The Last Day of the Year: 2018

Alas!

'Tis the last day of the year 2018.

2019 is but a few hours away. It is hard to believe that. I was just telling my best friend LadyTee today that when we were children, we were hollering about seeing the year 2000.

And here we are, some 19 years removed from the year 2000.

Wow.

And I have been pontificating and reflecting over the events of my life of the past year. I have been more concentrated on the last few months, as that is when much as happened. I got sick and had to be hospitalized. My mother spent a couple of months in the hospital. There has been much stress about how to help take care of her, and much stress concerning the failure of taking care of my own self and needs. I am learning balance is key. I am still trying to find that balance. And I am learning to not kick myself when I lose balance.

I rarely make goals. It's been years since I've said "In year such-a-such, I will do A, B, and C."

I made a few financial goals, the biggest one being pay off a second mortgage. I paid it off some 2 years early. It was some old balloon type craziness. I don't have to worry about that no more. GLORY. I met a few other financial goals.

My goals are always closer to being short term in nature. Little things. I make a list of about 10-20 things to do per day. So I have literally met THOUSANDS of small goals. And I think that is wonderful.

I think this year I had gotten a decent enough workout routine in the gym going, and that was a holdover goal from 2017. But I hurt my back, and I had to stop all that. That bothers me, as it was something I enjoyed. I have been on and off with the chiropractor. So I have ventured away from that. But that is about it. This has been a quiet year for the most part. I have been more concerned about working and keeping myself together. And I almost made it to the end of the year without much problems. Almost.

I am better now. Most importantly, I am thankful to see a new year. Perfectly healthy people began 2018, but did not live to see the year 2019. I am here to witness the dawn of a new year.

I have been more fascinated with and celebratory of the accomplishments of my friends. I have always rejoiced in the accomplishments of my friends. I not only have my own joy, but I have theirs, too.

One of my folks, S23, made a big move to another state, with a nice job. And she just closed on her house. What has fascinated me about this is that I remember when it was all just a thought in her mind. I remember when those goals of hers were written on a notecard. And it fascinated me to see those words jump off those notecards and manifest, in ways bigger than she could hope and pray for.

And I saw another one of my friends accomplish some mind blowing things: That doggone Tayari Jones' book American Marriage was selected by Oprah for her book club. Man, I was so happy, you would have thought it was MY book that had been selected. But, what has fascinated me about this is that I remember when it was all just a thought in her mind. I remember us talking on the phone all day, and she was telling me about how she'd overheard a convo at the mall. I didn't understand why she was all giddy about it.

My response was... "If you like it, I love it. Go head and write it, girl. You just remember to let me hold that first draft or whatever chapters you got."

I had to get to work on her EARLY. Get her mind right so she can send me a rough draft. The BEST thing in the world is sitting around minding my business, and an email from her saying, Here you go, Nettie, and there is an attachment. I have stopped working in the lab to go hide in a bathroom stall and read.

I see these types of things over and over again with my friends.

Just in these two examples, something pertinent was written above:

What has fascinated me about this is that I remember when it was all just a thought in her mind.

I am reminded, on this New Years Eve, that EVERYTHING begins with a seed. A seed looks like it isn't much, but it contains everything. It packs a punch.

No matter how old I get, that never gets away from me... Seeds. And a mere thought is a seed. Words spoken are seeds. Words (Goals) written on paper are seeds.

Seeds, seeds, seeds.

And that is what I go into this New Year thinking about: planting and tending to my seed. Whether I have a dump truck of seed, a handful of seed, or one seed in my hand. I need to plant that seed and do my best to tend to it.

And that is what I have always been thinking about. And I have understood it more by example in the past few years than ever.

And that's a good thing.

I hope you have had a great year, and that next year will be an even greater year.

I pray the seed, the thoughts in your mind, manifest in the best way ever!

The Day before the Last Day of the Year

Look at me...

I have gone a whole 3 months without posting.

3 MONTHS

THE SHAME.

On the real, too much has been going on. The past 3 months have been a complete whirlwind.

Life comes at you fast. FAST... doggonit.

I think I will post something tomorrow, just to end the year off. I have to think about what I want to post, though. So much can go on in so little time. I think my biggest issues here on blog is that I like a lot of pictures, and it is such a turnoff that I can't get them posted up fast like I like. It is a chore. But that is no excuse. This place has always given me a little piece of mind at times. And that needs to continue, even if it is only for me.

Right now, all is well. But around the first week of October, my mother had a couple of heart attacks and strokes. I had been trying to help my siblings with her, as she went through a quadruple bypass surgery and had many complications. She has diabetes and is in renal failure, so that is all A LOT for the body to have to deal with. She was in the hospital for a couple of months and has been in a rehab center for the past month or so. So going back and forth, trying to help her, has been the order of the day.

In the midst of all this, in early November, I was in the hospital for 5 or 6 days. I had a lupus flare up that sent me down a black hole. I just got SICK as dirt. I was severely dehydrated, and that is what kicked off whatever was going on with me. It took the rest of the month just to get myself back up to full speed. I am not sure I am back up to full speed yet. But I am getting there.

This is how I explain it anytime someone asks me how I am doing:

"You know how you phone is at 30%, and you plug it overnight to charge it up, and then when you wake up in the morning, and the charge is now only at 33%? That's how I feel."

That always elicits a good laugh. But it is my truth right now.

So I guess now I am somewhat back up to speed.

I wish I could have my 20-year-old self back.

That would be wonderful for the New Year.

It surely would.

Friday Freestyles: The Last Day of Summer Edition

Ah yes...

The summer has ended. This is the first day of fall.

Or is it? *LadyLee running and googling the beginning of fall*

Nope... Fall officially begins on September 22nd.

So I have today to celebrate the last day of Summer.

My favorite summer pictures of late have me already missing summer.

That's a picture of my friend Karla's husband and son, taking in what must have been a beautiful ocean on a just as beautiful day.

I myself took in some ocean waves out in San Diego. I rode out on one of those duck boats. I need to put up those pictures, because a sister will NOT be hanging out on a duck boat anytime soon. Nope.

But that picture just says "summer" to me.

Another picture that oozes summer to me is this one.

Isn't that lovely? And just how GREEN is that grass? That is some green grass.

And God bless the man who cuts that green grass. God bless him indeed.

Well I am happy because today is not only the last day of summer, but it's PAY DAY. GLORY!

I love Pay Day. If only for a moment, though. Because the very same day that I get paid, I pay a bunch of bills and alas, some 2/3rds of my money is gone.
Oh well. STILL thankful for payday.

Song of the Summer. This one is considered the official song of the summer. I don't care for mainstream current music, but I must agree that this is the song of the summer: "Boo'd Up" by Ella Mai. I don't think I even first heard it until August. But what I really like is the live version.



That song makes me feel like love, and cotton candy, and all things summer.

And that is an ESPECIALLY great live version of the song.

I like Ella Mai. The EP that this song appears on is FANTASTIC. It's only 6 or 7 songs long, but it is a semi-concept album, meaning all the songs are linked together to form a story of sorts. I LOVED-ED it that.

I just love good R&B music, which means that I like OLD SCHOOL music, because I just can't listen to much of today's "R&B". It has no substance and leaves me feeling rather blaaaaaah... And I love live music.

And that gives me an excuse to post up a live version of my other favorite song. "Poetic Justice" by Kendrick Lamar.



Man, listen... I could listen to those two live versions ALL day long. ALL DAY.

Quote of the Summer. This summer, I crunk my "Morning Pages" back up. Shout out to Big Mitch for helping with my morning pages!

 Dude gets a bit of ink on his ears. He doesn't mind.
If you've never heard of Morning Pages, they are early morning journal entries. The catch is that they are three pages of journaling, not just a thought or two. So when I write that much long hand, I am SERIOUSLY unpacking my mind. I'm getting all the junk and goo off of my mind, so I can start off a fresh as possible for the day. It's especially helpful when I'm a bit down or depressed or confused. I RARELY tell anyone what's going on me, because I simply think no one cares about that. And I am not saying it in a "woe is me" way, but I just don't bother anybody with any of my problems.

I just choose to write them out and figure it out on paper. This is spiritually helpful in that it shapes my prayer life up very well... Prayer is laser-sharp and focused, I must tell you. Wow.

When I write that much, a good bit of it is mundane. I write about my finances, what bills I need to pay and savings goals and the like. I will write about what I ate that day (did most of my diet consists of raw fruits, raw veggies and water?).


But, I find that there are times that I am writing out of my spirit. In other words, there are moments of Where did THAT come from???

So my quote of the summer is one that I wrote somewhere around page 180 (I number all of my pages. I may have over a thousand handwritten pages. Now that's a LOT of unpacking of the mind. LAWD).

I don't have the quote with me right here and write now, where I can quote it word for word. But it has been on my mind every single day.

"Today is the last day of my life thus far, and today is also the first day of the rest of my life. So I must take time to learn from the successes and failures of my past, enjoy the sweetness and beauty of the present day, and be sure to have hope and faith for the future."

Something like that. I think I must have expanded on it and unpacked it for a couple of days. Heck, I am STILL thinking about it. I figure if I keep chewing on it like one chews on a chicken bone, then I will get more and more out of it.

But it first came up because one day, people were getting on my nerves and trying to get me caught up in petty mess. Someone got out of pocket, and I had to go off on them. This happened a couple of times (and this is NOT good when it goes on at work. NO). And I was thinking... would I be fooling with you and your craziness if I this was the last day of my life? Yes, it sounds a bit morbid, but think about it. If you knew that this was the last 24 hours of your life, would you be concerned about important things or some foolishness? Hmm.

Likewise, today is the first day of the rest of my life. We've all heard that phrase before. That means to me that I should leave all the cares and worries of yesterday behind. Today signals the chance to get it right, to just be better and to do better. And I should always strive to be positive concerning my future. I, like everyone else, tend to worry about the unknown, and where I will be and what I will be doing in the future. I need to smear my thoughts of the unknowns of the future with hope and faith.

I like that thought that was scribbled and scratched out in the early morning hours of my day. Surely it's something that leaked out of my spirit. I am happy for that.

And I'm happy for my morning pages.
And I'm happy that these hot summer days are coming to an end.
And I'm happy for a great weekend.


And I will make it a great one... on purpose.

You do the same!

It's Frday!

It is FRIDAY!!

I haven't been posting. And that is okay.

But I just feel like posting a picture I like.

That's from my cousin Mya's 4th birthday party. She was trying to pose with Justin. Justin is a SERIOUS walker right now, and did not want to be still. I was trying so hard to get them to both look at me so I could get the best picture, but it didn't work out.

I am just glad to get a pic of them together.

But the best thing is... I can't wait to take a picture of the two of them some 20 years from now.

Something to think about... and also to look forward to.

Have a great weekend!

911... Never Forget

So... It has been 17 years since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

17 years.

It does not feel that long ago. And like everyone, I can remember where I was when it all happened. I was in Denver at a training course for my current job. I'd only been on the job for 3 weeks. It was my first work trip.

I was married. I lived in a condo. And I'd only been in Atlanta for a month, after having moved back here, home, from a post-doc position in New Orleans.

I was writing in my journal about this even this morning. 17 years ago, I didn't know I would be sitting at my dining room table, writing in my journal on a cool and quiet Tuesday morning.

And I wondered on paper what the over 3000 people would have been doing today if they hadn't lost their lives in a terrorist attack.

Life can end in an instant. Today reminds me of that very fact. Yes, we can make plans, have dreams and make goals, but we don't know when our time will come. That is scary. But in the face of that, we must live our best lives today, right now. Continue to make goals, have dreams, and live our lives.

Today I spend time thinking about the tragedy. I am amazed, still, that we have not had an attack on that scale in the last 17 years. Amazed. And I hope we never have another one. That was a depressing time.

My thoughts and prayers, as always are with the family of the victims.  May the memory of them live on in our thoughts.

Ten Thursday Thoughts

It has been a LONG while since I've done some thoughts... and I have had many.


1. A coworker left a bag of high premium chocolate chips on my desk. Let me tell you, it makes a difference what type of chocolate chips I use for cookies. I will have to start picking up some of those.

2. What is wrong with our President? I feel like he's going apeshit. Sorry for the language, but that is the only way I can describe it.

3. I still don't think we've scraped the bottom of the barrel. Really. And I'm not sure how deep the barrel is.

4. With that said... I miss this President and the first family.

I really miss them. No chaos, none of that. Their only problem was that they were black. Interesting that that, in this time in age, is a problem.

5. Right now, we are in the midst of the true epitome of dysfunction. And sadly, I think it is all a reflection of who we are as a society. A snapshot. We are only looking in the mirror.

6. This all gives an interesting connotation to that confusing "Be Best" quote. Thank you current first lady for that bit of bad English. But if what I see going on is suppose to model for us on how to "Be best"... I'd rather not. I will continue being me.

7. So there is a chance that both Florida and Georgia can have black governors after the next election. If that happens... man... I am taking off for a whole week. And I'm calling the White House switchboard and laughing hard. EXTRA hard. What an incredible gut punch this will be to the political chaos.

8. I had a wisdom tooth pulled last Friday. I think everything is healing up, but it feels like it is taking forever.

9. This right here?

I thought this was a good movie. I was pleasantly surprised. I could definitely watch it again.

10. I have a headache and I'm sleepy. And in this state, my goal is to have a semi-productive day. If I can get a few things, just a few, done on my list today, that is good enough for me.

Happy Birthday #1

He was once a Preemie... only 3 pounds.




But one year later, he's a BiG BOY!!













Getting bigger and better! Such a big boy!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Justin!!!

Rest in Peace, Aretha Franklin 1942-2018

Get Your Ramen On

One of my coworkers has a daughter who LOVES ramen noodles.

I love them too... but I don't like the ten cent Sam yung %0.10 variety. NO. I like a good expensive ramen noodle. I need to at LEAST pay $1.00 per pack for them.

That's right.

And I don't feel bad about that, because I MIGHT eat ramen noodles 4 or 5 times a year. A strong MIGHT.

And I have to "doctor them up", meaning, I can't just can't eat a plain pack of noodles.

So my coworker was saying her daughter just eats them plain, boiled in water with the seasoning packet.

Yuck.

No, you have to kick them up a notch.

Here's ramen noodles done RIGHT!

That sure looks good!

That shrimp version looks mighty tasty.


Here's the key to it. Add up to 2 cups of vegetables. That way, you get your veggies.


No telling what the actual ramen noodles are made of. At least have some veggies in there.


Ramen done right! Get your ramen life!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Flip It

I am doing a bit of decluttering right now, and I came across something interesting in a box of old CDS:

Flip phone!!

From 2007 or 2008? Not sure.

I was thinking about tossing it, but I can't.

Such a blast from the past!

Generations...

I usually like to lurk around on social media, only posting something a couple of times a month. But sometimes I'm glad for social media, as I pick up on some fascinating information. The most interesting of late are rare pictures posted by my cousins of the women of my family.

My grandmother.

That had to be a picture from the 1970s.

My great-grandmother.

That picture must have been taken in the 40s or 50s. I remember my great-grandmother. I often went over to her house, located in an intown Atlanta neighborhood known as Dixie Hills, with my grandmother. I remember my great-grandmother. She passed when I was 29 or 30 years old.

Now here' a picture I'd never seen: one of my great-great Grandmother.

Wow! Who knows when that picture was taken? I don't even know her name.

I never met her, so I do not have a memory of her.

But at least I have a picture of her.

How wonderful is that?

Repost: Shock and Awe!

Here is a repost of a time with grandma circa April 2006, some 12 years ago.

In this one, Grandma was shocked by my brother's tattoo... and my Auntie's gun.

It was one of the funniest moments we've had over the years.



Shock and Awe!!!

…Is what these pets felt when their pictures were snapped…





Shock and Awe!!!
… Is what Grandma felt when seeing my baby brother’s tattoo of a smashed bug, um, I mean tribal symbol on his right arm for the very first time.



My brother and I had joined my Auntie, Uncle, and Grandma last weekend for a dinner of homemade calzones and hot apple pie, while watching the movie War of the Worlds. Then I said the magic words…

“Roll up your sleeve and show Mama (grandma) that tattoo, boy!”

Grandma has a very light voice, and you better pay very close attention and lean in real close if you want to hear what she’s saying…

All she could do was point at it. All I heard for a moment from her was…

"Oooooh, Look a there, look a there!"

She asked the smiling boy several questions, many of which I couldn’t hear. She asked him if his skin would be alright. She wanted to know if it would form keloids, since it was still in the process of healing. He said it was alright, just scabbing up a little…

That really made Grandma’s day! She wasn’t expecting to see all that!

I’d been screaming that it looked like a smash bug all week. (LadyTee thought it looked like a wide-legged ant. I howled when I heard that description.)

But Auntie hipped me to the deal… earlier in the week, after reviewing some pictures of the tattoo that I’d emailed her, she calmly explained that she watches the show Miami Ink, and that the tattoo was indeed some special symbol, most likely tribal. It was definitely a symbol similar to those on some of his medieval swords.

So that shot our smashed bug theory to the ground.

Auntie had spoken, and that was basically the final word.

This little episode had me thinking about one of my funniest Auntie stories…

My Auntie J is my mother’s younger sister. For many years, I thought that “Auntie” was her real name. But my Auntie is a bit different from most Aunts…

When she buys a car, it is usually a Camaro, which she likes to drive really fast. I remember one day some 20 years ago, when she'd just bought a new Camaro, she took me for a ride. She wanted to show me how when she hit the gas suddenly, how our heads would go back and hit the headrest… This left me a bit terrified. I’m sure she has slowed down now, but whenever I see the big letter tires on her Camaro… I don’t know…
Why don’t I just skip catching a ride with her…

Yeah, that sounds good.

Auntie has always been like a mother to me and my younger siblings. We can talk to her about anything and get good advice, without any weird adverse judgements and/or “side effects.” So basically, if we need to make a confession, this is who we all talk to (MUCH to my mother’s dismay).

Well anyway, my Aunt and my brother get along fabulously, as for as long as I can remember, they have some of the same interests: cartoons, tattoos (even though she doesn’t have any), medieval knives (my brother collects them and she has found places to buy such bizarre items for him), motorcycles/choppers, and of course, fast cars…

And other things….

A couple of years ago, my siblings and I were at my Auntie’s house celebrating her birthday. Grandma was there also. Auntie was opening her birthday gifts after dinner. I don’t remember what I gave her. She’s has her own photo restoration business and she is an artist, so I am sure it may have been a book or something related to that, and a DVD movie of some sort, since she loves movies.

Well she (my Auntie) jumped up all excited…

“I gotta show ya’ll what Sean [her husband, my uncle] bought me for my birthday!!” she yelled. Her voice is almost as light as Grandma's but we can hear what she's saying if the room ain't all noisy.

She retrieved a medium sized gift bag from the floor and sat it gently on the table. The bag was a beautiful pink bag (I believe it was a Winnie the Pooh theme bag), with lots of nice pretty pink tissue paper sticking out of the top. I was shocked that my Uncle could pick such a nice bag for a gift!

I’m thinking to myself that was nice of Uncle Sean to go buy her something nice and to place it in such a beautiful bag.

Well she proceeds to gently dig down in the bag and bring out a lovely black case.



It must be a case of oil paints, I thought. That’s nice. For as far back as I can remember, she has always loved to paint with oils. I have fond memories as a child of her meticulously explaining to me how she mixed her oils on a palette, just to get the right shade of blue or tan, whatever blended color she was looking to achieve.

She opened the case. There was no beautiful metal tubes of oil paints…

She opened the case and pulled out a big ass black gun!!




She held it up in her hand and nodded as she admired it.

I gasped. Shock and awe was what I felt!

My brother couldn’t contain himself.

“Oooooh weeee Auntie, it’s a Bee-bee gun, it’s a Bee-bee gun!!”
Both she and my brother have a fascination with guns. They talk about guns a lot. Auntie had given him a bee-bee gun at one time, and I remember her fussing at him for breaking it or something a while back. She was not pleased about that at all!

Auntie held the gun lovingly in her hand. “No boy, it’s a real gun. It’s a .38.”

I thought my brother would do backflips when she said that.

I was preparing to just jump out the way. I didn’t want her wielding that thing around, trying to do her Foxy Brown thang, you know.

My quiet Grandma leaned forward from her sitting position on the sofa. “I want to hold it, J” she said quietly.

Grandma held out her tiny hands, and Auntie gently placed the gun in them. She held it and stared at it for a moment, clearly in awe of it. “It’s heavy,” she whispered, her eyes wide as saucers.

We passed it around and we all held it. My brother got especially happy with it, and I immediately directed him to give the gun back to my Auntie.

She was quite elated by the gift. She couldn’t wait to get to a range somewhere and shoot it…

Oh my!

That’s my Auntie for ya! She has a very quiet demeanor, just like my grandma. They are both very artistic people.

But she has a rowdy side…

Fast Cars. Motorcyles. Tattoos. Big knives and swords…

And guns….
Yeah, she’s undercover gangsta.

But she has her tender loving mother side too. She has no kids, but has done much to steer me and my siblings in the right direction. Without her, I think we would all be in prison somewhere, or just plain trifling as hell…

But we’re not…

Thanks, Gangsta! (I mean thanks, Auntie!!!!!)

Know that we love you dearly :)

Friday Love

I've been a bit down about people leaving the world...

It's always nice to celebrate babies entering the world. It has been one of the happy times of the summer thus far for me.

Here's a blanket I made for one of my coworkers. His little one is due on August 30th.

First, the squares. I think I made 72 of them.

Nothing is ever that neat, though. They looked more random like this.

Finished product! All folded neatly...

Now it's modeled on the table like a fashion magazine.

More bootleg modeling of the blanket!

Finally, a beautiful close-up.

You know, I really don't care to make blankets like these, as it has always been a chore over the last 19 YEARS (doesn't feel that long since I first learned) to sit and painstakingly whipstitch each square together. And nothing can be crooked, or I have to take it apart. Luckily, that didn't happen here. I also spent an hour on YouTube watching videos on how to whipstitch better, where you can't see the seams.  So I am happy that this time, the experience was actually fun.


And that's a good thing.


With that said, have a great weekend.

Repost: A Letter from Grandma

This is a repost from 2008...

During some 7 years of graduate school, my grandmother would send me a check for $50 a month. This money was helpful, as my monthly stipend was around $1000 per month. (This was a lot in the mid-nineties. I was RICH). But Grandma's $50 check was always special.

But along with that check came a letter, usually written on paper torn from a small spiral notebook. I must admit that I some days I enjoyed those letters more than the money. Yes, they were short and random, but they reminded me that she cared and thought of me. So finding this 11-year-old post on my blog was something special, and it brought back memories....



Dearest Lisa,

Hi! How are you getting along these days.

Keep up the good work. Press on toward the goal. God will see you through.

It's about 8:25 a.m. I ate some cereal but I am still hungry. I have a lot to do today.

I was selected as Asst. Superentender (can't spell it right now) of Church School for 1996. Pray that the Lord will help me in this new job.

Love you always, Mama.


That letter made me smile.

I found it while looking for my work credentials (my "police badge" of sorts for work; Thank God I found it). While looking for it, I came across the letter.

It is dated 12-6-95. I was a young 25 years old waaaaay back then.

It is on a piece of paper no bigger than an index card. The paper is fragile, and has yellowed over the years. I am doing my best not to tare it.

I was thinking about my grandmother (who I affectionately call "Mama") and the letters she sent for seven years of my graduate school chaos.

Those short letters came once a month, along with a check for $50.00 (That increased to $65.00 a month "due to inflation", she wrote.)

I liked getting that piece of change. And I made sure to use it for something that I needed, not just blow it!

But those letters!

I LOVED her letters. They were simple, a bright spot in my dark life. They didn't speak of much, sometimes what she ate for breakfast or her angst of cleaning up the "Back room". (Man, she been cleaning up that back room for the past 30 years!)

Those letters.
I looked forward to the letters MORE than the cash.

I remember when I'd graduated and got a job, she said "Uh, is it okay to stop sending you money?"

I said yes. I wanted to say "But could you keep sending the letters?"
But I only said "Yes, Mama."

Earlier this year, I was thinking that I wished I would've saved those letters. I always kept one or two in my wallet, but when the wallet went, so did those. Over the years I've thrown them out.

Me and my hard headedness... taking stuff like that and tossing it.

But I happen to find this one.

And I plan on guarding it with my life, treating it like the rare treasure it is...

These days, some 13 years later, I am able to help her. No I don't send her a check. We in the new age now-- I gave her a debit card. My aunt told me that, due to gas prices and food prices, she is really careful about where she goes and what she buys. So, I decided to help her. I gave her that debit card, and helped her understand pin numbers, etc... She was perplexed, but she's a smart lady- I was confident she could figure it out.

"Mama, this is for your gas and grocery. Get whatever you need, and stop picking and choosing."

She said okay, but she's acting a jack. I look at the online banking for that card, and see that she won't fill up her gas tank. I spoke to her about that. She uses my card as supplementary or something weird.

"Little girl [that's what she calls me], Miss Mary give me 10 dollars to take her somewhere, and then I get my money for selling the Avon, and I use some of that, and Blah, blah, blah..."

Somebody open the window so I can throw myself out.

There's no use in arguing with her. (I've tried that, lol). I let her do what she wants to do.

I do want to ask her a question though...

Grandma, can you write me letters like you use to do so long ago?

Repost: Grandma and Me... Part 2

In memory of my Grandmother, who passed away last month, I wanted to repost a few of my favorite Grandma posts...
This one is titled Grandma and Me... Part 2, posted some 4 years ago.


Like I said, Grandma has been blowing up my phone. And when she does that, she is serious.

She has been wanting to go see her youngest son, my Uncle D, who has MS and is bedridden. But we are not the close knit family that most are, and it has been hard trying to figure out how to get in contact with them. I hooked up with his daughters on Facebook, and through that I could at least get some cell phone numbers. And it turns out my cousin Nicki was pregnant.  I told Grandma this. I think she already knew. And we decided that when the baby came, we would go see both Uncle D and the baby.

I remember taking her to the doctor last week, and while we were sitting waiting patiently in the waiting area, she leaned over and asked "When is Nicki having that baby."

I'd been keeping up with Nicki on facebook and private chatting with her. "She is having the baby today. She is being induced."

The smile that spread across Grandma's face was priceless. She was so happy.

"You have to take me to go see her," she said.

I said "I surely will" for the fifth or sixth time.

Now we decided to go see her on the following Sunday. Interestingly, Grandma was nowhere to be found. I was the one now blowing up her phone, lol. Turns out she had been to church and had just gotten home at the time I was picking her up. I caught up with her while I was on my way over there.

And then she was a bit disturbed at the route I was taking. She didn't want to get on the freeway. She wanted to take the street way.

Uh...... No.

I put the address in my Waze app and we found the house. (And yes, we went through the whole scenario of her not remembering where the house was. Man. Thank goodness for GPS).

Once we arrived, little Mayah was asleep. But here's a pic of her while her wide awake while her Mom was getting her ready.

Here she is fast asleep when we arrived.

Grandma and I spent some time with my Uncle D. He is bedridden, but his mind is still good. I am so happy that he recognized us. But I hated seeing him the way he was. I always remember him being young and vibrant.

"How it feel to have a grandbaby, D?" I asked.

"It feels real good, Lisa," he said with a smile.

I bet it does.

And Grandma was all too happy to sit and hold her new great-grandbaby.

And she was cheesing and talking the whole time.

Little Mayah even woke up to eat. 

She is such a sweet quiet baby. I told her mama that she was the same way when she was that age.

Her little feet were exposed. I LOVE baby feet!

Little baby feet are so soft and so small and so perfect.

I tell you, that was such a good good day. I thought we would just stay for an hour, but we ended up staying close to 3 hours. I am really glad Grandma had time to visit with her son and to just sit and hold the baby. And it was so good to be around family for a chance. My cousins is the same age as my brother Milk and Cookies, and just like I am with him, I will always see her as being 5 years old. Same as with her 16 year old sister. It was so much fun just sitting around with them talking and laughing.

And that is something I really needed. 

By the time we left, it started raining hard. I remember me and Grandma standing in the rain looking at the place where Lucy Jr. had been wrecked. I hurried her and myself in the car and I took her home. I spent a few minutes with Uncle Tweet and another cousin, his youngest daughter K, and I went on home.

That was such a great Sunday. I needed that. And so did Grandma.

And I happy to be able to document it here.