This summer has been a blur of activity. Martha and Mandy came for a visit (cousins from Florida). They left and I went to Atlanta to visit women friends (I want to say girl friends but does that apply when you are over 50?). Girl friends would probably be more accurate because that’s how we act when we are together. Like a bunch of silly teenage girls. We went to my friend Debbie’s lake house. It’s on Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville. She has a pontoon boat and we got barbeque and had a supper cruise the first night. We managed to knock one of the lights off the boat and lose part of the boat cover in the lake, but other than that we did fine. At least none of us was lost at sea (or in the lake).

Another night my friend (also named Teresa but we call her Mosier) brought cooking supplies and cooked us a delicious dinner. It’s been three years since we all got together and we had a lot of catching up to do. We talked, and talked, and talked. My face muscles ached from laughing so much. We cried together too. Since the last time we were together one friend had lost her mom to cancer and another’s dad had died from a stroke.

Debbie took me back to her house in Atlanta because Bill and the boys were in South Carolina at a AAU Tournament (which they won! Go Mid-State Ballerz!) I got to meet Debbie’s son Zach for the first time. He’s 23 and could easily be a movie star. He has tall, dark and handsome totally nailed down.

Bill picked me up and he had two extra boys with him; Anthony and Joe. Buddies of my boys who are from Memphis and needed a ride because that’s where we were going…to another AAU tournament. We rolled into Memphis about 2 a.m. in the morning. I went to sleep dreaming of Elvis and hoping the rumors that he’s still alive were true and that I’d run into him at the gym the next day. Didn’t happen.

The first day the boys played well but Russell injured his foot and after day one, he was out. Grant played the whole tournament. One game he guarded a guy who was 7 foot and one inch. Bill about fell off the bleachers when Grant blocked the big guys shot. Our team fought hard but were too tired to take it to the finals. We made it to the semi-finals and left for home Wednesday morning.

I have never seen two teenage boys so happy to be home. They have hugged on their dogs, ridden the four wheeler, mowed and weed eated (without complaining) been to the lake and to the movies…all in just a couple of days. Summer is almost over and they are feeling the need to take advantage of what’s left.

I have two more years with my babies at home. Believe me, I know how fast it goes. The oldest three children come to visit but once they leave home, it’s never the same. So today when the boys said they wanted to go eat at the Mexican restaurant, I dropped my broom and dust pan and said, “I’m going too.” I wasn’t hungry. I had a glass of tea and watched them wolf down enough food to feed a small army.

God is great. Life is good. Family and friends are such a blessing!

P.S. The picture above is Debbie standing next to her street sign at the lake house. I love you Debbie, Pam, Toots, Nett,Kim, Tammy and Mosier. Let’s do it again soon!

 This is Martha helping her granddaughter pet a kangeroo.

We also went on a cave tour. This is Mandy and Maddie inside the cave.

Next we have Martha’s niece Hannah and Maddie panning for gold.

The kangeroos were not especially impressed with us. As a matter of fact this guy rolled over on his back and wanted us to scratch his belly. All he needed was a t.v. remote in his paws and he’d been all set.

It was a fun day and I am so very thankful for Martha, her friendship and her love. You rock, Martha!

For more about Kentucky Down and more pictures visit

http://www.mandystephens.blogspot.com/

My nephews are here too and this morning the youngest got his glasses smashed. I was able to drive over, fix them, get him breakfast (he couldn’t see to go eat at the cafeteria) and get him to camp on time. His mother, of course, was a basket case when she called me and said, “He’ll never go that far away from home again without me!” I totally understand.

My sweet daughter Rachel came with me and she’s been a wonderful Assistant Mom. While I am working on this blog she took the boys back to camp and let me have a few hours down time. It’s been a busy three days. One of the twins has a sore ankle and I’ve been icing it for him, as well as giving him Tylenol. I’ve made so many trips from the hotel to camp and back that I think I could drive the route blind folded (don’t worry I won’t). Rachel and I have supervised swim time, meal time and fetched gatorades and candy bars. It’s been a blast but tomorrow it’s time to go home.

I know I won’t be as tired and sore as the boys are, and I know I’ve enjoyed camp more than they have because I just watched….they worked hard. Would I do it again…in a heart beat. My babies are juniors in high school this year. My oldest nephew is a senior. I hope we’ve made some memories this week that years from now they will remember fondly. I know I have.

If this isn’t evidence of how messed up unions and the tenure system is, I don’t know what is. The article is on Yahoo today so if you don’t believe me you can read it for yourself. These teachers are sent to rubber rooms and are there playing scrabble, painting, or surfing the web. Some of them have been doing this for years. Unbelievable!

I don’t know whether or not these teachers are really unfit for the classroom but here is something I do know….tenure for anyone in any job is ridiculous. I can’t help but think that the rest of the working world looks at the teaching profession and wonders how we get away with this because they would like to have the same archaic system.

All over America people are losing there jobs and I sympathize with them. I have friends and family in this position and it’s tough, but come on people….getting paid to do nothing?  I know it’s wrong to criticize until we walk a mile in someone elses shoes (or sit with them in a rubber room) but I don’t see how anyone can keep taking a pay check for doing absolutely nothing.

If tax payers in New York aren’t outraged and motivated to do something about this, then shame on them. It’s time someone somewhere stood up and took teacher’s unions to task. They are an embarrassment to an honorable profession.

The ball camp was intense. I went to one session and felt extremely guilty for sitting on my rear while the boys were working so hard sweat was spraying (there’s another s word) off them. There were about 25 boys at the camp and even though it just lasted one and a half days it was non-stop. The boys enjoyed it and really liked Coach Stansbury, as well as his assistant coaches. They came home tired, sore and a little less naive about what playing at the next level of basketball would be like.

As for me, my favorite things about the trip were watching the boys get a step closer to their dream. Watching their dad watch his boys. Hanging out at the pool with a good book. Eating at Ruby Tuesdays (yes I had cheese cake) and having the boys all to myself in a car for a long road trip. There are advantages to long distance trips with teenagers. They can’t escape your presence in a car!

I suspect the fish are safe, but there is a good reason to take your daughter fishing (even if she is only three). It’s called “making memories.” Abby may not remember much about fishing with daddy, but I know my son will remember fishing with her. How do I know this? Because I remember all the things I did with him when he was a little boy. Some of them were fun and some didn’t work out the way I planned, but I have a whole heart full of memories.

Now that little boy is a grown man with a little girl of his own and together they are making memories. Even if Abby doesn’t catch Nemo (her personal mission) I suspect they’ll have fun because they love each other and enjoy spending time together.

Have I told you that I love being a nanna? It’s one of the best blessings in life. Do I hear an “amen” to that, ladies?

I had no idea how my big boys would be around so many little boys. The only small child they are ever around is my granddaughter and she’s almost four. Seeing my big six foot seven twins coaching such tiny basketball superstar wannabes was amusing. It’s so obvious how much the young children look up to the varsity players (literally too) that I found myself smiling at their antics.

When I asked the boys how they liked coaching the little ones they rolled their eyes and said they’d be glad when camp was over. Seventeen year old boys are not the most patient people in the world but it’s great to see them learning. Even though they act like they aren’t enjoying it, I suspect they can tell how much the little boys admire them. 

I left camp feeling better about things. Regardless of what they had told me, they were doing a good job. I also came away amazed by how very fast little boys grow up. It seems like yesterday that Grant and Russell were campers, now they are coaches and soon the high school years will be over. I can’t slow time down so I guess I’ll just do my very best not to miss a single minute of their last two years.

http://www.kentuckyliving.com/article.asp?articleid=2587&issueid=325, but even small town girls can be lured away by big city lights. When I graduated from high school in 1974 (my goodness I am old!) I could not wait to leave my little town behind. I went to college in a larger city, then moved to a huge city (Atlanta), met and married my husband, moved to a smaller city, and finally moved back home. Those experiences were jam packed with adventures; some good, some bad. My car was broken into in Atlanta and my purse stolen. Bill had a Volkswagon and thiefs took the hood off of it while it was parked right outside his aparment. The traffic in Atlanta was horrible. It took me an hour to drive ten miles to work and if it snowed or iced, normal drivers turned into kamikaze maniac drivers!  There were good restaurants, great places to shop and best of all I was living with my college buddies and experiencing the heady taste of young independence.

So I understand the appeal of city lights and I shouldn’t have been surprised when one of my own children felt the calling, packed his bags and left this week. He and two of his friends drove to Las Vegas. They stopped in Memphis and had barbeque at a well known restaurant. He called from Arkansas, then again when they got to Texas. I got a text message from New Mexico and finally a phone call this morning saying “we made it!”  (Thank you Lord, that’s one prayer answered, several to go.)

“It was totally dark when we arrived and we popped up over a hill and there below was Las Vegas. I’ve never seen so many lights,” he said.

Ahhh, the lure of those big city lights. What will he find on his adventures? Will he learn like I did that beneath all that glitter there are many piles of cow manure? Will he come to value wide open spaces and stillness as opposed to noise and the constant bumping of bodies? Will he tire of expensive restaurant food and miss his momma’s lasagna? Maybe, maybe not.

One things for sure, his mother misses him beyond measure and loves him unconditionally. She also understands the lure of those big city lights.

I know every mother thinks their baby is beautiful but I knew instantly that God had sent me the most beautiful baby in the universe. I got exactly what I asked for (except for the curly hair–it was straight as a stick). Now, 25 years later, Rachel is a beautiful young woman. She married the love of her life last year and now I have someone else to love, my son-in-law Gabe.

Just like her mom, grandmother and aunts and cousins, Rachel loves children and is a teacher. I couldn’t be more proud of her if she was president of the United States.

Happy Birthday sweetheart! My daughter and now my best friend!

Mom

Lately I’ve been having the “wonder how I got here?” thoughts about my life. I’ve been married for nearly thirty years to the love of my life. I have five mostly grown children (I think the twins are finished growing. At six foot seven if they get much taller we will have to raise the door frame at church). I have a beautiful granddaughter and I’m hoping for another grandchild sometime in the not too far future (hint, hint Rachel and Gabe). I have a job I enjoy. My family enjoys good health and I’m grateful for all my blessings, but sometimes I feel like I sneezed, blinked my eyes and landed where I am now.

I look at pictures of the children when they were young and remember how many times my mother said, “Treasure these moments it will go so fast.”  I knew she was right but I didn’t realize that she meant faster than the speed of light. At times it feels like my life has been a roller coaster full of ups and downs, unexpected curves, thrills and chills. I know that the ride can’t and won’t last forever and I find myself looking over my shoulder and wondering just how I got where I am.

I look in the mirror and the same face I’ve been seeing for fifty two years stares back at me. Only now there are lines and wrinkles that no amount of face cream is going to erase, no matter how much it costs or what the commercials promise it will do.

I have a good life. I’ve been given so many blessings then when we sing the song “Count your blessings name them one by one” at church I know I couldn’t possibly count them all. So instead of worrying about when the roller coaster ride of life will end, I try to stay focused on what a good ride it’s been and give thanks to God for allowing me this experience called “life” that is a mere blip on the radar screen of eternity.