Oh The Places We'll Go

Yesterday's Hodgepodge got me thinking about graduations and I decided to weed through one of my attic boxes for some pictures. Killing two birds with one stone so to speak...empty an album (or three) and write a blog post while I'm at it. 

Course I went down the rabbit hole pretty far and ended up sending pictures of pictures to some of my college friends and then hubs got in on it too and invited his old roommate to come for the weekend and this is how we roll. We couldn't quite make the spontaneous visit happen this weekend, but it will happen soon. 

Back to graduations...I'm not a Carolina sports fan (Go Vols!!) but I am an Eric Church fan and he gave the commencement address at UNC last weekend. I thought it was really good and worth a listen (linked here). 

I have no idea who spoke at my commencement and I have very few pictures from the day. Based on this photo it appears there was a professional photographer there (he's over my shoulder), but I guess we chose the diy route instead. 

I do know it was exciting and I did get a job, which was after all the goal. Some people say college wasn't all that useful in terms of their future employment, but in my profession it was very necessary and of course a lot of fun too.  

Remember panty hose? Remember weeding through ten pair to find one without a run? 

My parents gave me a briefcase as a graduation gift and I loved it so much. Made me feel officially adult. This was before the cute tote bag era we're in now, and you better believe I used that briefcase. I worked for a school system and in my role I traveled to more than one school so it was nice to keep all my paperwork together.  

Somewhere there's a picture of me in my cap and gown standing with my parents but it wasn't in the boxes I pulled out today. I promise they were there-ha! I found this one taken in my sister's apartment, and I'd love to know what we're saying. 

Look at the waist on those jeans! I guess it really is true, what's old is new again. 

Hubs graduated the December after my June graduation date and here I am cheering him on. That jumper was so cute. 

Also, he wasn't the hubs yet. 

Also I'm scanning actual photos which, let's be honest were not all that great to start with, but it was the 80's and we had no idea. We didn't take many pictures while in college, or at least I didn't. I have a handful and they're a real mishmash. Here's one from a date hubs and I had out hiking someplace. I couldn't say where? 

What I can say is I was definitely a natural brunette lol. 

I feel like today's generation of young women are more polished than my generation was in terms of hair/makeup/ skincare. Maybe we weren't quite as concerned with all that because we weren't photographed 37 times a day? I'm not saying we didn't care because we did love our hot rollers, but we didn't work out, drink gallons of water, or have a ten point skin care routine before going to bed at night like girls do now. 

We did have the best music though, and I'll fight you on that if necessary. 

I do have pictures from my girl's graduations, high school and college. One of my favorite pictures of my girls was taken on the day of daughter2's high school graduation-

Beauties. 

Both girls  had incredible speakers at their high school ceremonies, that's something I do remember. At Daughter1's ceremony the speaker was the first British woman to summit Mt. Everest and then later climb all seven summits. She was phenomenal. 

Plus my daughter was given the Principal's award which was a happy surprise. He said the nicest things about her. 

The speaker at Daughter2's high school graduation was a gentleman who was blind, but had accomplished much. I can't recall the details of  his story but I remember it as inspiring. 

Hubs and I still say we own some of the real estate their university sits on or at least it feels like we should. The campus is spectacular. They had photo ops before photo ops were even a thing. 

A rose garden...

Beautiful fountains...

Same fountains, another degree....

Today I'm off to see a little boy 'graduate' from Kindergarten. I know I know, it's not a true graduation, but we celebrate all the same. Marking life's milestones brings a lot of joy. 

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. 
You can steer yourself any direction you choose."~Dr. Seuss 

Monthly Musings-October

It's somehow the end of October which means it's time for Monthly Musings hosted by Holly and Patty. This month's questions have a throwback feel to them and I love a throwback. Let's go... 

1. Favorite Halloween traditions? 

My own littles are grown with littles of their own now, so this will be a bit of a stroll down memory lane. We never made a huge deal out of Halloween, but we did costumes and trick or treating and always looked forward to that. 

My girls elementary school days were spent living in a cozy cul-de-sac in a small neighborhood so that's where most of the trick or treating took place. There were several other neighborhoods within walking distance of ours so plenty of houses. 

The dads typically walked the neighborhoods with the kids, and the moms stayed home to pass out candy. I enjoyed seeing everyone dressed up. It was usually cold and many years the kids would be wearing coats over their outfits which was a bummer, but sometimes necessary. There was usually a parade at school too, and parents came to watch. I remember that from my own elementary school days as well.  

When we moved to the UK Halloween was murky...do they celebrate or not? The girls went to a party, or maybe out with friends, the first year we lived there and dressed as '60's girls' which was super cute. 

2. Special Halloween dinners or spooky snacks? 

We usually had chili for dinner because as I said, it was almost always cold outside. 

3. What do you typically do on Halloween? 

Our neighborhood has had trunk or treats in years past, but I don't think one is going on in the neighborhood this year. There are many happening all around town, and organized trick or treating seems to be more common now than going house to house like we did as children. Also these trunk or treats have been happening since last weekend, so I guess Halloween is now a week-long celebration? 

Since moving to the lake hubs and I have been to a few Halloween parties and I love a good costume. 

This year we'll see the local grandkids and they have a fantastic family costume I'm excited about. My Tennessee grands also have the absolute cutest costumes and they live in a neighborhood where trick or treating is easy. I'll have to settle for a photo there though. 

No parties this year for hubs and I, but my grandson's birthday is the week of Halloween so we'll be celebrating him over the weekend. 

Our neighborhood does a dock or treat and that's fun! Kayakers paddle to various host docks for a sip and snack. We're hosting a stop here this year and will serve a limoncello sip with a savory cheddar and pepper jelly thumbprint. 

 

I've never made the savory thumbprints before but they sound good.  

4. Do you carve or paint pumpkins? 

Not anymore. We never painted but always carved, and the kids had fun with that. These days I have un-carved pumpkins on my front porch as decor. 

5. Favorite Halloween Candy? 

I had a candy question in the Hodgepodge this week, but as far as true Halloween candy goes I'll say a Reese's cup. 

6. What are you giving out for Halloween this year? 

We don't usually get trick or treaters here, but I do have treats for the grandkids who will stop by to show us their costumes. I have Reese's because hubs loves them, tootsie pops, and Starburst. 

7. Full size or fun-size? 

Fun size. I love the fun size. 

8. Favorite Halloween Costume of all time? 

This is a tough one. Hubs and I dressed as Austin Powers and his girl one year and that was a big hit. 

9. Favorite Halloween movies? 

None. I'm not a fan of horror or the whole Halloween movie genre. 

10.  What are the trick or treat hours where you live? 

Depending where you go it's 5-8, or 6:30-8:30.  

Thanks Holly and Patty for the link up...hop over to their blogs if you want to read more or add a post of your own. 

Note-I'm hosting a Day In The Life link up on Thursday, Nov 13th for anyone who'd like to participate. You'll find details at the end of this blog post-A Freshly Painted Hodgepodge.  These posts are always fun to read, and if you've always wanted to try one here's your chance. 

Time Passages

In yesterday's Hodgepodge I asked readers what they were doing five years ago, and decided I'd make that more or less the subject of today's post. When not a lot is going on in your corner of the world you have to reach a little for blog content.

After I asked the question it occurred to me that we've been at this whole Corona mess for five long months (feels like years) so I started wondering what we were doing just prior, and decided to take a peek back at that too.

Five months ago...we were in the first few days of everybody stay home !!! Stay far and away from everybody else in the entire world including your own extended family !!! Now in our house we'd been discussing the virus for a solid two months prior as it hit South Korea hard in January. A friend reminded me yesterday how we'd had a conversation back then, so concerned about my daughter and her family, never imagining we'd be in the same boat just a short time later.

Five months ago hubs and I drove home after spending a long weekend with friends in Florida. Things were open when we headed down, but closed by the time we headed home. The shutdown happened almost overnight. We ate lunch at Chick-fil-a coming back and it was only their first or second day of strictly take out. Of course Chick-fil-a is awesome and handled the upheaval like it was no big deal.

I don't know if anyone imagined in March we'd still be slogging through this insanity five months later, yet here we are. Who's over it?

Five years ago...I wrote a post entitled Retirement Day 187. Currently we are in Retirement Day 2000 so I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. By the way, it's going swimmingly.

Except for the pandemic and the unrest across America and the general nastiness online and the no travel-no-houseguests-no making plans, but other than that it's going swimmingly.

Five years ago we took a fun trip up the East Coast to attend a friend's daughter's wedding.

We drove from New Jersey to Prince Edward Island Canada and thoroughly enjoyed eating our weight in lobster rolls, the staggering beauty of Maine and PEI, and in-person time spent with real life friends.

Also, five years ago I apparently still took pictures with a good camera and not just so-so pictures with a phone.

I would so love to jump in the car and take a road trip somewhere new and pretty and not give a thought to hotel cleanliness, gloving up to pump gas, masking up to get out of the car, or doing math to calculate how many gallons of hand sanitizer we'd need for the journey.

Five years ago we sold our house in New Jersey and spent six weeks living with my mama before heading south. I'm sure she was ready for us to take all our stuff and get on with things, but five years later would give anything to have us back in her house for six weeks.

Six days even.
I haven't seen my mom in person since January.

While we were living with my mom our old and beloved dog died. Five years later her name is still mentioned on a fairly regular basis with an ache in our hearts and smiles on our faces.

NJ winters could easily last into summer, but this photo wasn't actually taken in August. I like it though, and it is five years old. This beautiful pup was something else and when she was gone we said we'd never have another. Letting them go is too hard and we travel too much and have too much company and blah blah blah.

About that same time Daughter1 brought a puppy into her Washington State home and now that puppy is a five year old dock diver living his best life on a Carolina lake. Go figure. And his mama is raising our two favorite boys on the other side of the world, which is something else we didn't see coming five years back.

Five years ago we moved from New Jersey to South Carolina. Not to this house, but to a cozy apartment just across the parking lot from Daughter2's cozy apartment. Those were the days!

Well maybe not really 'the days' because it wasn't a huge amount of space, and we were so anxious and excited to get this house built, but also yes it kind of really was 'the days'. Apartment living meant we didn't have to think about home maintenance and repairs, dock maintenance and repairs, boat maintenance and repairs, catching beavers before they destroy the landscaping, and a host of other assorted bits and bobs that go hand in hand with home ownership.

Then again, there were no early morning lake sunrises where the sky turns pink before your very eyes, no magical light dancing on the water, no boating to dinner, no big porches for napping and reading and enduring this weird season that in 2015 we didn't know was coming, and for that I'm grateful.

Five months may have dragged, but five years have flown.
Time is funny like that.

"The best thing about the future is it comes one day at a time." 

attributed to various speakers...true for us all

The Merry Merry Very Very Month Of May

It's funny how there's so much time to blog, but not a whole lot to blog about these days. Thursdays were made for lists of thirteen, but can I even come up with thirteen things today? It's almost the end of May so let's go with thirteen randoms from the longest May ever.

1. Seriously. Normally I feel like if you blink you miss this month, but not 2020 May. I keep looking at my calendar thinking surely it's time to flip to June, but nope. Still May.

2. The weather isn't helping. I cannot remember a gloomier grayer spring than the one we've had this year. On the bright side the grass is green (and soggy), my knockout roses are falling over from the weight of blooms (and water) and my tomato plants have tomatoes so whoohoo! Trying to keep them from drowning is the new obsession round here.

3. There are bigger problems in the world I know.

4. How about some happy news? I got my hair done this week and feel like a new woman. My appointment was first thing Tuesday and the shop had been closed for two days prior due to the holiday weekend, so I felt good about the timing.

The 'new normal' way of doing things is you wait in your car until the stylist texts and when you do come in you take your temperature with a side of hand sanitizer for good measure. We both wore masks and she wore gloves and it was just the two of us in the shop the entire morning. A day brightener for sure.

5. In other happy news May-June means we have three nephews, a niece, and a daughter all marking birthdays within forty days of each another. That's a lot of Amazon-ing.

Besides the other Amazon-ing I mean. ahem

We have ordered more than a few things online this month including our drug store essentials, a cap for the Septic tank, a new pair of pjs, a filter for the ice maker, a door mat, phone chargers-cases-and cords, dog food, replacement cereal bowls for my everyday dishes, binoculars, a photo canvas, an herb garden stand for the deck, baby gifts, engagement gifts, a hammock stand, and this that and probably the other too. I'm thankful for online shopping and the US mail right now.

6. Also during this season of not making plans my niece is making plans. She got engaged about a month ago so we're going to look at some venues together tomorrow. At an appropriate distance while wearing a mask because it's 2020 and that's how 2020 rolls. They won't be getting married this year because bless their hearts, brides everywhere y'all.

I know people are struggling with so much serious stuff, but we know more than one bride who has had to cancel, postpone, or hugely adjust plans and deal with enormous disappointment in the past few months and it's hard. We understand this sort of sadness very well and I do hope the heaviness of navigating what should be a joyous time will lift and people can celebrate all that should be celebrated.

7. I do think the wedding industry is in for some changes, and couples are spending more time thinking about being married as opposed to the wedding itself. A silver lining take away perhaps?

8. We've had a lot of storms this spring, including a couple of tornados striking tiny town, although not our particular neighborhood. About a week ago we noticed one of our ginormous pines was seriously leaning. It sits beside a rock wall, the construction of which we knew disturbed its roots. The tree was holding it's own until it wasn't so removal was in order.  

9. These tree guys are amazing. This tree was about 100 feet high and he scampered up there like it was no big deal. Sometimes they can just fell them, but because of the proximity to the house this particular tree had to come down in pieces. It was fascinating to watch them work.

10. Truthfully my stomach was in knots and I couldn't watch the whole thing, but hubs gave him his camera and tree guy helpfully snapped a photo of our house from on high. Hubs was green with envy and if there'd been an extra pair of spurs? tree climbing shoes? he'd have been right up there with him. Another reason I had to wait in the house.

11 Quick topic change...Blogger has changed it's format. For once I think I might like the new better than the old. Once I  get used to it of course. Technology always gotta be changing but I guess that keeps us on our toes.

12. Speaking of technology my teacher daughter made an end of year slide show for her class, and y'all it made me so teary. Three quarters of the year spent with big smiles on their faces, doing all sorts of learning and growing together in the classroom, their best buds beside them, and then the last quarter pics of at- home learning that parents sent her. The contrast tugs at the heartstrings.

Parents have rallied in this season, and truly they've done what needed to be done, but it's just so different and strange and you could see so clearly some of what's been lost for these little ones. I pray they can return to the classroom come September.

13. Hubs and I were enjoying our coffee the other morning when we spied a beautiful blue heron on the shoreline. He started making his way across the width of our property with his eye on something we could not see.

We thought maybe a snake, but then all of a sudden he plunged his head into a tiny hole and came out with a chipmunk in his bill. He quickly got back to the shoreline and proceeded to prep his breakfast.

By prep I mean drown it before he ate it because this is what they do. I always thought herons were pescatarians, but evidently I thought wrong.

Guess I was also wrong about not having anything to say today. Ha!

Before And After

Continuing with the ten day writing challenge hosted by Kate Motaung.

Today's one word prompt is-After

I've done a few of these five minute writing challenges through the years and know what works best for me is to go with the first thing that comes to mind the minute I read the prompt. I always end up coming back to that first thought anyway, so might as well embrace it from the get-go.

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw today's prompt was 'after school'. I don't know why the brain traveled there. It's been a very very long time since I've had school aged children.

One day you're chaperoning a fourth grade field trip and the next you're somebody's grandmother. The little girls who filled all the empty spaces in your home are teaching school and raising children of their own, and you rarely think about those long ago days of math facts, reading logs, and whispered bedtime prayers.

When I think 'after school' my mind never goes to the teenage years. Instead I am catapulted back to 1990-something and the elementary school where nobody had to buzz you in because it was before.

In my minds eye I see little girls clambering off the bus. Eight years old. Ten years old.

Emotion splayed across their faces at the end of another school day.

Tired. Wired. Hungry. Hurt.
Delighted. Excited.

Full of words or tears, stories about their day spilling out everywhere or drawn out slowly bit by bit.

I take in the always too big backpacks and the everyday after school refrain of 'I'm starving!'.

I see that well loved, well traveled oak table, the one hubs and I bought unfinished when we were newly-marrieds. That table sat in front of the kitchen window and it was there those little girls talked about their day, ate their snack, did their homework.

I remember the plink of piano keys and the ringing of the timer saying practice done.

There were little legs in ballet tights, pony tails in scrunchies, puffy coats.

The sound of little girl chatter in the backseat of my car.

I remember singing.

Freckles across the nose.

Making plans.

I remember thinking after homework, after dinner, after the bedtime routine is through, then I can rest my ears...my brain...my feet.

I remember some days wanting to hurry up to the after.

There are days I'd love just a few more minutes of before.

Sweet Childs O' Mine

Back at it on Day 4 of the A to Z Blog Challenge-

D is for Daughters

We hear so much now about everything that's wrong with this 'millenial' generation, but I'm here to tell you there are more than a few defying the stereotype.

When my girls were small I don't think I spent a lot of time thinking about how we would interact as adults. Three decades of parenting have shown me there is something magical to be found in every season and this one I'm living now is no different. There are joys and there are challenges and there is grace for the day.

Since it's Thursday how about a list? Thirteen things I find delightful about these girls who call me momma-

1. They're funny. They share our sense of humor, get the inside family jokes, and they make us laugh. They help me laugh at myself too, which is a gift. We all need people in our lives who can do that with gentleness, and these girls are my people.

2. They're wise. When did they become so wise? Deep thoughts and observations about the world around them spill out and amaze me on a pretty regular basis. They give me a fresh perspective when I'm locked into an idea, and they're intuitive about people which is maybe my favorite thing of all the favorite things I'm going to list here.

3. They answer all my technology related questions of which there are many. Often they answer the exact same question multiple times because I can't remember what they told me to do the first time I asked. They only sigh a little.

4. They call to ask me cooking questions. I still sometimes call my own momma to ask a cooking question so this one is super delightful in my book.

5. They bless me with new titles like mother-in-law-

6.  And Nana.

7. They're strong and responsible. They work hard, make decisions, and do the difficult things adulthood so often requires. They make me want to be a better version of myself.

8. It's fun to watch their lives unfold. They help me remember what it was like to be young, newly married, raising babies.

9. They read the same books I read and share new titles they've discovered. Also fun things on Pinterest we should definitely make, hilarious twitter threads I'd never find on my own, cool websites, helpful apps, travel tips, TV shows they think we'd like, and restaurants we should try.

10. They keep my prayer life growing. This has been true in every stage of motherhood, but never more so than in these young adult years where some of life's biggest decisions are made. Where our children are figuring out a career path, choosing a mate, setting up their own homes, and starting families.

11. They are still and always best friends. Delights my heart more than words can say.

12. They encourage me in my pursuits and passions outside the role of mom. They're my honest critcs and my biggest cheerleaders. They hold my hand and laugh at my ridiculousness. They tell me to write more and try the new thing when I'm second guessing myself.

13. Every now and then I catch sight of the little girls they once were. Those little girls are in there still, only I see them now through the wider lens of time. I see all the ways they've grown and bloomed...

...and my heart beats wild with delight.

A Throwback Thursday in 514 Words

I saw a little blurb somewhere recently that said we're closer to the year 2030 than we are to the year 1999. For some reason that doesn't sound right to me, but do the math and you'll find it's true. While 1999 might sound like the not so distant past, when I consider where we are now and where we were then I find myself thinking, 'Only two decades?'.

In 1999 my girls were 9 and 11. Wait, what?

And now it's 2019 and I'm a long, long way from the every day parenting of tweens (although nobody was calling them that back then). The telling them to brush their teeth and don't forget your backpack and I'm picking you up after school because you have a piano lesson kind of everyday ordinary that's both exhausting and precious.

I glanced back through some pictures from that year and saw a family camping trip, Halloween costumes, and The Bay Bridge Walk.

I saw neighbors dressed in 70's wear for hubs big birthday.

I saw pink bathing suits in the summer sun and girl scouts at Antietam.

I saw blue eyes and innocence.
Blond hair and soft smiles.

The words to Baby Hit Me One More Time might have scrolled across my brain.
I might be singing it right now.

N'Sync or Backstreet Boys? How do you choose? We couldn't Google them back in the day, or maybe we could have at some point during that year, but mostly we didn't know what Google was. It was born in 1999.

I do know many a Friday night was spent at Blockbuster agonizing, debating, and compromising over which movie we would rent. "Are we old enough to watch Titanic?" NO! Raise your hand if you miss Friday nights at Blockbuster.

Raise your hand if ruled television viewing with an iron fist in 1999.
It was easier back then.

In 1999 the Euro was established as the common currency of the European Union. Pshh. Who needs to pay attention to that? As it turns out we did, but the European Union was nowhere on our radar in 1999. Do you know what was on our radar in 1999? Y2K.

Everyone had their knickers in a knot over the looming technological disaster that would hit at the stroke of midnight all because the new decade would end in 000. We stashed cash. We bought bottled water. We filled our gas tanks. We had cans of cans of canned food and powdered milk. We went to bed singing along with Prince on New Year's Eve and woke up in the year 2000, everything still humming merrily along.

1999. One year in the life of a family. One year of mothering daughters who laughed easily and loved big. Daughters who made me want to be more like them.  

We went to Disney World in November of 1999. Hubs had a work trip and we joined him after.
Time marches on y'all and thankfully so does fashion.

And little girls grow into women, and moms of once upon tweens become grandmothers who smile at the way they still laugh easy and love big. Still make me want to be more like them.