A Quiet Night, A Southern Lady, A New Life

We did no schooling today. Well, no, we did discuss black holes and James did math in his head while we ran errands. (I'm glad he can do it, but I wish he wouldn't ask me if he got the right answer. I have to write the numbers in the air with my finger and physically work it out - that gets hairy over, say 30 mph.) We did, however, have a great day getting ducks in rows and stuff in one sock, so to speak. (I can't remember the phrases my mother used to use for getting your things in order... she had some great phrases, though!) We dropped a wad on honey and John is in awe that James gets to suck down an entire Tablespoon at a time! I suppose when you're four and you have a retentive mother who will put jam on your toast with breakfast, but won't let you have a "jelly sandwich" for lunch, that's got to look pretty astounding.

James' eyes are back to normal size. They look pretty beat up, but they've been through a lot. Thank you for your prayers and well-wishes and information. It helps tremendously knowing y'all are out there. He's optimistic about beating this thing, and once he sets his mind to something, get on the boat or get out of the way! (We hope to keep this particular talent focused on positive things as the years progress...)

Renee, Hi! *waving* Thanks for the tip. We've been to the little place on Pratt. It's got an excellent bulk section, doesn't it? I love it. But we have to go to Food For Life, over in the Oakwood Center, for bread. Ener-G has the most "normal" wheat-free breads we've found, and the place on Pratt doesn't carry that brand. Today was a hard-core bonus day, too; they have wf hot dog buns and hamburger buns, wf donuts, and pizza crust (nobody west of Vermont carries Gillians Foods pizza crust, which ROCKS, so we tried a new brand). The folks there said it's "to die for". I'll report back on that later in the week. And I've gotta say, Santa himself couldn't have outdone me today when John saw those items in the basket.

We finally changed the oil in the Suburban, too. I know, not thrilling, but we were rapidly approaching the point of doing it ourselves. rather than having a public record of the actual mileage between changes. It's not like going to the shop that a friend from high school manages, where he just writes in "six months or nine thousand miles" on the sticky note that goes in the window... then rolls his eyes at me when I feign astonishment at such affrontery.

The afternoons have a very good feel to them, and we are so very thankful to be here. I think I've put my finger on why I feel so "at home" here, even though I haven't ever really lived in the South. My mother was a Southerner. She didn't have an accent, but she was, through and through, a Southern Lady. Living here now, I can really see the common threads...

Our dinner table always had room for one more. We always had enough food - it might not be fancy, but it was good and there was enough to share. If you came to the house more than once, you were no longer a guest; you were family. If you left hungry, it was your fault. There is no shame in being poor, only in acting like it. Dignity was huge and so was respect. Hard work meant a lot more than good intentions, but a kind word could also go a long way.

She was born in FL, then lived the majority of her childhood on a farm in TN. This all clicked with me the other day, as we drove past TN farms and I remembered going to Grandma's... suddenly my heart and head were flooded with great memories. And I realized why I feel so at home here - this is the kind of home my mother strove to create when I was a child. She would be tickled to know it worked. *happy grin* I wonder how she would feel about us living here now?

Well, the boys are down and I am going to curl up with my favorite mantis and enjoy the gorgeous evening outside!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy