Well, I missed the opportunity this year for a traditional Thanksgiving post, and a traditional Christmas post. However, I am going to try to make it a not too cheesy, not too sentimental, not too dorky New Year's Eve Post.
I will be honest - this year was blury. It seems to have passed so quickly. ::smiling in a 'I know this is dorky' manner:: "It just seems like yesterday Ronnie and I were on the couch celebrating our first New Year's together!"
Haha...
anyway - it was full of great stuff. So, here ya go, things I wanna hang on to from 2008.
10. Learning to have a giving heart.
9. Loss is hard. Death hurts. But God is faithful. (Turns out she did NOT have the disease that we thought she had.... I never updated that - sorry). Being miles away makes for an interesting response in me to the pain of my friends and family.
8. Men shop easier than Women
7. Trips with Ronnie - Cabin, the Anniversary Cruise, Skyline Drive, the Lake, the beach, New York, Philly and Baltimore.
6. Jonathan came home! And got married!
5. Some times in life get tough. But God provides peace.
4. Someone thought I was a man. (Is it wierd that this was one of the more "impacting" things of 2008 for me??? As an update - I gave those clothes to goodwill... Just couldn't bring myself to wear them any more!!
3. I started teaching a college course... Who knew?? and Ronnie started a new job.
2. I got back in touch with some old friends - - and got some pics too.
1. I started to link to all the wierd things that have happened in the last year - but it was taking too long... and a lot of them are intertwined with other major events already linked. Just read through the blog :) I also started to link to the political stuff that was really cool - but honestly, I am running out of "linking" time - It takes too long... again... just read the blog (particularly the last couple months... since I only blogged 2-4 times a month, its not that hard to do.
so... instead... my number 1 is... We still didn't move - but are finding ways to make it fun anyway.
Anyway - Here's to a New Year. May 2009 bring more excitement, more love, more peace, and more answers to everyone.
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Interrupted schedule - flashback photo
I have to interrupt this Vacation story line to share with you something sent to me by a good friend of mine....
wait...
my BFF - from when I was 3-9 years old
and one of those girls that I am so thankful for!
THIS... is pre-glasses Julia and 'BFF' Jessica
I am not sure exactly the age here - only that it had to be before 3rd grade (also known as the beginning of bad glasses years.... that lasted, well, till today)
When I look at that picture so many things cross my mind.
1st - how wonderful it was then to have a good friend - we had no clue what the next few years would hold for us. I would move, we would write letters back and forth... and when we got tired of writing, we would record our letters to each other on cassette tapes. I am sure our parents thought we had lost our minds... but that in itself is an example of how awesome our parents were! (and still are... )
2nd - This friend got married about 10 years before me.... I was at her wedding... I am sure there are incriminating pictures of that - she came to mine in 2007. When we were 7 years old, we believed that we would be "BFFs" forever. It seems that even through times where we didnt have contact for years - we are still living in -forever-
3rd - that little brown eyed, brown haired girl had so much in front of her. If I had a clue then what all would happen in this lifetime - I don't think I would have believed it!
How wonderful to have memories. While at times they can haunt us - remind us of painful things... this time - it is so wonderful to remember amazing times - full summers - spending the night - staying awake till wee hours of the morning - imaginary games - a ride in a jet airplane - VBS every summer - 'cool-ots' (not sure how to spell that tragic piece of clothing required by Jessica's elementary school) - cassette tapes - the Monkeys TV - The Chipmunks great race - and SOO many other wonderful times.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Summer days
Well, it's July 1. (Happy Birthday Jen!!!) here come the hot days of summer right? Well, so far this year, June has been ridiculous along the east coast - many days over 100.... however, last night, as R and I went to a little league baseball game (the semi finals in our county) - I had on shorts and a t-shirt and I FROZE! It had rained a bit earlier, and it felt more like I should be watching a mid-season football game in October! This morning, I expected all to be back to normal - and I was outside cutting the grass... and well, I even got a bit chilly doing that! Again, shorts and a t-shirt! It truly feels like fall here in southern VA right now?! What is going on? I know I am further north than I am used to being, but seriously!
Anyway, all that to say - as I was cutting the grass, the smell of the fresh cut grass, the cool breeze, the strawberry koolaid I was drinking to keep myself hydrated... I felt for a moment that I was living on 8th St. S.W. Decatur, AL. Back when summer was as it should be. So, I thought I would share with you a few memories of summer in the south.
I lived at this address for almost 7 years. We moved when I was three years old and my first real memory I believe happened in the driveway of this house. (I have some vague memories of things prior to this, but I think they are just combinations of pictures and stories). However, a little girl down the street "K" came running to my driveway where I was playing and brought me a sucker - one of those round ones with a hole in the middle. It was strawberry flavored. That was the beginning of 7 summers of fun. K had three sisters, I have a brother and a sister, and there was another little boy that lived in the house between us.
Jon, Jen and I had a trampoline, swing set, and tree house- the boy in the middle house had a slip n slide - and K and her sisters had a 4-ft swimming pool. We all spent many summer days, from daylight till dark running from house to house (or riding bikes, scooters, and skates from house to house) playing all day long! What wonderful days those were.
There were also the days mom would wake us up and say these famous words "If we all work hard to clean for ONE HOUR, then we can all go swimming!" Mr. H and Mrs. S had a swimming pool not far from our house. A HUGE swimming pool (at least for a kid it was big) and we would swim all day long. Jen was able to swim underwater by the time she was 2 if that tells ya anything!
The other factor involved was the "spend-the-night" times that Jessie and I would have. We played in the sprinkler in front of her parents house for HOURS on end! We would explore the basement, play games, and be more creative than I have been since then!
What wonderful memories lie in those dog days of summer for me and my childhood. I only hope that I can provide similar memories for my kids.... one day... :)
What summer memories do you hold on to?
Anyway, all that to say - as I was cutting the grass, the smell of the fresh cut grass, the cool breeze, the strawberry koolaid I was drinking to keep myself hydrated... I felt for a moment that I was living on 8th St. S.W. Decatur, AL. Back when summer was as it should be. So, I thought I would share with you a few memories of summer in the south.
I lived at this address for almost 7 years. We moved when I was three years old and my first real memory I believe happened in the driveway of this house. (I have some vague memories of things prior to this, but I think they are just combinations of pictures and stories). However, a little girl down the street "K" came running to my driveway where I was playing and brought me a sucker - one of those round ones with a hole in the middle. It was strawberry flavored. That was the beginning of 7 summers of fun. K had three sisters, I have a brother and a sister, and there was another little boy that lived in the house between us.
Jon, Jen and I had a trampoline, swing set, and tree house- the boy in the middle house had a slip n slide - and K and her sisters had a 4-ft swimming pool. We all spent many summer days, from daylight till dark running from house to house (or riding bikes, scooters, and skates from house to house) playing all day long! What wonderful days those were.
There were also the days mom would wake us up and say these famous words "If we all work hard to clean for ONE HOUR, then we can all go swimming!" Mr. H and Mrs. S had a swimming pool not far from our house. A HUGE swimming pool (at least for a kid it was big) and we would swim all day long. Jen was able to swim underwater by the time she was 2 if that tells ya anything!
The other factor involved was the "spend-the-night" times that Jessie and I would have. We played in the sprinkler in front of her parents house for HOURS on end! We would explore the basement, play games, and be more creative than I have been since then!
What wonderful memories lie in those dog days of summer for me and my childhood. I only hope that I can provide similar memories for my kids.... one day... :)
What summer memories do you hold on to?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Flashback
I am not sure that anyone from my college days actually reads my blog - but as I am sitting here preparing for my class tomorrow night - where I will be discussing everything from Bach, to Mozart, to the way Beethoven developed the sonata and broke all the rules and all that jazz - I am flashing back to days at the good ole University of Montevallo, the days spent just listening to these sonatas, symphonies, and concerti while trying to make up some words to them so that when I got into the listening quiz I would remember which one belonged to which composer... the days sitting on the loading dock of the Music building, taking a practice break and standing there with my smoking friends - I never smoked, but those days carried enough second hand smoke to make anyone's lungs turn black. We discussed a bit of everything sitting on that loading dock. I loved the spring time when I could just sit there for a while, after spending hours in a clostrophobic practice room, and for just a moment, close my eyes and let the sun hit my face in the afternoon.
I remember half my music classes being taught by Dr. Bean... oh what would us Pedagogy students have done without him... and who can begin to say enough good about Dr. Rob - my favorite professor of all time - that man was not only a genius when it came to music, he also put a passion for music into each of us. Just watching him as he listened to music, or having a conversation in his office - it meant the world to me. I remember once, when I was struggling with coming up with information about a particular piece of music I had chosen for a Piano Literature class - I had to do a 50 minute presentation on it, and I couldn';t even find a recording. It had only been recorded once in history, and the CDs costed a ridiculous amount of money. I sat down with Dr. Rob (it wasn't even his class) and by the end of the conversation, he had given me his copy of the CD to use in my preparation, as well as a stack of books about that composer and that particular piece - books that weren't in the library! I got an A on that project and went directly to him to thank him!
Being a small school, and small music program, all the profs knew us by name, by face - and as much as it frustrated us all at the time, they knew when we missed their class - Some would call us, some would come downstairs to the "practice dungeon" to make sure all was well - regardless, if we didnt want them to know we had intentionally skipped their class, we better not be in that building at all that day!
All this just to reminisce for a little while - while I don't miss the days of the exams, the stress of presentations, the nightmares I still have about keyboard harmony class... (yes, I still wake up panicked at times because i dream i am late) - I do remember sitting one day in a theory class and realizing that I was living a dream - I had dreamed of studying music... and there i was, with tons of lines and spaces, dots and flags in front of me. I was studying music... sometimes it seemed like more music than I ever wanted... but I was doing it...
Anyway, on this rainy afternoon, what is it that you remember from 8-10 years ago that maybe you miss... or maybe you don't - but what is it that certain smells, sounds, and thoughts take you back to?
I remember half my music classes being taught by Dr. Bean... oh what would us Pedagogy students have done without him... and who can begin to say enough good about Dr. Rob - my favorite professor of all time - that man was not only a genius when it came to music, he also put a passion for music into each of us. Just watching him as he listened to music, or having a conversation in his office - it meant the world to me. I remember once, when I was struggling with coming up with information about a particular piece of music I had chosen for a Piano Literature class - I had to do a 50 minute presentation on it, and I couldn';t even find a recording. It had only been recorded once in history, and the CDs costed a ridiculous amount of money. I sat down with Dr. Rob (it wasn't even his class) and by the end of the conversation, he had given me his copy of the CD to use in my preparation, as well as a stack of books about that composer and that particular piece - books that weren't in the library! I got an A on that project and went directly to him to thank him!
Being a small school, and small music program, all the profs knew us by name, by face - and as much as it frustrated us all at the time, they knew when we missed their class - Some would call us, some would come downstairs to the "practice dungeon" to make sure all was well - regardless, if we didnt want them to know we had intentionally skipped their class, we better not be in that building at all that day!
All this just to reminisce for a little while - while I don't miss the days of the exams, the stress of presentations, the nightmares I still have about keyboard harmony class... (yes, I still wake up panicked at times because i dream i am late) - I do remember sitting one day in a theory class and realizing that I was living a dream - I had dreamed of studying music... and there i was, with tons of lines and spaces, dots and flags in front of me. I was studying music... sometimes it seemed like more music than I ever wanted... but I was doing it...
Anyway, on this rainy afternoon, what is it that you remember from 8-10 years ago that maybe you miss... or maybe you don't - but what is it that certain smells, sounds, and thoughts take you back to?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
in memory of the man responsible for my fishing skills
Papaw... My mom's dad. Passed away on this day in 2001. 6 years have passed since then, and I still sometimes check my missed calls on my cell phone so that I can hear a voicemail that says something like "If you aren't going to answer the phone, then why do you have an answering machine? If I wanted to talk to a machine I would have called a tele-marketer."
I want to list some of the quotes said to us, his 5 grand-children... I am sure those of you who met him, or know him, can add many stories to this... but here are the few that come to mind.
1. "Here comes DeeDee and her daycare" - said when we would go visit him (DeeDee is my mom)
2. "You are my favorite granddaughter [son]" - Spoken to whichever of us was with him at the moment.
3. "The rooty-tooty store." The description of ANY gas station where he could get us a small brown paper bag and we could fill it full of junk that we didn't need. The only rules were that a coke and bag of chips had to be present.
4. "If I go to bed, ya'll can go home." Usually said around 7:00 pm or so when he was ready to go to bed but we weren't showing signs of leaving.
5. "You're wet behind the ears." - Jen was the only one of us that even TRIED to understand that statement... her response? "Well, you're wearing tippy-toe shoes!" - - Papaw was a 280+ lb man... tippy toe shoes don't even BEGIN to make sense!
6. "If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!" a quote from his 60th birthday.
To the man who trained soldiers how to ski in Alaska, taught all of his grandkids how to fish, taught me how to drive... (WHAT A FEAT!), who loved us all more than he EVER dared to show on the surface.... We miss you Papaw...
I want to list some of the quotes said to us, his 5 grand-children... I am sure those of you who met him, or know him, can add many stories to this... but here are the few that come to mind.
1. "Here comes DeeDee and her daycare" - said when we would go visit him (DeeDee is my mom)
2. "You are my favorite granddaughter [son]" - Spoken to whichever of us was with him at the moment.
3. "The rooty-tooty store." The description of ANY gas station where he could get us a small brown paper bag and we could fill it full of junk that we didn't need. The only rules were that a coke and bag of chips had to be present.
4. "If I go to bed, ya'll can go home." Usually said around 7:00 pm or so when he was ready to go to bed but we weren't showing signs of leaving.
5. "You're wet behind the ears." - Jen was the only one of us that even TRIED to understand that statement... her response? "Well, you're wearing tippy-toe shoes!" - - Papaw was a 280+ lb man... tippy toe shoes don't even BEGIN to make sense!
6. "If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!" a quote from his 60th birthday.
To the man who trained soldiers how to ski in Alaska, taught all of his grandkids how to fish, taught me how to drive... (WHAT A FEAT!), who loved us all more than he EVER dared to show on the surface.... We miss you Papaw...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
