I wasn’t supposed to be born on Christmas. I was due Dec. 12, but my mom didn’t go into labor until Christmas Eve. And she kept laboring for 23 hours, walking and walking and walking around the hospital floors to try to make the labor go faster. She made 49 trips, she said, many of them with my grandmother by her side. Mom says she remembers the click of Grandmaw’s cowgirl boots on the sterile…
As I understand it, my parents came together when my mom was in business school in Jackson, Tenn., doing her best to socialize with peers even though the bulk of her time was spent caring for her young daughter (my sister). Mom started hanging out sometimes with this gal named Cindy and Cindy had a brother named Steve. Cindy had Steve and my mom meet one night at a Jackson dance club and that was…
Mom was so reluctant to see Amber and me leave that she insisted on a prolonged photoshoot outside as we were walking out the door. I hated to leave too; the family was going to be there for the rest of the week and I was going to schlep back to work after dropping Amber off in Murfreesboro. The drive back was easy enough, even if I did have to drive into the sunset the…
Tuesday brought much milling about and squirreling away. Pigeon Forge is lined with places you never want to go into but that you always end up buying shit at. Why? I don’t know. It’s some kind of universal law involving the eventual depletion of your checking account. Amber and I were sitting and waiting on the folks to meet us when my mom walked up to us. “Y’all!” mom started, then laughed. “I was going…
Pigeon Forge is so bizarre. There’s these big, big rolling hills in the distance, but to get there, you’ve got to crawl past mounds of kitsch draped in rope lights that make your eyes hurt. I don’t even know what the point of Pigeon Forge is. I just opened a new tab so I could read the wiki. Huh. FAMILY VACATION HUB Yes, okay. If you insist. Jeez, Pigeon Forge. Step the eff off, Pigeon…
My mom hasn’t taken Festus’ death too well; he was such a good friend to her during her time spent at home with various illenesses this year. She told me today that he would follow her into the screened-in porch if she went into the house, and then back out again were she to exit. Every incremental movement of hers, he was there. He’d let himself into the porch area by employing his silly unbendable…
Unconventional Thanksgiving this year. Sunday instead of Thursday, because of wonky work schedules. (Mine and my dad’s, specifically.) I don’t suppose anyone in my family has ever had a job where he/she never had to work holidays or weekends. It has always made for interesting observances. This year was no different. Except I made the dressing and it was dry and terrible. [Project 365]
I was so busy actually moving that I didn’t really take any pictures of the actual move in progress. I’m so grateful to Evan and Shane and Ashley for helping me, though. There is no way in hell I could have gotten it done without them. Moving the cats to a new place has been the most hilarious and annoying thing ever. As soon as I let them out of their carriers at the new…
About fourteen years ago, my parents brought home this goofy white German shepherd and gave him an even goofier name. Festus was really into chasing cars and was scared to death of thunderstorms, so badly that if we didn’t leave the garage door cracked wide enough for him to slide under, he’d chew his way through if it stormed hard enough. He destroyed more than one storm door, garage door, and screen in his long…
Evan came to town Saturday while I was out skulking around in large East Memphis furniture stores. He sat in the parking lot and drank beer and waited for me to get back to Midtown. When I did, I instructed him to to grab his beer and get in the car and we headed back out east to hit even more stores. I saw some things I wanted but nothing I loved enough to go…
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