Seamantics: May 2010

Thursday, May 20, 2010

College Road Trip - Not!

Ever since Rebecca started homeschooling in kindergarten, I've dreamed of the day when we would take a "College Road Trip" together. Well, since Rebecca has decided that she would prefer to go to college here locally, it wasn't shaping up to be a very long trip. Twenty minutes max, in fact!

So on our recent trip back from Arkansas, we decided to do a college road trip of sorts. Instead of arranging a campus visit and a tour guide, we drove to several campuses, parked the car, jumped out and made a picture or two and cruised through campus (after all, we were on a 13-hour drive, so it didn't make sense to stay too long at one place). This was basically a tour of colleges Rebecca does NOT plan to attend.

First off was the good ole University of Arkansas - where she could attend at the in-state tuition rate since I am an alum. It was very early morning when these pictures were made:

From College Road Trip

Next up was Vanderbilt, which we just had to throw in to give her Dad a heart attack:

From College Road Trip

Here she is posing like Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt himself:

From College Road Trip

Right next door was Belmont, which had a very pretty campus:

From College Road Trip

Lastly, we stopped at Tennessee Tech:

From College Road Trip

By the time we got to Knoxville, it was too dark to go to the University of Tennessee for a photo. This also is a school she doesn't plan to attend (sorry, Terry).

Not pictured in this adventure are the places Rebecca is more likely to attend - Milligan College, ETSU, and Bryan College.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Happy Birthday, Mom!

From Road Trip May 2010

I love you, Mom! Let me count the ways . . .

Actually, Ann, Carol and I decided to give you 75 memories to celebrate your 75 years of living. Below are my 25. They may not make sense to everyone reading my blog, but I think you'll remember them, Mom.

I remember you making cider for us on Christmas Eve and serving it in little demitasse cups. It made me feel special.

I remember when I didn’t make Oustanding Student at Ramay Jr. High and you went to visit the principal to find out why. It didn’t change the outcome, but it made me feel good that you went to bat for me.

I remember playing Canasta with you as my partner. We were a formidable team against Dad and Ann.

I remember you going to all my many band and choir concerts and never complaining about it.

I remember you making Chef-Boyardee pizza on Sunday evenings. We thought it was SOOO
GOOD! That was before we ever tasted any other kind of pizza. I don't think we ever made it again once we did.

I remember you doing without a car on weekdays so that I could drive to high school.
So instead of you picking me up after school, I picked you up!

I remember you having sympathy when I lost things – especially money. You let me know that you had lost money before, too. But you were also great at finding things – “If it had been a snake . . .”

I remember you sewing outfits for me. Once, when I had a choir trip, you told me my new outfit would not be ready because you wouldn’t have time to finish it. Then when I woke up in the morning, the outfit was finished, pressed and hanging on my door!

I remember you riding rides with me (before Dad discovered Dramamine). Dad would hold your purse and sit with Ann while we rode the Twister or Scrambler.

I remember special trips to DQ on Sunday evenings in Batesville.

I remember washing dishes with you out camping. You would wash, and I would dry.
It never seemed like a chore in that context.

Thank you for actually writing words in my baby book. I have many friends with baby books that were never actually filled in.

Thanks for making all those photo albums – the ones we looked at as kids and the ones that you have re-made for us as adults. These are special gifts!

I remember you tolerating all my loud piano practice.

I remember watching “Little House on the Prairie” together on Monday nights. We hated to miss it, and we didn’t have a VCR yet.

I remember you putting my hair in sponge curlers on Saturday nights while we watched “My Three Sons.”

I remember you cutting my bangs yourself using tape as a guide. We have pictures to prove the outcome of this procedure. I'm glad you were a school teacher and not a hairdresser.

I remember feeling privileged that you were a teacher at my school, and consequently I was permitted to knock on the door of the teacher’s lounge.

I remember you cooking Jalupees for us in the trailer – and the special night when we ate this meal and you told us you were going to have a baby.

I remember how we had a hot meal every night – and usually three to four vegetables at each meal - even after you had worked all day. I have never been able to compete with that feat even as a stay-at-home Mom.

I appreciate the way that you would remember my favorite foods and would make pork roast for me when I came home for the weekend.

I remember lying on your lap at church.

I remember shopping with you every Saturday and how you would get especially excited when it was time to shop for new school clothes.

I remember you singing lots of funny little songs like “You Made Me Love You”, ”Mares Eat Oats”, “Cream of Wheat”, and “They Always, Always Pick on Me.”

I remember you getting so excited that I was getting to go to Europe since you had always wanted to go yourself. I’m glad you’ve gotten to go there so many times now!