inside wall facing oncoming traffic. Massey called 911 and I just kept going, praying someone didn't slam into the wrecked car facing traffic. By this point my nerves were completely shot, then it got even worse. The lightning was downright frightening every time it cracked and I saw something on the median wall up ahead. As we got closer we saw it was a huge boat sitting on top of the wall with it's trailer still in the lane of traffic and the car that had been pulling it a little further down. Needless to say I once again started praying for an exit sign. For some reason idiot drivers feel it necessary to put their hazard lights on which only confuse the cars behind them. We limped to the next exit and I was still shaking when we got out of the car. The windshield was so smudged up from us trying to wipe it clear you could barely see out of it so we went to a Dollar Store and bought some windex and paper towels. By the time we got the windshield clear the rain had slacked up but I still handed the keys back to my sister. Tag, you're it.

At least the rest of the drive was uneventful although we didn't pull into my brother's driveway until almost eleven. My brother asked us if we wanted a drink and told him I'd wanted one since Tifton, three hours back.

Chris had gone grocery shopping with a detailed shopping list my sister had sent him and the kitchen was stocked with everything we needed to cook the Thanksgiving dinner. He also had a full supply of anything you might think you may want to drink. Water bottles, Snapple, plenty of wine, red and white. All kinds of beer, scotch, vodka, tequila and all the mixers...things were looking up!

The next morning he worked a half a day and we went out for a couple of last minute items we'd forgotten about. We were driving back home when a flock of tiny white birds fluttered in the sky above the car. Just as we noticed them, a huge Bald Eagle swooped  into the flock of tiny birds. It was the most amazing, tremendous bird I've ever seen and was so close we could see it in detail. You certainly don't see a Bald Eagle every day!

Chris got home around noon and took us out on his boat. it's a beautiful boat and large enough for him to take out in the ocean. We backed out of the slip and I shouted out "Take off, Sonny Crockett!" and he did!

There was a cool little canal leading to the next lake over and we tooled through it. It was absolutely beautiful.

The like the great Uncle he is, said "Your turn to drive, Massey" even though she had never driven a boat in her life. She was put- zing along when Chris leaned over her shoulder and gunned the engine.

Cin and I stayed in the back and left Massey and Cap'n Chris up front.

It was a beautiful but windy day and we had to hang onto our hats but had a great time. By this time our next crew was on the way down, Tim and Cindy's son, Casey. Massey and Chris left to go pick up a Honey Baked Ham and brought us all back subs for dinner. Cindy and I got busy doing some chopping and preparations for Thursday. we got most all the casseroles put together and a lot of little things out of the way.

We played cards after dinner around the huge dining room table Chris bought since we were having Thanksgiving at his house. It seats ten easily.  It was nice just being with my brother and sister again. Massey got to see first hand how funny we all (think we) are when together, especially when it's cocktail time.

Tim and Casey rolled in around ten and the party started over again.

Thanksgiving morning Massey went to the airport to pick up Cin's husband who flew down and the party grew even larger. The boys played golf and Cin and I got busy cooking. Let's just say we outdid ourselves.
Menu: Turkey and dressing with Giblet gravy
Honey Baked Ham
Green beans with new potatoes
Collard Greens
Sweet potato casserole
Potato salad
Squash casserole
Hash brown casserole
Green bean casserole
Deviled eggs
Heavenly hash
Sweet potato biscuits

Chris' next door neighbor and his girlfriend joined us for dinner and the feast started. Everything turned out great and we totally stuffed ourselves. A bunch went out on the boat after dinner and we got everything put up into the fridge.

We played cards after dinner and some watched football. Cin taught us a new card game, Nertz. You have to get the hang of it first but turned out to be a pretty fun game. Once again the beer, wine and cocktails flowed freely. Some more friends of my brother's were dropping by later on and my other nephew (Griffin) and his girlfriend were flying down around seven to join us. Griffin's girlfriend is a cutie pie,  Hawaiian and they make a really cute couple.

Around eight or so we had probably six or seven of us around the huge table playing cards and the football games were blaring out in surround sound on the huge flat screen in the living room and were partying up a storm when the kitchen door opened and Griffin's girlfriend appeared to appear in the door way while my sister and I shouted "How'd you get here, Jamie?" (We were supposed to send either Massey or Harvey to pick them up) When Griffin didn't walk in behind her but some dude we had never seen did, finally realized it wasn't Jamie but another one of Chris' friends dropping by with her boyfriend. The girl was very pretty and just happened to be from Laos. When you're partying it up, playing an intense card game and the room is loud, Hawaii and Laos are (so it seems) easily confused. The girl looked at Cindy and me like we were idiots but soon enough we were all laughing again. The leftovers came out of the fridge and we started over.

Jamie and Griffin DID arrive after Harvey went and picked them up and party number three started. More food was eaten and Chris shot off massive fireworks from the dock. It was an awesome Thanksgiving.

The next day we all went out on the boat again. Casey got to drive this time and we stayed out for quite a while. When Chris asked Griffin if he wanted to drive the only thing Griffin asked when he took the wheel was "How do you make it go fast?"  We survived, came home and ate more leftovers. We had enough food to feed a small army.

That night after watching football games we decided to play games. We started with Charades, boys against girls and all laughed ourselves silly. Then my sister and I wanted to play Kangaroo; it's a game my parents used to play at church socials. The only ones who knew how it worked were Chris, Cindy and me.

Short version: everyone continues what they are doing, playing cards or watching TV. I say to my sister, "I'm clearing the air and sending you a message." Nobody much pays attention but the thing is who ever talks next is the unknown Kangaroo. After a couple more minutes go by I ask Cindy if she received my message? If she is sure she knows who the first person to speak was after I cleared the air she says she has the message, if she's not certain (maybe two people spoke at once) she says she hasn't received it and I clear the air again. (Let's just say it was Griffin who spoke first when I cleared the air) A couple more minutes go by and I ask her if she got my message? Once she has the message, we send her out of the room. I begin pointing at different people in the room and say "Kangaroo" and from outside the room she repeats back "Kangaroo." Finally I point to Griffin  and say to her outside of the room "Kangaroo, who am I pointing to?" and she says "Griffin."  I wish you could have seen their faces...they thought we were magicians! A couple of them tried it, always failing then Cindy and I would do it again, this time with her clearing the air. By the third time we did it they were all guessing different ways they thought we were doing it.  Finally Griffin's girlfriend caught on and we had another few rounds including her. It's a great party game.

By Saturday we had just about eaten and drank Chris out of house and home but he was a terrific host the entire time. The boys played golf again and us girls had a movie day.

Sunday morning Chris had to work (we thought he was probably just sitting around the corner in his car waiting to see us finally leave) and we cleaned up our mess, put all the sheets and towels on to wash and bagged up the mounds of trash bags we had filled in the garage and headed home.

Tim, Massey and I were in the lead car with Cin, her two boys and Jamie behind us in another car.(Harvey flew back home early)

Chris, always the nice guy had bought us each a Sun Pass for the cars so we didn't have to pay any tolls and sailed through quite a few long lines of people heading home waiting in line to pay the tolls. It easily saved us over thirty minutes.

We were sailing along in Gainesville, Florida. Tim was driving. We were in the passing/fast lane when we heard a loud "BAM" and Tim yelled "Was that us?" We were still rolling along but we saw a tire tread behind us. About then Massey said she smelled the burning rubber so we pulled off into the tiny emergency lane by the center median. Casey stopped behind us in their car. The entire tread had blown off. Cars were whizzing by going eighty and were literally about four feet from the car. It was the passenger side back tire.

Cindy backed her car up about thirty feet or so and put her flashers on. The boys started getting the spare out and cars kept right on whizzing by, making my sister and me nervous wrecks. I made Massey get out of the car and stand far into the grassy median. Cindy and I walked well down past her car behind the car with the flat. She stopped there and I continued down about another twenty feet. As the cars approached I waved my hands frantically down in an effort to tell cars to slow down. Cindy was motioning for cars to move over a lane to give us more room to change the tire. For the most part people were fantastic and although we caused a small traffic backup with our antics at least it slowed most all the cars down.

Of course there is one in every crowd. As Griffin was wrestling with the tire iron with his back no more than three feet away from passing cars, one idiot blew his horn as he passed going at least seventy. You can't fix stupid.

We got the little donut spare on and then had to  manage to pull two cars out of the center median back into the fast lane of traffic, no easy feat with every one and their brother returning home from Thanksgiving holidays.

We finally got back into the lane and maneuvered all the way over to the slow lane. I was just happy no one had gotten hurt or killed. Then we had to find a tire place open on a Sunday afternoon, Thanksgiving weekend.

Three hours later we were finally back on the road after having to put almost two hundred bucks on my sister's credit card. Tim and I are going to help pay her back but you can't drive one of these donut tires on the interstate, especially for two hundred miles so it was the only option we had.

So the trip down was horrible and the trip back was scary but the in between was marvelous! I guess that's what they mean about taking the good with the bad. We didn't get Massey back to her dorm until almost ten and got home around eleven.  We had been shooting for seven.

So all in all it was a "Thanks Given" to remember. I give Thanks I didn't get anyone killed while freaking out in the torrential thunderstorm on the way down and I give Thanks no one got killed changing the tire by a packed out holiday weekend interstate fast lane. I give Thanks I have such a wonderful brother who was an ultimate host to our crazy band of misfits. I give Thanks for days of fun and laughter with the ones I love. I give Thanks to the two who had to stay home for work and couldn't go with us but took care of all our pups, eight in all.

Most of all I give Thanks that all these people love me, it's a wonderful feeling to be loved and as the song says, 



Love, love, love.

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

Nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love (all together, now!)
All you need is love. (everybody!)
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need (love is all you need).

This is all that's left of the Leach clan but we're all still as close as we were on this old station wagon. There are so many families who don't get along or even speak to each other much less love each other.

I give Thanks I'm one of the lucky ones.
Til Next time, a VERY grateful COTTON

Happy Birthday to The Best Sister Ever

Oh my sister will just love I chose this picture to start my blog...NOT! Believe me, I could have found worse ones. Us Leach kids were a motley bunch when we were little.

I guess I  turned out okay, my brother got big in his middle age but is still handsome and witty.  Cindy turned into a beauty by  the age of fifteen and has grown more beautiful with each and every year.

What could be more exciting when you were ten years old than to have your big sister crowned Homecoming Queen at  the high school football game?  Not much.

We all got a good start in life from two amazing parents and grew up  together in  middle class heaven.

I took my own kid's by  the old homestead a couple of years ago. It looks smaller than when I was a kid but not too shabby. It was wonderful growing up in  that house.

See what I mean about Cindy? Chris looks like a stand in for one of the Brady Bunch boys , I look like I may have been adopted  and Cindy looks beautiful.

Fast forward almost four decades and she's STILL looking good!

Cindy  and I weren't particularly close when I was a little kid and think it's mostly because I was loud, obnoxious and usually always had a booger in  my nose....at least that's the way it was with MY kids when they were younger.

As we have grown up we have become closer and closer.

 

 We are now both married with grown children (well almost for me) and simply put...Best Friends.

The picture above is my own Momma when she was little. She had a younger brother she doted on but never had a sister so she grew up , married and gave me a sister and a brother too!

Both our parents are gone but we still have each other.

The stories and memories we have are priceless. I laugh more with my sib's than any other people on earth. I can honestly say I have never met anyone who has something negative to say about either one of them. They have both helped me out time and time and time again and still love me for the idiot I am.

Cindy and I have that female bond thing...which is kind of like a secret society. There's just a huge difference between  the sexes. I think Jay Leno put it best: "The basic difference between men and women is  all men think the Three Stooges are hilarious and all women think they are idiots."

If I didn't have a sister, well a sister like Cindy...I honestly don't know if I would have made it this far in life. She's beautiful inside and out. She gives more of herself than you could ever imagine. She pretty much raised  two boys on her own and never heard her complain about it or talk bad about their father. She is the strongest most honest woman I know, always makes me smile and often makes me laugh  to the point of tears.

None of us grew up and became rich financially. Well, Chris has done pretty well but doesn't have kids sucking him dry...just sisters. Sisters are a lot cheaper than kids or ex wives and we cook a lot for him on holidays and never ask him to help clean up...just bring the Bloody  Marys. We are rich beyond belief with love, caring and support...things money can't buy.

My Momma was one amazing woman, ask anyone who knew her. My sister is a close second and that's pretty astounding.

We grew up together as kids but bonded as sisters through the years.

She turned sixty today, making me the luckiest fifty two year old sister on the planet.

These two people in the above photo fell in love in the 1940's and married. They had three kids. They both died way  too soon but left us in good hands....each others.

These three little kids are all over halfway through their lives now. These three little kids are closer now than they were when this picture was taken. A lot of families can't say that.

 Cindy, you've done an amazing job raising two boys...and ME!


Happy Birthday  to  The Best Sister Ever. You're my rock. We've had so many laughs (and tears) together. Thank you for every one of them.

You inspire me, you encourage me and you enlighten me. I am the luckiest sister ever!

Til next  time...COTTON

Simply Sisters

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER!!

She is my best friend. She stepped in when my mother died and raised me to be the woman I am today (I hope I have lived up to her standards.)

She will probably want to kill me for a lot of these pictures, but who WAS cute in elementary school? I can guarantee that my mother sewed most of the outfits we are all wearing as kids...she was a "Demon" with a Singer sewing machine.

My brother stepped in as my Dad as I have grown older but my sister has been my best friend, mentor and saving salvation as I have traveled the road of life and steered me in the right direction numerous times...she is my personal GPS.

So she started out cute as a button in the baby picture...curly pig tails and all. Once her permanent front teeth came in it was a whole different story!

At least my parents had the sense (and cents) to send her straight to the orthodontist once those "Chompers" grew in. I was always a gawky ugly sort but at least I couldn't eat corn on the cob through a picket fence!


Once those braces came off she was a true beauty...still is.

She was a high school teacher out of college, taught my college room mate in high school... introduced us and gave me another life long friend.

She left teaching to become a flight attendant with Delta...for thirty plus years, and retired to follow her calling as a "Professional Volunteer."

An avid Braves fan, an excellent painter (rooms not canvases) and a friend to every person she has ever met...her heart has no depth.

She volunteers at a Thrift store and is one of the greatest things to ever happen to her church, volunteering so much her tithe ought to be cut in half.

She helps out her two boys (who are really men, but when they are your kids they will ALWAYS be kids.)

She is a dog lover, just like me...has a boxer but has lost several over the years. She even has a "Hell cat" that I can't for the life of me understand why she loves so dearly. But that's my sister.

Full of love and good grace.

Full of compassion for others (including me) and would take the entire world under her (left) wing if her arm pit was big enough.

The things she has done for me and the immense love I feel for her simply cannot be put into words, but don't need to . They are a feeling, an emotion and a sense that is indescribable but felt in the heart , soul and mind.

My mother left this world when I was 17, my father when I was 42.

They knew what they were doing when they left me in the hands and heart of my sister and brother.

Life has finally sent me a few bumps and ruts in the road. My siblings have been my paving crew. They have not only paved the way but given me the gift of love, support and the chance for some breathing room while I take a breath , plunge ahead and move on to survive.

Hopefully you will click on all the pics because even though she was geeky and buck toothed in her adolescence...she has turned into one of the most beautiful women I have ever known and feel ridiculously lucky to have her as a sister.

Happy birthday, Cin.

Know that I love you and that you have made a difference in literally hundreds of lives...if not thousands.

Thank you for giving me the honor of calling you my "Sis."

Happy Birthday, wishing you many, many more!

Til next time, COTTON

My Painter

My sister called today and asked if she could come paint the trim in my kitchen. I told her ..."Alright, but just this ONE time."



Thank the Lord it was my sister. I had gone to the grocery store and she got to the house before me. I have a HEAVY oak and marble table that I put my microwave on. It is an antique wash stand that my mother in law gave me. Needless to say at this point...I don't move it often, just clean around it.



Of course this was the first piece of furniture that my sister moved. My 17 year old son was there ...in case she needed anybody to just sit and watch her work. He made the remark that behind the wash stand was ... " Now that is embarrassing." This is a comment from a boy that has never used a broom in his life or knows where I keep it.



I am not OCD about my house. I DO think I do a pretty job considering I have a husband, sons and a daughter , two slobbering huge boxers and a six day work week. I couldn't win an award, but DFACS wouldn't take my kids either... At least they wouldn't last time I asked. (totally kidding, but it made me chuckle.)



So my sister cleaned and painted the trim in my kitchen while Massey and I kept her company. Me preparing dinner and Massey just sitting in a chair reading us trivia questions from the sixties and seventies out of a book she had borrowed from a friend. "The Great American Pop Culture Quiz Book."



You know how I am about quizzes. ...GO...!!!



So while my sister cleaned my horrible trim and painted it expertly, Massey quizzed us to death. I will have to admit that my addiction to FB helped me out on more than a few answers!



We laughed and had one of the best times I have had in quite a while. It seems whenever I am with my sister...I am always happy, even when I am venting to her about my problems.



Everybody loves my sister.



I could make this a facebook quiz and the results would always be the same.



Ten out of ten people would love my sister.



If I didn't have her in my life...I wouldn't feel my life was complete.



And as long as I am out here bragging about her...



If anyone ever needs a room painted or wall papered, call my sister. Her rates are great and her end result is amazing. She has a gift with a brush.



Also you get the bonus of having one of the nicest people in the world in your house for a few days ... she doesn't even charge for that.



Once you have met her ...you will probably think she undercharged you and you are most probably right. That is why with word of mouth and reputation she will get this painting business off the ground in no time.

If you are in the ATL or close by, call my sis or contact me. I am thinking of becoming her "Agent."

A neat and rapid painter. No mistakes or taping needed. I don't even think she owns a drop cloth (JK) ....unless you LIKE a drop cloth. If you do... I have 3 to loan her at the drop of a hat !! Once she gets done you will be sorry that she paints so quickly and efficiently.

Just having her in your house feels like you owe her at least a 'note' in the mail.

Painting...know someone who is thinking about painting ?

Call my sister and you will most likely end up wanting to send ME a Thank You note .

Her work is as good as I have ever seen, and her prices are ridiculously low.

Plus I love her, or could you tell ?

Gotta Love That Sister!!

My sister is feeling better...Thank you JESUS!!

So I decided to let her continue her charity work at my house today!!

I am just THAT kinda gal!

She came over and painted my bedroom. I vacuumed up about ten pounds of dust and dirt, while she artfully painted my master bedroom...including the "Trey" ceiling. (hope I spelled that one right...but you know what I mean).

We laughed all day, sometimes to the point of tears...I love this woman more than I can describe or put into any kind of sentence.

My bedroom is the only room in my house that has never been painted (I always avoid it on a tour of the house).

Now it is my centerpiece, and I will blindfold people until they get upstairs to see it first!!

I never have more fun than when I am with my sister.

I never get more done than when I am with my sister.

I never feel closer to a person than when I am with my sister.

I have lost both my parents...but they left me in the most wonderful hands that they ever could have...the hands and heart of my sister.

My back is aching, my shoulders are killing me...and my heart is singing!

To spend one entire day with this woman, this splendid human being who I am lucky enough to call my sister...is almost worth me letting her give me a $500 paint job for free!

HEY!!! I am JUST that nice of a little sis.

She'll probably want her vacuum cleaner back now too (NOT GONNA HAPPEN).

What a good life I have, what a great brother and sister I have.

I almost feel like posting a picture of my bedroom on my blog for you to see. If I can figure out how to do it, I will!

At least I gave her a couple of massages that she seemed to enjoy (judging from the sounds she was making).

I hope every person has a best friend like I do.

Going to take a scalding bath now...and return to the ole workplace in the morning.

I can't wait to wake up in the fresh morning sun and see my new bedroom gleaming at me and reminding me once again how lucky I am to have such a wonderful sister with such a tremendous and giving heart.

Keep looking for my pics...I have a friend coming to town tomorrow that is a computer whiz and is going to put a search engine on my blog and show me how to upload pictures...If you think I am amusing now...wait til I actually SHOW you some of my life!!

The Big Move

My sister moved yesterday.

Ya know, you just feel guilty if you don't offer to help...and you always cross your fingers thinking that they will say "You don't have to help".

NOT SO!! But my sister helped us move out of our old house and into this one...so we were screwed from the get go. She did so much for us when we moved that this pay back was destined to happen.

My husband is a partner in a trucking company, so he brought a HUGE truck and luckily we made the move in one giant trip. My husband was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of spending his entire day off loading and unloading boxes and furniture...and he got his wish!!

It was a family effort and with the help of two Latinos we picked up at a gas station that serves as our local "Temp" agency...we began the day.

My thirteen year old daughter was thrilled to ride to my sister's house in the "BIG" truck with her dad, and by the time I got there, she had a "HOG" hat that my sister had given her, and a bird's eye view of the packing process from her perch on the top floor of the house we were moving them out of.

I told Massey that if my sister tried to give her ONE MORE THING...refuse it. I know the game. Offer a thirteen year old all the junk that you don't want, and suddenly the moving truck has more open space and I need another vehicle to cart home all the "Crap" that she has unloaded on my daughter.

It is the "Mema" syndrome.

When we were younger, we would go to my grandmother's house and come home with a box of junk that we thought was precious cargo.

We would try to refuse her offers of the amazing treasures...and she would sweetly reply "I am just going to throw it away, so TAKE it"!!

So home we marched, with our potholders made off of those little weaving frames with the stretch loops, baskets of dried flower arrangements that were twenty years old and King Edward cigar boxes full of S&H green stamps and Doral coupons.

The old woman was smart. It was even better than a yard sale. She did nothing but hand us her junk and we thanked her profusely for being so gracious to give us her treasures.

My daughter would have taken every piece of junk my sister tried to pawn off on her, had I not shown up after she received the Razor Back helmet.

Once the big move was made, we transitioned to the unload phase.

My sister and her husband bought a century old farm house, including six acres of orchards, vineyards, gardens and a coy pond. It has a barn with a loft and an old smokehouse, surrounded by magnificent old trees and every flower and plant that you could imagine.

My daughter was immediately over helping us in any type of way or fashion, but roamed the acreage , discovered every nook and cranny and spent most of her time swinging on the tire swing...hollering for a "PUSH PLEASE".

Once we unloaded the truck, there was furniture that couldn't fit into the house and my husband and our new friends Omar and Jose loaded it back onto the truck so that Tim could pull the truck back to the barn to store it there (until my sister could pawn it off to other unsuspecting relatives).

The driveway curving around the house was a tight turn, but my husband who has been in trucking for over twenty years seemed to manage the tight squeeze pretty well until he asked our daughter to stand in front of the truck and let him know if he was about to hit anything.

He stopped the huge truck and began to back up as my daughter emphatically motioned "come on"!!

My sister and her sons were saying "Why is he backing up? What is he DOING"?

When he put the truck into park, he was about three inches away from three live power lines that ran from the barn to the house.

My daughter replied that she was just looking down and no one told her to check above the truck.

Once the electrocution of my husband was avoided, we unloaded the rest of the truck and by the time we got the last piece out of the truck, I swear I heard tires squealing as my husband turned the corner of the house to take the truck back to his company . He said to himself "I AM OUTTA HERE"!!

We didn't get her settled in, but we got her moved in.

It was a day of adventure, it was a day of family and it was probably the longest day that my husband has seen in a while.

I am glad that it is over, and I am glad that we could help.

Moving is NEVER fun...and it truly lets you know who your friends are.

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

Angels Take Care of Their Own...

My sister and her husband have not only been smacked in the face with reality of "open heart surgery", but have been wrapped in the arms of Angels. Their church has done the most amazing thing I have ever seen a group of Christians do... think of the best way to help a person who is down and out... and step up to the plate... swing the bat and knock a home run for my sister and her husband. Maybe I should call it a grand slam. She called me at work tonight to tell me that her church had helped them out... above and totally beyond the call of duty. Let me insert here, that my sister has helped hundreds of people out over the years, and continues to on a daily basis. She is my mentor, my best friend, and the only MOM that I have. She would do anything for any one, and often has. But in her time of need... she has been taken care of by genuine love, care and concern that boggles the mind... at least my small mind (which ain't too much). Her weight has been lifted by the love of people that truly and deeply love her, as I do. My appreciation for these "Angels" is probably as great as hers ... although she is a MUCH better person than I am, and deserves it EVERY BIT ... it has made her aware of just how much friends CAN and DO make an impact in our lives. God has blessed my sister not only with her husband's good recovery, but with the knowledge that she is appreciated for the wonderful woman, person and Christian that she is. Thank you "Angels" not only for loving my family, but for giving us peace of mind and some relief in one of the most traumatic times of our lives.God bless you each and every one, as you have surely blessed us. Till next time... COTTON

My Sister

I am currently forty seven years old, zooming down the path to forty eight. My sister is fifty "something" (just in case she reads this blog.) She is my best friend (sorry Lisa), she is my mentor, she is my gravitational device on this Earth. Our Mother died when I was seventeen, my sister was in her early twenties. We were both completely lost without our mother.. she was one in a million.. and that is a mild statement to make; especially if you knew our Mother. In the years that have passed, we have grown closer and closer. If there is one thing that I am sure of in my life; it is that my sister will ALWAYS have my back. She supports me, corrects me when I need it, and guides me when she knows I need guidance. She is ABSOLUTELY the most fascinating, inspired, and enigmatic person that I have ever had the fortune of knowing. How she does all the things I admire and love her for totally amaze me, and make me Thank God every day that He blessed me with such a marvelous person as Cin for a sister. She raised two boys as a single mother, helped raise me, and totally took care of my father in his quick decline into Alzheimer's. Without her I would not be even half the person that I am today; nor would be, all the people who's live's she has touched and changed. I hope that every person that reads this has a sister or a relative, or a friend that means to them what Cindy means to me. From the bottom of my heart, and the depths of my soul.. I Thank God every day that I have my sister, and Thank God above the He gave her to me of all people.. I hope that you can be as lucky one day. And Hey Cin... Thanks for loving me !! Till next time... COTTON