During my childhood, more often that not on Saturday night you would find me, my brother Jason, and my cousins Tammy and Steve at Grammy and Poppy's house. I think this was a function of our mother's doing their saturday shopping together and us begging to stay together at Grammy's rather than go on our separate ways afterwards, or our parents having "go out on the town" plans on Saturday night and us being babysat by the grandparents.
Either way, it was such a part of my childhood that I can barely remember NOT staying at their house Saturday night and getting up to go to church on Sunday morning, unless it was the occasional stay at the other grandparents.
Saturday afternoon would generally be spent outside in the backyard, which as a child seemed enormous. There was a sweet gum tree to the right side of the patio that was fairly easy to climb, if we had something at the base to give us a boost. The little prickly seed pods or "bombs" as we pretended they were, made awesome props in our imaginary play. The best climbing tree was the Mimosa right in front of the patio. I loved that tree with it's fluffy pink flowers and the leaves that you could "zip" from top to bottom. We used to fill little cups with the little leaves that zipped off and pretend it was a salad or greens we were serving for supper.
To the left side of the yard was two larger oak or hickory trees. They were just close enough together that we could string a line between them and Grammy would let us bring chairs and old blankets out to build a really cool fort to play in. That fort would become anything from a teepee during "cowboys & indians" play, to the IGA while we played store.
One of the treasures in backyard was behind the big HVAC unit. There, during certain times of the year there was a bush that we could pick raspberries from. For us kids, it may as well been manna from heaven!
If the weather happened to be bad we would find things to do inside. Forts were made in the Blue Room or the back bedroom. Hide-n-Seek was fun in a house that had two-sided closets, and there was no better place on earth to play dress up than in Grammy and Poppy's closets. Then, there were those really special times when Grammy would sit down and dress your dolls and barbies with you. She had a laundry basket full of clothes for them, most of which she had made herself.
These times were usually when it was just Tammy and I at Grammy's and us girls would sit in the floor and dress up our dolls. Grammy had the best imagination and could make voices for all the dolls. She would have us dressing our dolls for going to balls, going to the dentist, going camping, etc. She would give them funny names and hilarious back stories until Tammy and I would be rolling around on the floor dying with laughter.
After play time, Grammy would start supper and Poppy would turn on the TV. I believe it was usually the Lawrence Welk show that would be on. By the time we sat down at the table to eat, it would 6pm and the Hee Haw show would be on. Poppy loved Hee Haw. After Hee Haw we watched Love Boat and then Fantasy Island. After that it was bed time.
Well, one night I remember Fantasy Island wrapping up and it must have been an especially "magical" one. I can just imagine Tammy and I jabbering on about it and wishing we could go there and have something fantastic happen to us (most likely having to do with having perfect hair and straight teeth) and Grammy must have got it into her head to pull a fast one on us, as we were in just the frame of mind to fall for it.
"Would you like to learn something my Mommy taught me when I was a little girl?" she asked us, all innocent acting. Of course we said sure. After all, it was close to bed time and anything to get us out of bed time was awesome.
"If you go outside in the dark and run around the house two times just as fast as you can, and then look behind you while you are still running, there will be two white calves following after you." How she said this without laughing, I will never know.
Now, Tammy and I were probably around 7 and 8 years old and were standing there in our little Strawberry Shortcake nightgowns (we always changed into them between Love Boat and Fantasy Island in case we fell asleep before it was over) wide-eyed and just wordly enough that we had to verify... "Did it work for you?" I asked Grammy.
"Sure enough did" She said. Again, not even a hint of a grin.
So out the patio door we went - legs flying, fists pumping, breath huffing. As we closed in on the second lap I felt the hair on my neck starting to stand up and the goose-pimples breaking out on my arms. I just knew those calves were back there! I could feel them breathing down my neck and their big brown calf eyes rolling around looking at me!
"Look back" I said. "Nuh, uh" Tammy said "you look."
We were almost back to the patio. It was now or never. Come on, do it fast like ripping off a band-aid.
I whipped my head back over my neck as fast as possible and saw two quick flashes of white before my head was looking back to the front. Wait, was that... surely not... those were much to small... but, she didn't say they would be the size of real calves...
At the patio door, Poppy was waiting with the door open and we ran right in. Now, there was laughter. I'm sure it had to do with the looks on our faces and the width of our eyes. Naturally, we didn't think it was too funny when we found out we had been had, but you better believe I loved it when she repeated the prank on my brother and cousin Steve a couple years later!
Heeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaawwwww and Salute!
In His Blessings,
Tracy
Monday, April 11, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Gollywhopper tore up Ol' Jake
My Grammy was easily the single biggest influence on my early life. A lot of my early memories are of her and Poppy and life at her house.
Now, Grammy wasn't your average grandmother. She was amazing in every way; she could cook anything you wanted to eat, knew every story a kid could want to hear, she could fix anything you broke, and could make the very best forts ever. She also had a secret language. At least I thought it was a secret language when I was a kid. None of my friends seemed to know what I was talking about when I used her words, and my teachers always told me they didn't exist. But my cousins and I and Grammy knew what they meant. It was cool, like a club.
So to ease you into some of these I will start with some of the easier ones:
Fiddlesticks - this is the word Grammy would use if we made a ridiculous statement, which kids are wont to do. For example, "Grammy, Jason and Steve are in the back bedroom playing with their GI Joes and they said they are going to kill all our Barbies!" Her response would be "Oh, Fiddlesticks, now go on and play." And we would.
Scissorbill - This was her word for you when you got a smart mouth going. My mom was the first person to be bestowed with this moniker. Amazingly enough, I earned it a couple times, too. When I was a young mom, I was watching The Little Mermaid with my daughter, Erika, and one of the Seagulls used the word Scissorbill. I was stunned!
Whomperjawed - this was used for things that were just... wrong... Things that got all kinds of messed up or just off-kilter could be whomperjawed. Now, if something was specifically crooked, then you would say it was "crooked as a dog's hind leg".
Gollywhopper - this was one of my favorites. Grammy would play a game where you would lay on the couch with your head in her lap and she would start with her finger on your "noggin" and she would trace around to your ears, eyes, etc, until she would land on and "get" your gollywhopper (your throat) and send you into fits of giggles.
Now, while there are many, many others I am going to focus on one other saying because for a long time this one really messed me up. Why I never asked anyone to explain, I can only chalk up to stubbornness, or embarrassment over the fact that everyone else in my family seemed to know who Ol' Jake was.
Grammy and Poppy's house had two living rooms, the one that shared space with the kitchen and had a TV in it, and the formal "Blue" living room. The Blue room was where us kids went to play many times while the adults were visiting in the other room. The standard admonishment before heading in there was "Now, don't go tear up Ol' Jake".
In my young mind I had no idea who Jake was, but I accepted that he was old. Hanging on the main wall in the Blue room was an old black and white photo of Grammy's parents. Of course, then I had no idea who they were, just that they were old and very grouchy looking. Naturally, I assumed the man was Ol Jake. One question answered, but that opened others in my mind, such as:
1)Why wasn't anyone concerned about us tearing up the old woman? I felt kind of sorry for her, I mean no one even called her by her name.
2) How did they think we would tear him up when he was safely up on the wall? What did they think we did in there, anyway?
Then one day we were going to the back bedroom to play and Grammy said "we're gonna be leaving soon to go over to the church, so don't be tearin' up Ol' Jake back there." What? Jake's in the Blue room, not in the back bedroom. Is he? I remember looking real closely on the walls of that room and no Ol Jake! So my theory changed that day and I decided that Ol Jake just might be a ghost, although how some kids could tear up a ghost was more than my 6 year old little mind could logic through.
Then, the ultimate wrench was thrown one Saturday when my Mom, Dad, me and my brother were at my Dad's folks house and my Mom yells down the stairs at me and my cousin Bobby "It's awfully loud down there, you kids don't be tearin up Ol Jake, okay?"
Seriously? I looked over at Bobby expecting a look of horror as he realizes that a creepy old ghost has followed my family over to his home, but... nothing. Maybe he didn't hear, or more likely, Bobby - lover of all things that normal people cringe at - loved the idea of having a creepy old ghost. Heck, he probably was making a pallet for Ol Jake in the downstairs living room and planning to pop popcorn and charge his friends a quarter a piece to see the creeper.
I don't know exactly how long it took me to figure out that Ol Jake meant whatever room or area you were in. I still don't know why it's called that, but I do know for absolute surety that Grammy's daddy was not a ghost and his name was not Jake!
In His Blessings,
Tracy
Now, Grammy wasn't your average grandmother. She was amazing in every way; she could cook anything you wanted to eat, knew every story a kid could want to hear, she could fix anything you broke, and could make the very best forts ever. She also had a secret language. At least I thought it was a secret language when I was a kid. None of my friends seemed to know what I was talking about when I used her words, and my teachers always told me they didn't exist. But my cousins and I and Grammy knew what they meant. It was cool, like a club.
So to ease you into some of these I will start with some of the easier ones:
Fiddlesticks - this is the word Grammy would use if we made a ridiculous statement, which kids are wont to do. For example, "Grammy, Jason and Steve are in the back bedroom playing with their GI Joes and they said they are going to kill all our Barbies!" Her response would be "Oh, Fiddlesticks, now go on and play." And we would.
Scissorbill - This was her word for you when you got a smart mouth going. My mom was the first person to be bestowed with this moniker. Amazingly enough, I earned it a couple times, too. When I was a young mom, I was watching The Little Mermaid with my daughter, Erika, and one of the Seagulls used the word Scissorbill. I was stunned!
Whomperjawed - this was used for things that were just... wrong... Things that got all kinds of messed up or just off-kilter could be whomperjawed. Now, if something was specifically crooked, then you would say it was "crooked as a dog's hind leg".
Gollywhopper - this was one of my favorites. Grammy would play a game where you would lay on the couch with your head in her lap and she would start with her finger on your "noggin" and she would trace around to your ears, eyes, etc, until she would land on and "get" your gollywhopper (your throat) and send you into fits of giggles.
Now, while there are many, many others I am going to focus on one other saying because for a long time this one really messed me up. Why I never asked anyone to explain, I can only chalk up to stubbornness, or embarrassment over the fact that everyone else in my family seemed to know who Ol' Jake was.
Grammy and Poppy's house had two living rooms, the one that shared space with the kitchen and had a TV in it, and the formal "Blue" living room. The Blue room was where us kids went to play many times while the adults were visiting in the other room. The standard admonishment before heading in there was "Now, don't go tear up Ol' Jake".
In my young mind I had no idea who Jake was, but I accepted that he was old. Hanging on the main wall in the Blue room was an old black and white photo of Grammy's parents. Of course, then I had no idea who they were, just that they were old and very grouchy looking. Naturally, I assumed the man was Ol Jake. One question answered, but that opened others in my mind, such as:
1)Why wasn't anyone concerned about us tearing up the old woman? I felt kind of sorry for her, I mean no one even called her by her name.
2) How did they think we would tear him up when he was safely up on the wall? What did they think we did in there, anyway?
Then one day we were going to the back bedroom to play and Grammy said "we're gonna be leaving soon to go over to the church, so don't be tearin' up Ol' Jake back there." What? Jake's in the Blue room, not in the back bedroom. Is he? I remember looking real closely on the walls of that room and no Ol Jake! So my theory changed that day and I decided that Ol Jake just might be a ghost, although how some kids could tear up a ghost was more than my 6 year old little mind could logic through.
Then, the ultimate wrench was thrown one Saturday when my Mom, Dad, me and my brother were at my Dad's folks house and my Mom yells down the stairs at me and my cousin Bobby "It's awfully loud down there, you kids don't be tearin up Ol Jake, okay?"
Seriously? I looked over at Bobby expecting a look of horror as he realizes that a creepy old ghost has followed my family over to his home, but... nothing. Maybe he didn't hear, or more likely, Bobby - lover of all things that normal people cringe at - loved the idea of having a creepy old ghost. Heck, he probably was making a pallet for Ol Jake in the downstairs living room and planning to pop popcorn and charge his friends a quarter a piece to see the creeper.
I don't know exactly how long it took me to figure out that Ol Jake meant whatever room or area you were in. I still don't know why it's called that, but I do know for absolute surety that Grammy's daddy was not a ghost and his name was not Jake!
In His Blessings,
Tracy
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Peppermint Elephants
A conversation I had this morning with my step-daughter, Bethany, regarding Spring Break activities (or lack thereof) made me think back to what our family used to do on breaks from school.
Mostly we would go camping, beginning in May lasting all summer. We had a camper and a motor boat and we would take one of three spots with my parents 2 sets of best friends. One parent would take turns staying out with us kids during the day while the other parents worked and we would swim and ride bikes and explore the campground. It was bliss.
However, on occasion we would go on a "real" vacation - you know one that required crossing state lines! Maybe go to a theme park, or see the ocean. The first one that I can remember going on was to Orlando, Florida - Disney World. I think I was somewhere around 6 years old, but I'm not sure. My Mom can probably clear that up.
I'm pretty dadgum sure my little brother was there because I have a couple of vague memories of him that, in my brain anyway, are from this trip. One, I seem to remember him getting lost at some point and I remember being seriously concerned about a "sicko" taking him into the bathroom and cutting his "pee-pee" off. Apparently at some point in my life I had heard this was the fate of little boys that left their parents sight... I also seem to remember him peeing somewhere that caused a scene, like maybe in one of the rides (It's a Small World or Pirates of the Caribbean, something like that).
Anyway, I do know for sure that we took our camper and camped at a KOA and my parents friends Lonnie and Patsy went with us. They had a little girl, but she was closer to Jason's age.
So, now you know that we drove to Orlando, pulling a trailer. My parents were obviously very patient, being that there were two young kids in the car. I don't remember much at all about the drive, other than they kept in touch with the other couple through CB radio and you had to be really quiet when going through big cities.
As for the attractions and what we did while in Florida, here's what I remember the most (at least I think these things happened):
1) Cape Canaveral - I remember this because in the mid-70's the Space Program and NASA was big stuff. Also, I Dream of Jeannie was the coolest thing on TV.
2) The boat ride that had fake elephants and other animals.
3) The Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I loved that ride, I remember wishing that I could live in the ride, or at least sneek in and explore when no one else was around. I think I thought the coins were real, too.
4) The same feeling went for the Peter Pan ride. I so wanted to fly off to Neverland with Peter and Wendy!
However, the single biggest impression on me, the coolest thing we did (in my young mind) was ride an elephant! This wasn't even at Disney, it might not even been in Orlando. I just know that when we walked up there was this gigantic black elephant with a huge red and white striped awning draped over it. It also had a red and white canopy fixed over the seat to keep the sun off the riders. As we walked up, all that red and white on the huge black mastadon combined in my head as "Peppermint Elephant"!
This should be a lesson for parents. I have no idea what it cost my mom and dad to put me and my brother on that Peppermint Elephant, but as we lumbered around that ring I was as happy as I was at any time on that vacation. I still remember the feel of the trunk when Peppermint reached back and touched my leg once, and my hand another time - the bristles and the tough, thick hide. I definitely remember the smell of the hay and the animal smell as well.
When we climbed back down and went down the wooden scaffolding to our parents, I was really excited about the experience and filled with loved for my parents who had just given me such a unique, fun time.
As we walked away, I was holding my Daddy's hand and I looked back at the Peppermint Elephant and there were two more kids loaded up and ready to go. That image is what stuck with me for years and what comes to mind, still.
So, while most people think of Mouse ears when they think of Orlando, I think of Peppermint Elephants!
In His Blessings,
Tracy
Mostly we would go camping, beginning in May lasting all summer. We had a camper and a motor boat and we would take one of three spots with my parents 2 sets of best friends. One parent would take turns staying out with us kids during the day while the other parents worked and we would swim and ride bikes and explore the campground. It was bliss.
However, on occasion we would go on a "real" vacation - you know one that required crossing state lines! Maybe go to a theme park, or see the ocean. The first one that I can remember going on was to Orlando, Florida - Disney World. I think I was somewhere around 6 years old, but I'm not sure. My Mom can probably clear that up.
I'm pretty dadgum sure my little brother was there because I have a couple of vague memories of him that, in my brain anyway, are from this trip. One, I seem to remember him getting lost at some point and I remember being seriously concerned about a "sicko" taking him into the bathroom and cutting his "pee-pee" off. Apparently at some point in my life I had heard this was the fate of little boys that left their parents sight... I also seem to remember him peeing somewhere that caused a scene, like maybe in one of the rides (It's a Small World or Pirates of the Caribbean, something like that).
Anyway, I do know for sure that we took our camper and camped at a KOA and my parents friends Lonnie and Patsy went with us. They had a little girl, but she was closer to Jason's age.
So, now you know that we drove to Orlando, pulling a trailer. My parents were obviously very patient, being that there were two young kids in the car. I don't remember much at all about the drive, other than they kept in touch with the other couple through CB radio and you had to be really quiet when going through big cities.
As for the attractions and what we did while in Florida, here's what I remember the most (at least I think these things happened):
1) Cape Canaveral - I remember this because in the mid-70's the Space Program and NASA was big stuff. Also, I Dream of Jeannie was the coolest thing on TV.
2) The boat ride that had fake elephants and other animals.
3) The Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I loved that ride, I remember wishing that I could live in the ride, or at least sneek in and explore when no one else was around. I think I thought the coins were real, too.
4) The same feeling went for the Peter Pan ride. I so wanted to fly off to Neverland with Peter and Wendy!
However, the single biggest impression on me, the coolest thing we did (in my young mind) was ride an elephant! This wasn't even at Disney, it might not even been in Orlando. I just know that when we walked up there was this gigantic black elephant with a huge red and white striped awning draped over it. It also had a red and white canopy fixed over the seat to keep the sun off the riders. As we walked up, all that red and white on the huge black mastadon combined in my head as "Peppermint Elephant"!
This should be a lesson for parents. I have no idea what it cost my mom and dad to put me and my brother on that Peppermint Elephant, but as we lumbered around that ring I was as happy as I was at any time on that vacation. I still remember the feel of the trunk when Peppermint reached back and touched my leg once, and my hand another time - the bristles and the tough, thick hide. I definitely remember the smell of the hay and the animal smell as well.
When we climbed back down and went down the wooden scaffolding to our parents, I was really excited about the experience and filled with loved for my parents who had just given me such a unique, fun time.
As we walked away, I was holding my Daddy's hand and I looked back at the Peppermint Elephant and there were two more kids loaded up and ready to go. That image is what stuck with me for years and what comes to mind, still.
So, while most people think of Mouse ears when they think of Orlando, I think of Peppermint Elephants!
In His Blessings,
Tracy
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Too Young for Deja Vu?
This is a memory that came to me recently because I was a) in the library and b) discovered my niece Emma is very advanced in her reading levels.
This happened to me in the 2nd grade. I know for sure it was that year, because we had just moved to Callahan street and I was in a new school - Eastside Elementary. My teacher's name was Mrs. Hollingsworth and she was a really good teacher. She was kind and patient and completely different that Mrs. Angel, my first grade teacher, who took my advanced level of learning as some sort of affront. Mrs. Hollingsworth saw it, embraced it, and recommended me for a relatively new program called REACH.
My favorite days were library days because reading was my absolute most beloved activity. REACH kids got special library time, during which the REACH teacher and librarian would help us select appropriate books for our reading level.
It was during one of these days that I can remember experiencing my first encounter with the phenomena called Deja Vu:
I was walking along the shelves of books, looking at the spines and reading titles. There was a youngish woman, one of the library staff, walking with me and answering questions when I asked about any of the titles, or recommending when she saw me stop. Suddenly I saw a book spine that I recognized. I took it off the shelf and looked at it and was immediately overcome with the creepy, eerie, goose-pimply feeling that I had held it and read it before. The cover was dark gray and their was a mountain, a half moon, and a whole moon in outline on the upper cover.
The young woman asked me "Is this a book you would like to read?"
"No", I shook my head, "I've already read it... at least I think I have."
"You mean you looked at it, or started to read it?" Clearly she was confused, but then I was too. I remember searching for the right way to explain it too, when I remembered reading about a thing called deja vu.
So I told her what I was experiencing and that, while I had not physically read the book, I could describe it and tell her about it as if I had. I mostly remember her being shocked by the fact that I knew what deja vu was and then, I clearly remember her saying "Dear, you are too young to have deja vu!"
In the end, she quizzed me on the book, asking details about Bilbo Baggins and his adventures and eventual battle vs. Smaug. I believe she and the REACH teacher chalked it up to the fact that I had read the book before and didn't remember, or had it read to me at some point. But I knew, and still know the truth - we never owned a copy of There and Back Again (The Hobbit), until I was in the 6th grade and got a paperback copy with a cute little Bilbo on the cover; not the spooky dark gray version with the mountain, half and full moon...
Since then, I have had many other instances of Deja Vu, but never that intense and never with that much detail. I'm glad, because that was pretty creepy. Those women were a little weird around me for a few months after that, not that the adult me could blame them. Every time I got one of those logic puzzles right after that, I felt them staring at me after I started working on my papers.
So, how about you guys? Anyone out there have a crazy Deja Vu story? What do you think it is? I don't believe in past lives or any of that nonsense, but maybe it has to do with our spirit being in touch with the holy spirit and knowing what lies ahead. After all, in 6th grade I did become a little obsessed with the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings for a time... maybe it's a tiny glimpse, like a shadow out of the corner of your eye. Something to ponder...
In His Blessings,
Tracy
This happened to me in the 2nd grade. I know for sure it was that year, because we had just moved to Callahan street and I was in a new school - Eastside Elementary. My teacher's name was Mrs. Hollingsworth and she was a really good teacher. She was kind and patient and completely different that Mrs. Angel, my first grade teacher, who took my advanced level of learning as some sort of affront. Mrs. Hollingsworth saw it, embraced it, and recommended me for a relatively new program called REACH.
My favorite days were library days because reading was my absolute most beloved activity. REACH kids got special library time, during which the REACH teacher and librarian would help us select appropriate books for our reading level.
It was during one of these days that I can remember experiencing my first encounter with the phenomena called Deja Vu:
I was walking along the shelves of books, looking at the spines and reading titles. There was a youngish woman, one of the library staff, walking with me and answering questions when I asked about any of the titles, or recommending when she saw me stop. Suddenly I saw a book spine that I recognized. I took it off the shelf and looked at it and was immediately overcome with the creepy, eerie, goose-pimply feeling that I had held it and read it before. The cover was dark gray and their was a mountain, a half moon, and a whole moon in outline on the upper cover.
The young woman asked me "Is this a book you would like to read?"
"No", I shook my head, "I've already read it... at least I think I have."
"You mean you looked at it, or started to read it?" Clearly she was confused, but then I was too. I remember searching for the right way to explain it too, when I remembered reading about a thing called deja vu.
So I told her what I was experiencing and that, while I had not physically read the book, I could describe it and tell her about it as if I had. I mostly remember her being shocked by the fact that I knew what deja vu was and then, I clearly remember her saying "Dear, you are too young to have deja vu!"
In the end, she quizzed me on the book, asking details about Bilbo Baggins and his adventures and eventual battle vs. Smaug. I believe she and the REACH teacher chalked it up to the fact that I had read the book before and didn't remember, or had it read to me at some point. But I knew, and still know the truth - we never owned a copy of There and Back Again (The Hobbit), until I was in the 6th grade and got a paperback copy with a cute little Bilbo on the cover; not the spooky dark gray version with the mountain, half and full moon...
Since then, I have had many other instances of Deja Vu, but never that intense and never with that much detail. I'm glad, because that was pretty creepy. Those women were a little weird around me for a few months after that, not that the adult me could blame them. Every time I got one of those logic puzzles right after that, I felt them staring at me after I started working on my papers.
So, how about you guys? Anyone out there have a crazy Deja Vu story? What do you think it is? I don't believe in past lives or any of that nonsense, but maybe it has to do with our spirit being in touch with the holy spirit and knowing what lies ahead. After all, in 6th grade I did become a little obsessed with the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings for a time... maybe it's a tiny glimpse, like a shadow out of the corner of your eye. Something to ponder...
In His Blessings,
Tracy
Memory Makers - Family (Cast of Characters, Ch. 2)
Here's a rundown of the family members that will make an appearance frequently in the memory stories. Not everyone will be listed here, because some are super self explanatory. Unlike some other folks near and dear to my heart, my family tree has yet to close in on itself, so Mom is just mom and Dad is just Dad and none of their people mix... :)
Grammy and Poppy - these are my Mom's parents and I spent oodles of time with them growing up.
Mama and Papa - these are my Dad's parents. I spent a lot of time in the summer at their house, where there were tons of acres to explore.
Erika - my daughter
Jason - my brother (he comes with his wife, Tracy, and "riglets" Alex, Madison, and Emma)
Aunt Wanda - Mom's sister and cousin Tammy and Steve's mom. Tammy was my first best girl friend.
Uncle Dale - Mom's brother and cousin Amy's dad. He also belonged to Aunt Joy who I will no doubt talk about.
Uncle Robert - Dad's brother and cousins Bobby, Jamia, Jenna, and Jordan's dad.
Dennis - my stepdad.
Patty - my stepmom (she comes with my step-brother James and step-sister Angie).
That should be enough to get us going. There will be others, because there are kids, spouses, and others that will show up depending on the memory!
I am Blessed,
Tracy
Grammy and Poppy - these are my Mom's parents and I spent oodles of time with them growing up.
Mama and Papa - these are my Dad's parents. I spent a lot of time in the summer at their house, where there were tons of acres to explore.
Erika - my daughter
Jason - my brother (he comes with his wife, Tracy, and "riglets" Alex, Madison, and Emma)
Aunt Wanda - Mom's sister and cousin Tammy and Steve's mom. Tammy was my first best girl friend.
Uncle Dale - Mom's brother and cousin Amy's dad. He also belonged to Aunt Joy who I will no doubt talk about.
Uncle Robert - Dad's brother and cousins Bobby, Jamia, Jenna, and Jordan's dad.
Dennis - my stepdad.
Patty - my stepmom (she comes with my step-brother James and step-sister Angie).
That should be enough to get us going. There will be others, because there are kids, spouses, and others that will show up depending on the memory!
I am Blessed,
Tracy
Monday, March 28, 2011
Memory Makers - Friends (Cast of Characters, Ch 1)
Friends come in all forms, don't they? Some are relatives and some were strangers. Some are big, some are small, some are short, and some are tall (I know, I'm a poet and didn't know it). Some are just friends, some are good friends, some are best friends, and some are your bestest friend in the whole wide world!!
I have been blessed to have lots of friends in my life. Many were school friends and many were work friends, but at every stage in my life I can remember a few "life changing" friends. You know the ones, they were there in really important stages of your life, someone you relate momentous occasions or changes to. Or someone that was just so incredibly important or influential on you that something inside you fundamentally shifted forever.
I want to give some brief introductions to some friends you are going to see here in this blog. Their names will, no doubt, come up often because they are big parts of my memories. And rather than take the time out during a story to explain who these people are, I thought I'd give the Reader's Digest version.
Michael B - He was my very first best friend that wasn't a family member. The time frame for Mikey was 1-3rd grade. We were like Forrest and Jenny - peas and carrots.
My next pivotal friend didn't come until 6th grade. Her name was Vicky. She was smarter than me, funny, had much older siblings which made her cool, and she was a good girl. Here are a couple things I learned from Vicky; sometimes friendships between girls can be toxic and good families are sometimes only good on the surface.
Angie - She was my first "running buddy". I experienced a lot of firsts in my life with Angie, all of them memorable (if somewhat hazy).
Dawan - I spent much of my Senior year with Dawan. She "lived out loud" if any one ever did, and she taught me a lot about being a tough-ass southern broad.
Raigon - Another running buddy. We met at our job and I introduced her to a guy who would be her 100 year boyfriend. She was with me a lot of my senior year.
Jeana - She taught me what it means to be a class act, to have grace under pressure, and that being a square peg is the most beautiful thing in the whole world. She also helped expand my taste in music.
Jeanie - She was my first "neighbor friend". Jeanie lived across the street from me, she worked for my Mom, and our daughters were in the same Brownie troop. It was destined.
Alan - He is a friend that I made at work, but our friendship survived us not working together. Alan is pivotal because he is the first young man I ever met that loves his wife, already, the way my Poppy loved my Grammy - with his whole soul.
Darlene - Darlene was my second "neighbor friend". She moved in next door to me and her house had the perfect little porch. Soon enough, her, me, and Jeanie became the Porch Monkeys. You will hear that term again. And Darlene's name frequently as she remains the best friend in my life.
Ann - Darlene's daughter-in-law. She is another treasure that came from 33rd street!
Family will be Chapter 2.
I have been blessed to have lots of friends in my life. Many were school friends and many were work friends, but at every stage in my life I can remember a few "life changing" friends. You know the ones, they were there in really important stages of your life, someone you relate momentous occasions or changes to. Or someone that was just so incredibly important or influential on you that something inside you fundamentally shifted forever.
I want to give some brief introductions to some friends you are going to see here in this blog. Their names will, no doubt, come up often because they are big parts of my memories. And rather than take the time out during a story to explain who these people are, I thought I'd give the Reader's Digest version.
Michael B - He was my very first best friend that wasn't a family member. The time frame for Mikey was 1-3rd grade. We were like Forrest and Jenny - peas and carrots.
My next pivotal friend didn't come until 6th grade. Her name was Vicky. She was smarter than me, funny, had much older siblings which made her cool, and she was a good girl. Here are a couple things I learned from Vicky; sometimes friendships between girls can be toxic and good families are sometimes only good on the surface.
Angie - She was my first "running buddy". I experienced a lot of firsts in my life with Angie, all of them memorable (if somewhat hazy).
Dawan - I spent much of my Senior year with Dawan. She "lived out loud" if any one ever did, and she taught me a lot about being a tough-ass southern broad.
Raigon - Another running buddy. We met at our job and I introduced her to a guy who would be her 100 year boyfriend. She was with me a lot of my senior year.
Jeana - She taught me what it means to be a class act, to have grace under pressure, and that being a square peg is the most beautiful thing in the whole world. She also helped expand my taste in music.
Jeanie - She was my first "neighbor friend". Jeanie lived across the street from me, she worked for my Mom, and our daughters were in the same Brownie troop. It was destined.
Alan - He is a friend that I made at work, but our friendship survived us not working together. Alan is pivotal because he is the first young man I ever met that loves his wife, already, the way my Poppy loved my Grammy - with his whole soul.
Darlene - Darlene was my second "neighbor friend". She moved in next door to me and her house had the perfect little porch. Soon enough, her, me, and Jeanie became the Porch Monkeys. You will hear that term again. And Darlene's name frequently as she remains the best friend in my life.
Ann - Darlene's daughter-in-law. She is another treasure that came from 33rd street!
Family will be Chapter 2.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Lost Memories
I have been thinking of making a new blog for awhile. My last blog was alot about politics and idiots and took me to negative places mostly. I did write about a lot of heros, however and that made me feel good, very good.
I love reading blogs and my favorites are the funny, anecdotal stories about families and friends, traditions and cultures. It makes me think a lot about my upbring and the fact that I have lots of good memories of a family full of characters, but I am very scared of losing those memories for good!
So, I am going to use this blog space to write down memories as they come to me, or as I can collect them from family members. I am blessed to have 2 grandmothers still alive (one whose family moved here in a covered wagon and had a murder in the fam), and they both have lots of stories in them. I know that we will all be blessed with those.
One thing - I do not promise that I will get every detail correct. If you read something here and you were part of the story and think something was different, please feel free to comment on the error or email me. Remember, these will be memories from my point of view, from in my brain. Unless it is given to me from someone else, and then you can take it up with them... :)
I can't wait to start! The posts won't be in chronological order, and there may be two per day, may be weeks between. I just hope that anyone that bothers to look will enjoy and remember "truth is stranger than fiction"!!!
I am Blessed,
Tracy
I love reading blogs and my favorites are the funny, anecdotal stories about families and friends, traditions and cultures. It makes me think a lot about my upbring and the fact that I have lots of good memories of a family full of characters, but I am very scared of losing those memories for good!
So, I am going to use this blog space to write down memories as they come to me, or as I can collect them from family members. I am blessed to have 2 grandmothers still alive (one whose family moved here in a covered wagon and had a murder in the fam), and they both have lots of stories in them. I know that we will all be blessed with those.
One thing - I do not promise that I will get every detail correct. If you read something here and you were part of the story and think something was different, please feel free to comment on the error or email me. Remember, these will be memories from my point of view, from in my brain. Unless it is given to me from someone else, and then you can take it up with them... :)
I can't wait to start! The posts won't be in chronological order, and there may be two per day, may be weeks between. I just hope that anyone that bothers to look will enjoy and remember "truth is stranger than fiction"!!!
I am Blessed,
Tracy
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