Happy 100th Lucille!
Nathan and I went our separate ways in Atlanta - he flew back to Chicago and I flew to Pensacola. The flight is a little over an hour and was delayed due to some electrical problems in the cockpit - a fine reason to not fly I thought. I sat next to a gentleman, who despite having a good looking 'brain candy' book, decided to talk to me (I think he was mostly concerned for my constant large sighs from releasing the Atlanta airport 'which hotel should I stay in tonight when I miss my plane' stress). I pulled out my Soduko book, a pasttime introduced to me by my brother-in-law, Brent, and began working away my cares. The gentlemen next to me leaned over my armrest to inspect my brilliance. After a few pointers, he was keen to help me overcome the puzzle. With two minds, we were off and running and had mastered the puzzle by Pensacola (okay, we didn't earn mastermind status, but he was just learning). I highly recommend Soduko to anyone who has looked at crossword puzzles in disgust and wondered who would know such random information. I also know several crossword enthusiasts that enjoy Soduko as well.
I landed in the Pensacola airport and was met by my grandmother, Kathryn. She wondered if I had any checked bags, obviously forgetting that I had just flown from a week in Russia where snow was stacked up everywhere (swept to the side of the walkways with their little snow brooms - see my earlier post). My bags arrived safely and we headed to her car for dinner at Macaroni Grill. For those of you that haven't dined at a Macaroni Grill, if you like very fresh pasta and fabulous herbed bread, give it a try. It's a fun place where you can learn Italian in the restroom (very efficient).
I arrived at Helen and Jon's house. Now to explain my connection to Jon and Helen takes a bit of 'splaining and a gentle understanding of the South. Helen is married to Jon - that's the easy part. Jon is related to me on two sides of my family (no, not THAT southern). He is Lucille's (my great-grandmother) nephew. (Lucille and Bessie Dean were half sisters. Lucille is my great-grandmother and Bessie Dean is Jon's mother). Got that? Now, Jon's father was Ed. Ed is the brother of my great-grandmother Mamaw. (Yes, I assure you there's no funny business ... ). It has taken me almost my entire 39 years to be able to understand this part of the family tree where it looks a bit more like a vine than a branch :) Anyway, I haven't had much opportunity to get to know Jon and Helen prior to this and we chatted for hours. Jon is wise beyond normal human and after looking at the 100th Sasha photo declared that he was a smart baby. Hmmm ... I agreed but didn't know how you could tell that from mere photos. I asked how he knew that. "He doesn't have a dull look about him", was his answer. Why did I pay so much money to all those International Adoption doctors? I should've just sent a photo to cousin Jon.
Helen, Jon's wife amongst other titles, is one of the loveliest people I've ever met. Spending time with her felt like a warm, gentle breeze on the first day of Spring. She is an intelligent, funny, caring lady. How lucky I am to have her in our family and to have had the opportunity to spend time with her. Her refrigerator is a tribute to her beautiful grandchildren and children. My only hope is that we 'make' the refrigerator.
My aunt Ann and I went the next day to see great-grandmother, Lucille. She didn't recognize me at first which is odd as she has always recognized me before. Later, I figured out that I had my hair back and that with my hair down, she knew me immediately. We decorated her door and brought her favorate yum-yum - a boston cream donut. She was adept at eating it - not a drop of cream anywhere. I wouldn't have been so skilled.
My Mom and Dad finally made it from Houston and I saw them on Friday. Mom, Ann and I started running errands when we got a call from my aunt Karen. She was up for errands as well. Just a quick note on Karen. From the time when I can first remember anything, I have always adored my aunt Karen. Part of that is due to the fact that she loves children more than anyone I've ever known and the other part is that she is truly one of the best people I've ever met. She works for M&M Mars (which is always a bonus at Christmas when we receive Dove and Ethel M
chocolates) and has a husband named Vic and a son named Alex. Prior to Alex's birth, I had always asked that, if she had any children, could I be an aunt (being an only child, I really wanted to be an Aunt some day). At 40 she gave birth to Alex. Now at 39, I am hoping that Alex will agree to be an uncle to Sasha. I have also asked my two cousins, Jason and Christopher, the same question. Despite our having lived apart for our entire lives, I have always felt that Jason and Christopher are like my brothers more than my cousins (consistently beating them at board games, giving them a hard time, being completely overprotective of them, loving them more than you can describe). Mom showed Lucille photos of Alexander and she declared that he looked just like her. Of course, with his blue eyes, he sure does.
Lucille's birthday was a success. We had family in from all over the country including Ann's daughter, Kimberly joining us from Hawaii and bringing a lovely lei for the birthday girl. We showed a photo montage of her life to Louis Armstrong's "Hello Dolly". She sat glued to the screen and recognized each person. We dined on her favorites - fried oysters, gumbo and hushpuppies. It was a great Lucille day.
People have asked what the secret of Lucille's longetivity is and, after much thought, here is my response. Lucille greeted her loved ones each morning with "Good morning, Sunshine!". She gardened every day that she could. She killed snakes with a vengence and a hoe that made you almost pity the poor copperhead. She believed in God. She ate whatever she wanted and despite worrying about her extra weight, she lived in her own house until she was 95 and at 100, could live another 10 years or so. She believed in having a purse that matched her shoes. She loved accessories. She laughed often and loved BIG. Here's to my amazing great-grandmother, Lucille!
I landed in the Pensacola airport and was met by my grandmother, Kathryn. She wondered if I had any checked bags, obviously forgetting that I had just flown from a week in Russia where snow was stacked up everywhere (swept to the side of the walkways with their little snow brooms - see my earlier post). My bags arrived safely and we headed to her car for dinner at Macaroni Grill. For those of you that haven't dined at a Macaroni Grill, if you like very fresh pasta and fabulous herbed bread, give it a try. It's a fun place where you can learn Italian in the restroom (very efficient).
I arrived at Helen and Jon's house. Now to explain my connection to Jon and Helen takes a bit of 'splaining and a gentle understanding of the South. Helen is married to Jon - that's the easy part. Jon is related to me on two sides of my family (no, not THAT southern). He is Lucille's (my great-grandmother) nephew. (Lucille and Bessie Dean were half sisters. Lucille is my great-grandmother and Bessie Dean is Jon's mother). Got that? Now, Jon's father was Ed. Ed is the brother of my great-grandmother Mamaw. (Yes, I assure you there's no funny business ... ). It has taken me almost my entire 39 years to be able to understand this part of the family tree where it looks a bit more like a vine than a branch :) Anyway, I haven't had much opportunity to get to know Jon and Helen prior to this and we chatted for hours. Jon is wise beyond normal human and after looking at the 100th Sasha photo declared that he was a smart baby. Hmmm ... I agreed but didn't know how you could tell that from mere photos. I asked how he knew that. "He doesn't have a dull look about him", was his answer. Why did I pay so much money to all those International Adoption doctors? I should've just sent a photo to cousin Jon.
Helen, Jon's wife amongst other titles, is one of the loveliest people I've ever met. Spending time with her felt like a warm, gentle breeze on the first day of Spring. She is an intelligent, funny, caring lady. How lucky I am to have her in our family and to have had the opportunity to spend time with her. Her refrigerator is a tribute to her beautiful grandchildren and children. My only hope is that we 'make' the refrigerator.
My aunt Ann and I went the next day to see great-grandmother, Lucille. She didn't recognize me at first which is odd as she has always recognized me before. Later, I figured out that I had my hair back and that with my hair down, she knew me immediately. We decorated her door and brought her favorate yum-yum - a boston cream donut. She was adept at eating it - not a drop of cream anywhere. I wouldn't have been so skilled.My Mom and Dad finally made it from Houston and I saw them on Friday. Mom, Ann and I started running errands when we got a call from my aunt Karen. She was up for errands as well. Just a quick note on Karen. From the time when I can first remember anything, I have always adored my aunt Karen. Part of that is due to the fact that she loves children more than anyone I've ever known and the other part is that she is truly one of the best people I've ever met. She works for M&M Mars (which is always a bonus at Christmas when we receive Dove and Ethel M
chocolates) and has a husband named Vic and a son named Alex. Prior to Alex's birth, I had always asked that, if she had any children, could I be an aunt (being an only child, I really wanted to be an Aunt some day). At 40 she gave birth to Alex. Now at 39, I am hoping that Alex will agree to be an uncle to Sasha. I have also asked my two cousins, Jason and Christopher, the same question. Despite our having lived apart for our entire lives, I have always felt that Jason and Christopher are like my brothers more than my cousins (consistently beating them at board games, giving them a hard time, being completely overprotective of them, loving them more than you can describe). Mom showed Lucille photos of Alexander and she declared that he looked just like her. Of course, with his blue eyes, he sure does.Lucille's birthday was a success. We had family in from all over the country including Ann's daughter, Kimberly joining us from Hawaii and bringing a lovely lei for the birthday girl. We showed a photo montage of her life to Louis Armstrong's "Hello Dolly". She sat glued to the screen and recognized each person. We dined on her favorites - fried oysters, gumbo and hushpuppies. It was a great Lucille day.
People have asked what the secret of Lucille's longetivity is and, after much thought, here is my response. Lucille greeted her loved ones each morning with "Good morning, Sunshine!". She gardened every day that she could. She killed snakes with a vengence and a hoe that made you almost pity the poor copperhead. She believed in God. She ate whatever she wanted and despite worrying about her extra weight, she lived in her own house until she was 95 and at 100, could live another 10 years or so. She believed in having a purse that matched her shoes. She loved accessories. She laughed often and loved BIG. Here's to my amazing great-grandmother, Lucille!
posted by Tamara at 4:43 PM
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