"Southern"

South-ern:  of, relating to, or characteristic of the "South"

I was blessed to be born and raised in the "South".  It truly is unlike any other place in the word.  In the South God and family come before anything or anyone else.  Good manners and respect for elders never go out of style.  So fix yourself a glass of sweet ice tea, sit back, put your feet up, relax and enjoy these quotes I found about the "South".  What?  You don't have any sweet tea?  Well bless your heart!  Just call one of your southern neighbors.  I guarantee they will have a pitcher of sweet tea in the icebox and southerners love to share.  Ya'll have a good day now. 

•Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them.



•Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."


•Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."


•Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is -- as in: "Going to town, be back directly."


•Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.


•All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.


•Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!


•Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.


•Only a Southerner, both knows and understands, the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.


•No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.


•A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.


•Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines. We don't do "queues," we do "lines"; and when we're "in line," we talk to everybody!


•Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.


•Southerners never refer to one person as "ya'll."


•When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!


•Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it --- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.


•And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say, "Bless her heart" and go your own way.




~Anonymous

"Living Life" by Bonnie Mohr

Life is not a race - but indeed a journey.  Be honest.  Work hard.  Be choosy.  Say "thank you", "I love you", and "great job" to someone everyday.  Go to church, take time for prayer.  The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh.  Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper.  Love your life and what you've been given, it is not accidential - search for your purpose and do it as best you can.  Dreaming does matter.  It allows you to become that which you aspire to be.  Laugh often.  Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them.  Some of the best things really are free.  Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming.  Forgive, it frees the soul.  Take time for yourself - plan for longgevity.  Recognize the special people you've been blessed to know.  Live for today, enjoy the moment.

Five Things
1.  I love it when the sky is deep blue and the clouds are snowy white.  Beautiful!
2.  I don't hang my hand or foot over the bed at night.
3.  I hate beets.  Yuck!!!
4.  I like movies with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
5.  I love my family.

Coming Of Age

Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood.
My dad and I got the word today that our old house was being torn down to make way for the widening of the highway that runs in front of it.  We both wanted to see it one last time.
The emotions were very intense and bittersweet.  
The demolition team was already there.  Apparently they had been working there for a couple of days.  Part of the house had already been demolished.  All that was left on that end was the brick fireplace.  As I made my way around to the back of the house my mind was flooded with memories.  Some good, some bad.
I stepped up onto what used to be the back porch.  It was covered waist high with debris. Boards, kitchen cabinets, old carpet and there in the middle was the lilac sink from my bathroom.
As a young teenager I would sit on the bathroom counter with my feet in that sink and put on my makeup. 
Then I turned and carefully stepped over a door and I was in the kitchen.  Everything had been removed. It was just a shell of room but I could still see my mother standing there making biscuits and chocolate cake.  She was the best cook ever.  She passed away a little over a year ago and I miss her.
They had removed all the sheet rock and insulation from the walls and ceiling so you could stand in one spot and see the entire house from one end to the other, from top to bottom. It looked so small.
I pictured how the dinning room used to look.  I saw my nephew as a toddler chasing our little dog Charlie around the table.  My nephew is now forty-two and Charlie is buried in the back yard.
I walk in the living room and I see my Grandfather.  A little green ceramic frog under the chair where he is sitting by the front door.
Down the hall is my brothers bedroom and then mine.  
My room.  The room where I played.  The room where I would hang out with my friends when they  came over.  The room where I lay my head at night and slept knowing I was safe because my daddy was in the next room.  
Across the hall is my mom and dad's room.  Bed always made.  No clothes on the floor or thrown over a chair. Everything in place.
I go back outside and I look at the flowers my mom planted,  The lillies, the roses and others I couldn't remember the name of.  Still alive after all these years.  There are the grapevines my dad planted and cared for.  With all my memories and emotions I didn't think to walk down and pick grapes. I will never get that chance again.  
I see my children here.  How they loved their grandma and papa.
This is the home I shared with my mother, father, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and children.
This is the house where I went from a child to an adult.  My coming of age.


Five Things:
1.  I don't like being the center of attention
2.  I'm hooked on Zaxby's chicken fingers
3.  I have a scar under my left eyebrow
4.  I wish I had started doing daily bible reading years ago
5.  I can't whistle 

September 8th 1980

My second child was due on September 7th 1980.  I didn't know if it would be a boy or a girl but I had an over whelming feeling that it was a boy.  My doctor also thought it was a boy.  We picked out a boy's name and painted the nursery blue. 
I think one reason I was sure it was a boy was because I was afraid to have a girl.  My mom and I were not very close and I didn't want to have a relationship like that with my daughter.
I awoke around 5:00 am the next morning in labor.  We got dressed and called the neighbor to come over and sit with the children.  Tommy drove me to the hospital and even though he was being careful it felt like he hit every bump in the road.  They checked me in and then examined me.  The nurse said I was not in labor and to go home.  I told her I was in labor but she wouldn't listen so I went home.
By the time we got home my mom and dad were there.  Tommy went back to work and I laid on the couch timing the labor pains.  My dad was so nervous he just kept walking round and round the house.  He said he didn't come there to deliver a baby.
Finally I decided it was time to go back to the hospital.  We went by the doctor's office first so he could check me and I wouldn't have to deal with that nurse again. 
This time when I checked in they didn't send me home.  The labor pains were very intense, much worse than with my first child.  I finally agreed to let them give me something for pain but by then it was to late to do any good. 
The nurse said it was time and they wheeled me into the labor room.  Tommy was with me.  It was his first time seeing one of his children being born.  I  promised him it wasn't like you see in the movies with the woman screaming and cursing.  At least not with me.  My first delivery didn't hurt as much as my periods did.
But this delivery was different and I did scream.  A few screams and pushes and the baby was born.
The doctor said "It's a girl."  Tommy and I both said "A GIRL?"  The doctor laughed and said "Yes, a girl.  Do you want me to put her back?"
Then he handed her to me.  She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.  She wasn't crying, just looking around.  She was worth every labor pain.
My beautiful baby girl "Holly Lynn Collins" I will never forget the first time I saw your face and held you in my arms.  You were a pleasure to raise.  I am so proud of the woman you have turned out to be.  You were and always will be my angel on earth.
Happy Birthday!

Where Did That Come From

One of the fun things about middle age is going to bed one night and you weigh 115 lbs. Your hair is dark, the skin on your face is firm and all is right with the world.  The next day you wake up. You weigh 150 lbs and not only has your face (and other body parts) fallen but there are spots, bags and wrinkles!  Where did  that come from?
OK, so it doesn't happen over night but it seems like it.  What's that old saying?  If I'd known I was gonna live this long I would have taken better care of myself.
Oh, so what. Just take off your glasses put a dimmer switch on the light in the bathroom and you'll look just like you used too!

"FIVE THINGS"
1  I DON"T like being hot
2  Red is my favorite color
3  I love all things French
4  I wish no one in the world ever had to go to bed hungry
5  I think baby pigs are soooo cute

Give Your Life Away

What have you done with your life?    I've been asking myself this question all day.  What have I done?  I mean what have I done with my life that really matters?  What have I done to make a difference in the world or more importantly in someone's life.
Did I do anything today to make someone's life a little better?  Sometimes a person just needs a smile or a kind word to brighten their day.  We're very good at acting like everything is OK when sometimes on the inside we're falling apart.
My teenage grandson like all teenagers gets bored easily.  I 'm trying to teach him to always look for opportunities to reach out and help someone.  Maybe there's all elderly person that he could run errands for or even just check the mail for them.  He might see something a person dropped and pick it up, who knows maybe their back has been hurting lately. 
If you keep your eyes and ears open you would be surprised at how many people you could be a blessing too.
I guess what I'm trying to say is instead of living your life only for your benefit give it away to others. After all isn't that why we were put on this earth, to love and help each other?
I challenge each of you to do one thing everyday that will brighten the day of someone even if it's just a smile or a kind word.
Now on a different note I'm starting a new section I call "5 Things".  Every Monday I will list five things about myself.  This way you will get to know me a little better.  I would love it if you would list "5 Things" about yourself.
1  I have hazel eyes
2  I love key lime pie
3  I wish I had gone to college
4  I like to paint
5  I love children

Life In The Middle

Middle : Half-way between two given points, times, etc.
  I hosted a birthday party yesterday.  The guests ranged in age from one to eightyfive.  The party was for my eightyfive year old father and the one year old is my youngest grandchild. 
The children were  running around, playing and having fun.  The adults were eating, joking and remininacing about times past. I was in the middle.  One minute I was on the floor playing with the little ones and next I was fixing my father's plate of food so he could eat. 
My emotions are all over the place.  It's so much fun to watch the children play and listen to their laughter.  At the same time I'm watching my father as he tells one of his old jokes we've all heard a million times.  He laughs and we all laugh with him.  But I know that my time left with him is short and one day I won't hear his laughter any more.
So I guess I'll enjoy being in the middle as long as I can.
My seven year granddaughter Maddie said "Nana, I thought we were going to have a party." We are I said. "But Nana there's nothing but old people here!" she said with her arms in the air like old people don't know how to party.
I'll close with a French Proverb I learned today.
"Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age". That is oh so true!