That Was One "Mother" of a Day!

Here is a picture of our "86" board at work yesterday.  "86" means you are out of something in restaurant lingo. It was so busy that as the day dragged on it was easier to remember the items we had than to remember all the items that had been "86'ed."

We opened at 11 AM. I got there at 10:15 and by 10:45 we were seating guests. I waited on tables non stop from 10:45 until after closing at 8:30 PM. It was insanity in the truest form of the word. People getting upset because they had to wait for a table. People wondering why their food took so long? People leaving a fifty year old mother working her  thirty third Mother's Day in a row a ten percent tip. Holidays are always considered "Amateurs Day" in the restaurant world. They are filled with people that dread having to go out yet  are forced to. They hate having to spend the money and hate more having to tip as well.  As a general rule I always make 20% at my current restaurant. The food is out of this world, they make every thing from scratch.  They even make the stocks they cook with, use only fresh herbs and each dish is individually prepared in it's own saute pan.

I was prepared for it. I have been a server for 33 years and know how holidays can be. Thirty three years ago it was much easier to do. I was young and only working to have money to be able to go out and party with my friends. Now I am almost fifty two and work six days a week just to keep our heads above water while still working with kid's in their twenties and thirties. They complain about the section of tables they have been assigned, some work harder at avoiding work than it would take to just do the actual work and some just bitch the entire shift....it's exhausting to an ole woman like me.

I hung in there and was actually impressed that I walked with fifteen percent of my sales. I sold nearly $1400.00 and walked with $220.00. Had it been a normal night I would have easily made $280.00.  "Happy Mother's Day to Me!"

One tab was $192.00. They left me a twenty. Another was $92.00 and they left me a ten. One was $111.00 and they left me twelve. For Pete's sake people...get a grip! It's hands down the busiest day of the year. I may be skinny but I have plenty of gray hair and a wedding band on. The massive  wrinkles on my face not only  imply but... SCREAM "I have kids!"

I was just glad it was over. I was just glad to leave. I was just glad I had survived. I came home and sat on my butt reading my book out on the back porch and drinking cheap beer. Now it MEANT something real..."Happy Mother's Day to me!"

Today I had to go right back in and open the restaurant and work YET again another double shift. The owner barked at me that I hadn't written on the specials board  which sits out front of the store to display our current special offerings, enticing customers to come in and check us out.

I gave them my OWN special message on their little specials board! (See above photo)

Of course I didn't put this out front but at least it made the owners chuckle. I work for a married couple.  The owner is one part Italian and one part French. His wife is one part Polish and one part German. We got all of WWII going on in our place and it is evident each and every day!

I worked the lunch shift and got off just in time to pick up Massey five  minutes late from school. Stopped to put gas in Tim's tank of a car and drove her home. Went to the bank and cashed the check they had written me last night because they ran out of cash to pay the servers because every one charged Mother's Day. I went  home and picked up Zach and drove him back to work for his 5:00 shift.  I went across the street to get a free Chic Fil A sandwich (Thank you Jess) and scarfed it down at a table in the back of the store before clocking back in.

It was slow and I was grateful  it was. The owners simply like me being there because I know what I am doing. I simply wanted to leave because I am old and tired.

I stuck around...didn't want to but HAD to.

Got another blog in the works about tonight but have to weigh my words carefully...I "AM" working with half of Europe and it could be explosive if not worded  correctly and precisely.

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

Thirty Days in The Hole

Roll my tape
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Thirty days...
Anyone doin' that one?
I'm doin' that one
30 days in the hole
30 days in the hole
30 days in the hole
all right all right all right all right, yeah.


Humble Pie sang it but my boy has almost done it. When I picked him up for work today I said "You only have to walk out of that gate two more times."

Yes Zach screwed up...at least he did it when he was eighteen, stupid and single. I have seen him grow up in his thirty days in the hole. He answers the guards with respect..."Yes sir." When they get on to him for having his shirt untucked he replies "I'm sorry sir." When they tell him to have a good day at work he says "Thank you sir."

He is just so glad to see my car sitting outside waiting for him. Every night when I take him back his last words to me are "I love you Mom."

He's a tough nut...we are so much alike that it is scary and often the reason for our arguments. I wish I  was as smart as him and still wonder where he gets it? On top of his thirty days in the hole he has been thrown into a kitchen full of chefs with not only massive experience but degrees in culinary art. Lucky for him the owner loves me...and also loves to point out every stupid thing Zach does.

I'm cleaning his room tomorrow top to bottom...I quit cleaning my kid's room when they hit middle school but want him to know how happy I am to have him back home. I thought a "Welcome Home From Prison " sign across the privacy fence may make the neighbors who already hate us nervous so I chose cleaning his room instead.

I am just glad his time is almost done. I am glad that he was man enough to do it. I am glad that our dysfunctional little family will all be together again. Let em' argue, I don't care...it will be music to my ears.

God took care of him...He always takes care of His own. Another chapter in my odd life is over. What worries me is that I still have a sixteen year old daughter to raise!

What a great Mother's Day present.

Till next time...COTTON

Jolly Old Saint Christopher, Lean Your Ear This Way...

It's after midnight and I just got home. Went into work at 10:30 this morning and had to pick up Zach on the way. I had a thirty minute break between shifts, Zach worked pretty much straight through.

The Blackberry my brother gave Massey died an unexpected death the other day. Massey has no qualms about calling her uncle when she has any wants or desires. She called and asked if he had another one she could use? When he said he didn't I guess she sighed a little too sadly , and that's all it took.

Today he picked her up after school and took her to Verizon where we were due for an upgrade. After they left Verizon they came into eat dinner at Mama Lucia's.

Massey snapped this picture of Jolly Old Saint Christopher with her brand new iPhone4.

When she told me he had bought her the iPhone all I could think of to say was "Shut the front door!"

My brother takes wonderful care of me and my sister and has helped us out far too many  times to count (although I'm sure he's probs counting fo sho!)  Massey...he spoils like a princess.

He has saved my neck probably almost as many times as he's wanted to wring it but still seems to love me. He also loves to torment me (small price to pay if you ask me) and I absolutely love him to death. I can honestly say I have never met anyone who doesn't like him, except maybe the garbage men who worked in our neighborhood when we were kids or maybe crazy Joe Brown, the custodian at our high school.

Massey said it was an early birthday present. For Pete's sake...her birthday isn't til  the middle of August! She is on cloud nine and most probably already picking out the car she wants him to buy her for an early Christmas present in the middle of August.

I love that he spoils her though. I wish I could. When we hit rock bottom it was tough on her. She goes to a high school where a lot of kids get brand new cars for their sixteenth birthday and wear nothing but American Eagle, Lizard Thicket and Izod. Massey wears hand me downs, thrift shop finds and "Ross Dress For Less."

 The thing that I DO admire about her is that she has never ONCE complained about it and is always THRILLED when friends of mine give her hand me downs.  I have friends that have taken her shopping and friends that simply went out and bought her things of their own accord.

I have said it before and will repeat it again and again..."I am a lucky woman."

Teen status is so over rated. (unless you are a girl and sixteen) I can at least remember THAT much  about being a teen. If I wanted cool looking clothes, my Momma made them on her Singer sewing machine and they looked better than the store bought ones the other girls wore. I guess I need to say this as well..."I was a LUCKY teen too."

Let's give inmate 547 some blog time too...

This is a pizza Zach cooked tonight at work.  Bless his heart he got his butt kicked from the time he went in at 10:30 AM til I picked him up at  11:15 PM. Lunch was off the chain. I consider myself a seasoned veteran but felt like I was in a cartoon much of the lunch shift and at some points could swear I heard that bongo noise Fred Flintstones feet used to make when he was running really fast through the cave passing the same chair and lamp four times in a row.

I came back for my dinner shift and the chaos started again. For some reason everyone wanted  a pizza. The owner,  Len came out to show me a pizza Zach had burned...and he said "I told your boy if he burned something so bad that even I wouldn't eat it he was in serious trouble. He's lucky I'm starving."  Then he took a bite of the most charred pizza pie I have ever seen. He sat the pizza down in his office and when he walked away I took this picture. Jeez...he ate almost half of it!

I left after 9:30 and felt like I was walking on upward facing thorns. I came home and cruised through FB for a while. I headed back to pick up my felon around eleven and when I walked in the front door he was picking up the phone at  the host stand to call me.

Took him back to his current digs and came home for the night.

Tim called the Major in charge at the prison today and found out Zach will get released this Saturday. Glory be to GOD!!

My life ain't pretty sometimes but at least I am willing to admit it. My kids aren't perfect but I love them as if they were.

The thing I like about my blog is that I just put it out here..."The good,  the bad and the ugly."

No one is perfect and to pretend you are,  fools no one but yourself  and in fact makes you look like one.

I deeply and tremendously appreciate all the support I have received and don't think for a minute... or even a second I don't intend to pay it forward for a long long time. The road I have traveled these past couple of years has been tough  but has brought out the best in me. It has brought out the best in my family and it has brought out the best in my friends and even strangers.

I'll say it one more time here and say it every night in my prayers..."I am a lucky woman."

Getting up and doing it again...COTTON

My Life is Crazy...But at Least I'm Living

My life has taken so many twists and turns that even I get confused sometimes. At least I am still breathing and in the grand scheme of things that seems to be the important factor.

I love God, I love my husband and I would die for my kids. I love my family and love how they all love me!

A girl has to have  outlets...especially when you work as much as I do. Johnny Dear is first on my list. I love to cut grass and weed eating is just icing on the cake. To see a nicely trimmed out yard just tickles me pink. I bought Johnny a few years back when my brother in law saw him chained to a fence with a For Sale sign on him.  The old man who owned him let me post date a check (he didn't know who he was dealing with...but the check DID clear.)

I have learned more about lawn mowers than I ever thought  possible. I can change his tires, I can change his oil, I can change his belts and even know how to change his blade. He is old and as rickety as me but he keeps on going so I do too!  I cut my yards, my older neighbor's and the front of the subdivision. Nothing makes me happier than riding ole Johnny...til now.

 I got a "Pay it Forward" from my former neighbors. She is a beauty. I've never had such a nice appliance and every morning when I walk into my kitchen I give her a big hug before opening her huge wide doors and peer into her crisp clean cool cavity.

It may sound stupid...but it isn't. It is realizing that someone gave you something wonderful with no strings attached. Somone knew you were in need and that someone "Paid It Forward."  I love its quiet humming. I love its clean look. I love the fact that I don't have to defrost the top of the inside with a hair dryer anymore or shove the milk to the back so it won't spoil. I love the fact  these people loved me in a way that was so desperately needed.

It all comes back to the "Golden Rule." It all comes back to  the simple fact of Karma...translated in the Western world "Reaping what you sow."
In fact the world is round.  What goes around will eventually come around...sometimes you just have to wait for it to happen.

We have scrambled around  here for over two years just trying to get by...and with the help of many MANY people and friends we have done just that.

Now I am big Balling with a new fridge, my boy comes home on Mother's Day and we'll start over again.

You can't give up and you can't give in. You have to wake up and face the day. You have to do what you have to do and IF you do...it will all be okay.

If YOU don't try...why should anyone else?

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

My Kind of Day

One thing about having three days off a month is  you learn how to appreciate them. I've been doing better about taking more time off work but more than one day off a week seems a waste to me. I have worked six days a week for over thirty years so I'm used to it.

Today I took Massey  to school and came back home and resumed the position until 11AM. That's all I need...a little time with no one but me and a pillow.

Zach called (collect) around 11:30 and asked if I could bring him some quarters to do laundry...then  quickly added "Call work and see if they need me today." He is so ready to get out. He has grown up and realized the mistake he made. He just wants to come home (although he hasn't said it) and I want him home too. My boss schedules us so I can pick him up for work.  I had the day off so Zach did too.

I told Zach I had to cut three yards and they were fully staffed in the kitchen at work.  I told him I would drop the roll of quarters off and see him tomorrow.

Came home and jumped on Johnny like stink on poop. My buddy at B&L Tire put a tube in Johnny's back leg and I was back in bidness. I had to weed eat the front entrance which is a nightmare and most probably the reason why they pay me to do it.  I got through five minutes before I had to leave to pick up Massey  from school.

Picked up the princess and came home to cut my back yard that looked like an overgrown cow pasture. She helped me move the hammock and some stepping stones and I was off  again! I finished around 4:30. I called work and asked the owner if he would make me a batch of Chicken Cacciatore to have for dinner...since he lets me run a tab. He serves his over linguini...I serve it over rice. Either way it is the bomb.com.

As I turned Johnny's engine off I heard rumbling thunder. The sky was dark and I put the top up on my little car as Massey and I headed out to pick up our dinner from Mama Lucia's. We got maybe a mile up the road when cloud to ground lightning scared the poop out of us. We heard it pop to the left and then saw a bolt that looked like the hand of God smacking the ground to the right. If Massey could have, she would have crawled into the trunk of the car.  I will admit I have never witnessed a strike that close and it was a pretty  scary  thing.

Came home with a huge container of yummy cacciatore and made some rice to serve it over. I am fiflthy and still picking grass out of my hair. The yard work is done and believe it or not I am done.  Working a double shift tomorrow and going to soak in a hot tub.

Still on this side of the dirt...That's a good thing!

Til next time COTTON

Life takes you on many twists and turns. There are road blocks and often times you make a wrong turn or have to take a detour.  If you are lucky it is a long road...if you are phenomenally lucky it is a long straight road.

My life falls in the middle of the road. (which isn't such a bad place to be)

For almost fifty years I was on the highway with little traffic. Traffic slowed to a stand still when my mother died and almost made me pull over and puke on the side of the road. After that it was a bumpy ride but one of my own making. (stupid twenties)

After I met Tim , God paved the highway and it was a nice quiet ride. We started off poor and happy but eventually had the perfect life...three kids, a brand new house and living the American dream.

We hit another detour when my Diddy died from West Nile and I felt the bile coming up again in my throat.  It's tough to be a 42 year old orphan.

I somehow survived  that dusty gravel road of realizing the two people who had brought me into this world would never see their grand kids grow up or see  that I had finally become an adult. It was a hard pill to swallow...especially with all that gravel flinging out along the way.

A couple of years ago we hit a "Bridge Out" sign and didn't even have enough gas to go back and find another route.

God, my family, friends and even strangers all lay across the bridge that was out and we slowly moved across it and reached the other side. They were all quite literally our "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes,
I will dry them all
I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
When you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.

We've made tremendous strides...Number one: God looked out for us. Number two: Family and friends have continued to love us and Number three: We are now approaching a point where we can actually help ourselves...AND others.

Zach threw us a curve and it breaks my heart, but I would much rather him screw up at  the age of eighteen and pay  for his own mistake  than to move back in with us when he is thirty and  bring three grand kids for Tim and me to raise.  No body's calling me Granny til  "I" say so!

I have to pick him up every  day for work and the road construction on the by pass is ridiculous. Every day another lane is shut down and the orange barrels are realigned a different way. It's like a maze of confusion. Today they had actually made significant progress and after I picked Zach up for work and we headed back  down the by pass I remarked "It's almost done."

Zach said "Yep..ten more days."

God bless him..I didn't tell him I was talking about the by pass and not his time left to serve.

We rounded another curve and he suddenly said "I bet you were talking about the road."

I told him I was talking about both.

I love my kids. I love my husband. I love my family.

None of us are perfect. What matters most is that our love for each other is.

I am perfectly happy being me.  I am perfectly happy being a crazy fifty two year old woman who wants to love the world. The world could use a little more love if you ask me...

Til next  time...COTTON 

Wheel it Go Round in Circles?

Went to wake Johnny up in the garage on Saturday morning and his back tire was flat. I hate it when that happens. I always have a can of fix a flat for just such occasions. I shook the can and hooked up Johnny's back leg to the IV. Emptied the entire can in with no result except a mess on my garage floor. It leaked out of the tire wall and all over my feet. Not one to give up easily I decided it was because his little tire had gone completely flat and I needed to jack him up. Problem number one...NO JACK. Problem number two...he is too heavy for me to lift on my own. Problem number three...Tim doesn't feel the same way about Johnny as I do.

I went in the house to ask Tim to help me lift my buddy up while I shot another IV into his limp back leg. Tim is a patient man...unless it involves me and especially if it involves his rival, Johnny. I had the new IV all ready to go and commanded (maybe not so nicely looking back) "Pick it up NOW!!"

Another failure and now Tim's back was (air quotes) SUPPOSEDLY giving out. From the way he slammed the kitchen door going back into the house I knew his help was no longer an option. My nephew's fiancee'  was over doing Massey's hair and makeup for the prom and she was driving my brother's spare car. If anyone would have an air pump in the trunk it would be him. BINGO!!! There was a brand new Black & Decker air machine in the trunk of his car. I pulled Tim's car up as close as I could and plugged the pump into the cigarette lighter...Now we're getting somewhere!!

I left it running for almost thirty minutes and almost had myself convinced it was working when I finally realized it wasn't. The tire had been flat so long the tire was off the rim and I was just pumping air into the tire and out through the rim. I gave up for the day...only because I had to take Massey  for prom pictures and then head to work.

It gets bad next. Monday morning when Tim took Massey to school for me his car was acting funny. He barely made it home and asked me if I had his car  running while I was trying to pump up the lawn mower tire? I made the fatal mistake of saying "Was I supposed to?"

I'm glad none of the kids were home to hear us. He hollered that I had drained his battery and yelled "Thanks a lot!" You know me..I simply said "You're welcome." He stormed up the stairs muttering loudly "Just THANKS" to which I hollered equally as loud up  the staircase "I already SAID you're welcome."  In hindsight that was NOT the best response.

 In my defense...Although Tim pays most of the bills and works extremely hard, I am the one that takes care of the house , kids and yard while still working fifty hours a week. For Pete's sake...so I didn't know it would drain  his battery. He doesn't know how to change the filter in the furnace or replace the vent hose in the dryer...do I throw that in HIS face?

My brother in law came over and did something to Tim's car and it's running again. (Thanks, Harvey)

Decided today it was time for me to visit my ole buddy at B&L Tire. I called and asked if he could fix Johnny's back leg? He said to bring the tire to his shop. When I got there the tire was still dripping out the last of the fix a flat so I left it outside the door. I walked in and he looked up from his desk and slowly shook his head saying "What am I gonna do with you?" I said "Please fix it."

Looking back it does seem ridiculous...but I have always been ridiculous. Yes I wasted twenty bucks trying to fix it myself and almost screwed up Tim's car...but "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

I'm picking up Johnny's back leg in the morning after I  take Massey to school. I'm coming home and cutting like a fool. I'll cut the front of the subdivision and that's gonna be sixty bucks so I'm forty ahead. I go to work tomorrow night and will make up the difference.

Tim and I have made it  twenty four years plus...and will make it the whole way. We didn't speak for an entire day,  but I knew he would need gas money for work and have to ask. When I handed him a twenty he said the same thing he did when he was mad at me..."Thank you."  I said the same thing I said when I was mad as well..."You're welcome."

Til next  time...COTTON

Sick Kids Need Their Momma

I got a call at 8:30 this morning from Zach's current crib. "Your son is sick and you need to come take him to the doctor."

So they want to keep him under lock and key only letting him out for work..no calls no visitation but when he gets sick suddenly they want me involved. Tim had already left the house taking Massey to school so I called him to go pick Zach up and take him to our current PCP "The Doc N The Box" by Party City in the strip mall next to Target across the street from my job and drop him off.  I had to be at work by 10:30 and of course I had no money...that's why I was headed to work! I called the owner of the restaurant and she met me at work before ten... loaned me some money so they would see Zach and I went across the street and dropped off the money. He was sitting in a chair in the waiting room shivering and his head felt like an erupting volcano. It tore at my heart.

They can be six months old or they can be a stupid nineteen year old but when your kid is sick... Momma worries.

I paid Dr. Ben Casey (only old peeps like me will get this one) and they led Zach back to an examination room as I left to go back to work.

I got all my opening work done and called the "Doc N The Box." Zach had just left with three prescriptions to be filled next door at Target.  I got in my car and drove across the street to Target to pick  him up but as I walked into the door my cell buzzed and Zach said weakly "I'm at the restaurant. They said it would be forty five minutes and they didn't have a chair."

Back to the restaurant I went...trying to keep in mind he was not only incarcerated but sick.

I gave him a huge glass of OJ and found a warm up jacket someone had left on the coat hook by  the lobby entrance. He went to the back of the restaurant and fell asleep in one of the booths. The forty five minutes turned into two hours. (How long does it take to put pills in a bottle?) Barb watched my tables while I woke Zach and stuffed him into my car. They had given him three prescriptions, one being 800 mg Ibuprofen. I told him to take one immediately for the high fever and drove him back to the cage.

He was supposed to work at five because we had a party of 55 to 70 people coming in. I dropped him off and said to ask someone for a slice of bread or a cracker so he could take his other two meds. I really wanted to get out of the car and hug him tightly. No,  I take that back. I wanted to take him home and tuck him into his bed. I simply had to leave  him at the gate and know I had done all I could do.

I screamed back to work running only two yellow lights...it  was now the middle of my lunch shift and I tried to compose myself. I didn't get off til four but right before clocking out the party called and downsized to thirty people.  My boss said to let Zach stay out of work and called another server and told them the same. At least he's got tonight off and should be much better tomorrow. I went home and assumed the Lily Munster sleeping position for thirty minutes and climbed back into my car. I didn't get off til almost ten tonight.  Went by Kroger and got some milk and bananas. As a bonus I picked up some Pepper Jack Cheez-Its and headed home.

At least after mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms he got to (hopefully) go to sleep and let the meds kick in.  I have thought about him all day...I  think about him every day.

Yes he made a stupid mistake.  Yes it has taken a toll on all of us but he is learning his lesson and paying the toll as well.

I am "SO" over neighbors not waving or even attempting to acknowledge me as I drive down our short street. You know what? They should instead be thinking "There goes the 52 year old woman who not only works seven days a week but keeps the front of the subdivision cut for us and is fighting back from what was almost certain foreclosure when her husband and she as well lost their job.  Her kid screwed up but at least he is paying for it...You know what? She must be a pretty good woman and mother. How much can it hurt to just wave at her?"

"Karma"...and in the words of Forrest Gump "That is all I have to say about that."

Glad my boy is getting better and glad that on Mother's Day...ironically I will have him back!

Til next  time (Did I sound too bitter?) COTTON

I Love Atlanta

 I worked a day shift...and ONLY a day shift. It was Marvelous. I got off around three and Massey and I put the top down on the car and headed to Atlanta for the Inman Park Festival right around the corner from Little Five Points in midtown Atlanta. Parking was at a premium and we got there after four...I can only imagine how it had been all day. Took us about twenty minutes of circling to find a free spot. Walking the couple of blocks to the park we passed this Woodstock car..."YEP! Welcome to Midtown!"

 Then we ran into the "Morph" above ...definitely a male. (just stating the obvious)

 We were looking for my cousin's jewelry booth. She is a jewelry designer in Atlanta that we lost touch with after my mother died in 1977. Her name is Jill Massey...Go figure! Actually my daughter's first name is my mother's maiden name and my mother's brother was Jill's father.

 We found her cute little self just selling away!! She is an absolute doll. When she first saw Massey (who has dyed her hair) it was kind of sorta a "Hey there do I know you?" then the hamster woke up in his wheel and she squealed with delight.  She is as cute as she is talented and we have enjoyed reconnecting with her.

 Massey took a few pictures of some of her work and quickly decided which piece she wants her Uncle Chris to buy her for her birthday!

 If you live near me you can find some of her jewelry at Two Turtle Doves on  the square in Newnan or just check out her website at JillMassey.com/jewelry design

 Massey has her eye on  the anchor earrings...I want a necklace.

Massey said I looked like a goofball in this picture with my cousin...for Pete's sake...why fake it for a picture? I LIKE being a goofball.

 We wandered around the festival and took in the sights and saw some pretty crazy things. It was a beautiful day and I have always loved going to Atlanta. The city I was born and raised in is six miles outside  the Atlanta city limits. I spent a lot of time in Atlanta as a teen and have enjoyed introducing my own kids to the city I love.

 We wandered back across the park to get back to the car.

I stopped in a patch of clover looking for a four leaf  and almost immediately plucked up a five leaf clover.  Massey said she wasn't sure if that was good luck, excellent luck or just downright freaky and maybe I should get rid of it.

 I kept it. Click on the photo and you can actually see all five leaves.

 We hung around the park a bit and took some pictures  then headed back to the spot I had squeezed my tiny car into in front of some one's house.

 Wound our way back through Little Five...always interesting. The sun was starting to set over downtown and we decided to head to the Varsity for a lube job consisting of Chili Steaks, the best onion rings in the world, some fries and two "Co-Colas" (as we say here in the south)

 Atlanta's skyline is gorgeous. We maneuvered between the tall buildings and I told her how tremendously much  the city has grown since I was born in 1960.

 We probably didn't even drive the length of this building before we pulled into the parking lot of the Varsity.

 The great thing about the Varsity is you don't even have to get out of your car to clog up your arteries...they bring all the crap right to the window of your car and take the trash away when you're through!!

We got back home just as it began to get dark and the "Co-Colas" ran out.  It was a great way to spend an afternoon off. I need to do it more often.

Til next time...Goofball COTTON

Just Glad They Had Fun

 This is the way it started...the Daddy/ Daughter picture in the front yard. My nephew's fiancee' did a knock out job with Massey's hair and make up. Maybe she could have rubbed a little sunless tanning lotion on Tim's legs but I'll let that one slide.

 They all met at the park in downtown Newnan and Massey and her friend gave each other their corsage.

 This is my favorite picture of Massey...it captures her personality and reminds me why I put up with her. Her eyes say it all "I love life."

Here she is as they got to the restaurant to eat surrounded by my (and her) bosses. They were so good to these kids tonight. Came up with a modified menu just for them...saving the kids a ton while taking a cut in profit themselves. One of the many reasons I love working for a family instead of a coporation. THEY care about me.

Not only did Massey's group come in...it seemed EVERY group came in, all at the same time. It was one crazy hour. I was suspended in time while being bossed around by thirty prom kids. Massey's group was patient and respectful...the others, not so much. By six thirty it was all over with and they were all out the door on the their way to  prom.

I took a huge hit waiting on my daughter's group but knew it in advance. It was my gift to them and I am a huge believer in Karma.

After that I was on the board...had a few tables that loved me and the night eased up. I felt bad because another server helped me with Massey's group and I had to tell her we weren't adding gratuity. She was very gracious about it and agreed with me about the whole Karma thing.

I could have easily made well over $100 but walked out the door with seventy and a smile on my face, knowing there was a smile on my girl's face as she danced the night away with her friends.

Her friend had an awesome time...and  was worth every penny lost plus a million dollars. I know how it feels to be down and more importantly I know how great it feels to be lifted up.

Helping this young girl helped me to remember how many people have helped us.

Love is all you need....

Til Next Time...COTTON

I Guess She Really HAS Been Paying Attention...

So tomorrow night is the big "Prom" at my daughter's high school.  I wouldn't know what a big deal it is...I never went to a prom. I was even skinnier than I am now when I was in high school,  unfortunately had almost the same hair cut and my big mouth was just as loud as it is now.

 Looking back I realize  why I was never invited to Prom,  but I'd rather be "Me" than anyone else so I'm okay with it.

We're sending Massey to Prom in the usual Cotton fashion...borrowed dress, borrowed shoes, home mani/ pedi and hairstyling compliments of my nephew's fiancee'.

She's going with fourteen friends on a party bus and they are eating before Prom at the restaurant where I work. She'll get her employee discount and I volunteered to wait on them since all servers despise "Promer's." I won't add gratuity just simply accept what they leave me and tell them to have a wonderful time!!

As usual nothing is simple at our house. Massey has a young friend who has been through the wringer this past year. Her home life fell totally apart and she is somewhat in the same but somewhat totally totally different predicament we found our own selves a few short months ago. With teens it doesn't matter why or how..it just seems "Life sucks." With no possible way to afford prom, Massey took it upon herself to find a way for this young girl to go. She talked to an adviser at school and offered to take money out of her own savings account if they would allow this girl to go. (The dues were due last week)

This wonderful teacher  found a way for this young girl to go for free compliments of an anonymous faculty member. Massey is still going to pay for the girl to ride the bus with them out of her savings account and my big hearted boss is going to buy her dinner at  the restaurant. When Massey called her friend with the news, she cried. (So did I)

The girl is wearing a dress she has worn before that is hanging in her closet and I am going to get both Massey and her a corsage to wear tomorrow. I will funnel the money back into Massey's account myself...she deserves nothing less.

Massey can wear me out and often does, but when she goes out on a limb for someone else she goes ALL out. I know Massey is excited about prom but can you imagine how this other girl feels? She will be on equal ground, she will be "One of the group" and will most probably have more fun than any of the others.

I guess Massey WAS paying attention when so many others helped HER out when she was in this young girl's shoes. Massey's remembered how awkward and horrible it felt to seem like an outcast simply because of money...or lack of it.

Yes going to prom is frivolous to me...but not when you are sixteen and all your BFF's are going.

It's the first time in my 34 years of being a server that I am excited to wait on a table of "Promer's."

I am so proud of my daughter that I could pop. She can be a brat,  she can be a drama queen and has  often times been both. She can also be the best friend a person could ever hope to have. She has a heart  full of love and compassion and a brain above it to boot!

The greatest compliment of all came from one of my co workers  tonight after I told her about what Massey had done.

She simply said "She learned it from her Momma."

You know, I'm a dummy a lot of the time and by no means perfect or even remotely close. But if you can get it right when it really counts...it counts for a LOT!

All the kids are meeting in the local park downtown to take pictures before dinner and be rest assured I will post plenty tomorrow night.

My girl has realized of her own accord how extremely and vitally important it is to "Pay it forward."

Today is one of those days when a Momma realizes..."They really WERE listening to me!"

Til next time... Cloud Nine COTTON

"Sleep" The Breakfast of Champions

Today was my day off. I worked for eight days straight, the past four all being double shifts and had grand plans for today. I took Massey to school and came back home to plan out my day. After letting the dogs out I started to think about what to do first.

 I quickly realized I couldn't think clearly with that big king size bed with the clean sheets and comforter seemingly screaming loudly at me from the third floor of the house so I went to investigate. I decided to lay down and watch the local news  to see what the weather would be like. I had two yards to cut plus the front of the subdivision. It was 58 degrees...too chilly for this Leo!  Then I decided I would roll over for just five more minutes since the pups were outside, Tim was at work and I had the bed all to myself.

I woke up when I heard the downstairs door open as Tim got home from work at noon and let the dogs back in. I thought about jumping up and acting like I had been actually doing something but my head seemed to be stuck firmly to the bed in  the most perfect position I have ever felt.

 Here's the thing...

I work a lot and I don't sleep enough (both my own fault) but even though my bed feels pretty darn good when I finally collapse into it at night, it never feels as good as it does when I have to get out of it. For the past week I've HAD to get out of it for work every stinking morning.

 Today I had only myself to report to and made an executive decision..."Screw it."

I heard Tim checking his email downstairs on  the computer and listening to the answering machine as the two pups came up to greet me like they had been away from me for a month (that's one of the many things I love about dogs) and we all settled back down. He came up stairs and asked me if I had to work today and I said no but a bowl of cereal would be lovely. Bless his heart he went back down stairs and brought me up a huge bowl of kicking "Honey Bunches of Oats." Only when I had the actual spoon in my hand did my head come off the bed.

By  this time I was busted. Tim knew I was still in bed...so did the dogs. Zach wasn't here and I didn't have to pick Massey up til four because she was staying late to take a test. Sounded like the perfect time to roll back over the other way  and give the other side of my face some love against the clean sheets!

Tim has to sleep in the spare bedroom we put black out curtains in to sleep during the day after working all night. I can sleep with the sun streaming in the window and CNN blaring from the boob tube. I know when I hear General Hospital's theme song come on it's time to savour those last fifteen minutes before I have to return to the real world of an upright position. I knocked out twelve hours like it was nothing.

I was suppose to cut my yard and didn't...so what? I was supposed to cut Mr. "Slow" Lee's yard but they are on an eighteen day cruise and highly doubt they are even remotely thinking about their front lawn. I was supposed to get my hair cut but as Tim often reminds me.."What hair?" I was supposed to go to the bank but believe it or not it wasn't a necessity. (First time)

I picked Massey up from school, went and bought some dog food...the only important thing on my list and simply went back home.

The only thing I really HAD to do was go to a circle meeting at my sister's church with Massey at 6:30. We got back to the house at almost 5:30 and all I really wanted to do was crawl back into bed. I love my sister almost  beyond definition but Webster's has one that describes our relationship perfectly: "Out of compassion; with no thought of reward."

My sister would...and often has done any and every thing for me. Bonus being it was an "Eatin' Meetin" and we were hungry. I thought we would dip in and dip out but once the speaker started I quickly realized I had done the most important thing on my agenda.

I was mortified when the speaker started and asked where Cindy's wild sister was in the audience... as Massey picked up my arm and waved it like an American flag at the Olympic games.

The woman who spoke was articulate, intelligent and hilarious...all epithets I would LOVE to have on my own headstone.

It was the best way I could have ever spent my one day off. At one point Massey reached over and put her hand in mine. That in itself made my one day off feel like a two week vacation.

So  the grass still isn't cut...my house still isn't clean and I still have a million things to do but for a speaker to move a sixteen year old girl and make her reach out for her mother's hand in a silent but endearing way meant the world to me.

It was a good day and there was MUCH accomplished!!

Shout out to the speaker at my sister's Methodist church...if you are on Facebook, it was Cathy Lee Phillips from Newnan, Georgia speaking tonight. She has written and published several books and Massey and I are new fans!


Til Next time...COTTON

Now THAT Was a Week

It's after one in the morning and I just got home from work. I went in at 11:15 this morning...got off right before two, went straight to the high school to pick Massey up from volunteering for the Special Olympics held at her school today, went by  to drop off something at my sister's house, stopped by KFC to grab a bite to eat since I was starving (huge mistake and another blog altogether) and got Massey back to the house in  time to leave to go pick up Zach and drive us both back to work.

I really wanted it to be slow so I could dip out early but as always "Murphy's Law" took over. Four cups of coffee later I resigned myself to the fact I was stuck there for another shift. I tried to look at it THIS way. I worked Saturday night, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday morning, Monday night, Tuesday morning and Tuesday night, Wednesday morning's shift was behind me.  I made it that far... "What's one more shift?"

It turned out well for me but was bitterly painful. My feet ached like they never have before. I was dead tired but drank one more cup of coffee and forged ahead. I actually set a new record. Waited on four tables and made $129.00. One table  was a party of ten celebrating a 65th wedding anniversary and the tip was $140 bucks. That stopped the throbbing in my head but my feet still ached. I split the party with another server so we each made seventy bucks.

Zach was working in the kitchen tonight and got his skinny butt thoroughly handed to him. He got yelled at by servers, cooks and even the owner.  He looked like he felt like either crying or quitting but did neither. I wanted to hug his neck but had to remember I was a server not his Momma while clocked in. It's tough working in the restaurant world...even tougher when you're the new guy.

I had hoped to get off by 8:00 but instead walked out the door well after 11:00. I came home and let the dogs out and did some dishes. I left the house at midnight to go back and pick him up. I got there and they STILL weren't through cleaning. I picked up a broom and helped them sweep  the line behind the expo area. He was exhausted and so was I. He seemed to have recovered from his berating and I didn't even mention it. (water under the bridge)

We got in the car at almost 12:30 and he ate some food he had cooked himself out of a bowl while I drove him back.

I have Thursday off and would love nothing more than to stay in bed all day. Unfortunately when you only have one day off there is so much to be done that it's almost like not having a day off at all...it's like working for free. Gotta wake up before eight to take Massey to school. I have to cut two yards front and back, cut the front of the subdivision and catch up the laundry. (Tim HAS been helping with that...gotta remember to give him a gold star) I have to go to the bank and I need my hair "Re-Butched." I need to vacuum but thinking about just raking the carpets. The dogs are out of dog food and every time I come in the door they look up at me with their heads cocked to the side as if to say "NOW? Are we gonna eat NOW?"

On the upside I LOVE yardwork and it's supposed to be nice on Thursday. On the down side...my feet hurt, my back is sore, my face is greasy and my bedroom is on the third floor of the house. Maybe a Natty Light will give me enough "Pep" to make it up there!

I am off til Friday at five and look forward to my 39 hour vacation.

Til next time...COTTON

Feeling Pretty Good!

I don't want to jinx myself but today was a pretty stinkin' good day! Just when you feel like things will never be normal again, it happens...you have a wonderful day!

It was a busy day. Went to bed too late last night but that glass of wine was just the night cap I needed. I am in the middle of the longest part of my work week. I worked a double on Sunday, Monday and just finished another one today. I picked up another for tomorrow mainly because it's "Secretary's Day" (or as we have to call it now in this ridiculous world of the politically correct) "Administrative Professionals Day" but mostly because my boss asked me to and after all they have done for me who I am to say nope?

Took Massey to school this morning , came back home and took a forty five minute Siesta before jumping in the shower for work. I got to work this morning and the lunch shift "Rocked!" I was a selling demon...sold almost $100 worth of wine at lunch and scooted out the door with Ben Franklin just in time to go pick up my boy for the night shift. I took him to cash his paycheck and dumped him off at work and came home to drop  Massey off the salad for dinner I had bought at work. Sat down for ten minutes on the sofa, closed my eyes and "listened" to the five o'clock news (all bad again) and sprang up with seven minutes to spare to get back for my dinner shift. Three cups of coffee and I was good to go! (again)

Dinner was just as good as lunch...only waited on three tables and walked out the back door with Ben Franklin's twin brother. I had a table of two businessmen who showed me some love, a table of five Ya -Ya's out for a women's night who I won over with my PHD in BS and  a table of four flight attendants having a belated Christmas get together. They worked for the same airline my sister retired from and we all ended up being "BFF'S." I actually knew one of them, didn't recognize her at first but when I shook my head really hard and that hamster woke up in his little wheel I remembered who she was. They were  a hoot to wait on and seemed to enjoy my act as well. The woman I knew reads my blog so they got a free dessert...Len's wonderful new chocolate ice cream cake. Chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream center with hot fudge and white chocolate chips topping it off.

The icing on top of MY cake was my manager said he would give my son a ride back to the "Pokey" after work. Usually I have to either wait around or come back to take him home to his current "Crib." Since I picked up yet another double shift tomorrow he said it would be no problem to drop Zach off after work.

It was a good day. It was a long day. I don't mind a good long hard day!

As I said at the beginning...I don't wanna jinx myself but it all seems to be coming together. Finally got my car repair paid off yesterday, got Massey to the Doc N the Box paid off and her on the road to recovery and still have my bank account in the black. I remind myself every day...Keep on keeping on and good things will keep on happening!

There may be blips on the radar screen and bumps along the road of life but if you persevere and give it your all, Karma is your friend. Of course the Big Guy upstairs is ultimately in charge,  but when He sees you truly trying your best He always rewards you. Sometimes He has to throw you a curve to keep you on your toes  but I have had toe shoes on for a couple of years now and  guess my bunions and corns have made Him realize I was due for a good day!

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, no one does. What I do know is that if I have made it THIS far, no telling how far this skinny lil'  Momma can go!!

I'm little but I feel huge...it's a good feeling! I have God, friends, family and even strangers that love me. What else could I possibly ever want or need?

Til next  time..."Big Ole COTTON"