Month: August 2008

  • Hey nineteen

    I don’t want y’all to think that I spent my entire weekend singing weepy versions of “Sweet Caroline” and “Sunrise, Sunset”.

    Because while, yes, there was some of that, I was also fortunate enough to overhear this exchange between two college-aged guys while waiting in line at the pool grill.

    “Dude, what are you doing tonight?”

    “Man, I don’t know. It’s Saturday night. I just bought a new pair of shoes. The possibilities are endless.”

    Oh, nineteen. What a sweet age.

  • Five years ago today

    Dear Caroline,

    Every time I looked at the clock yesterday, I thought about where I was five years ago.

    I remember every moment of that day more vividly than any other day of my life. Waking up with what I thought was a stomach bug and realizing it was actually contractions, calling the doctor to ask when I should go to the hospital, frantically unpacking box after box in the kitchen because the countertops had just been installed the day before, Daddy driving me to the hospital, and Nurse Louise.

    Nurse Louise is the reason I almost experienced natural childbirth despite the fact that my birth plan clearly stated I wanted an epidural sometime around my seventh month of pregnancy.

    I finally got my epidural around 1:00 a.m. on August 3 when I was ten centimeters dilated. I felt immediate relief and called for my lipgloss.

    You come by your love of any type of lipgloss honestly.

    At 2:24 a.m. you made your grand entrance into the world the same way you’ve lived every day for the last five years; on your own timetable, tiny yet feisty, and wide-eyed as you took in everything around you.

    Five years ago today, my heart was so full of love for you that it almost seemed too much to bear. I had no idea how much more I would grow to love you as I watched you turn into a unique little person.

    Yesterday morning, we sat out on the back porch and I blew bubbles so that you could run around and pop them. We’ve done this for the last four years, but it seemed especially poignant to me at that moment. As you ran around, I asked you what you thought was going to be the best part of being five.

    You looked right at me, like you weren’t sure how anyone could be so dense, and said, “BEING FIVE!”

    And then you told me that my breath smelled like the circus.

    I’d like to think it was a compliment, but since we were just at the circus a month ago, I feel pretty certain it was not meant as a positive thing.

    This past year, you have turned into a true little girl right before my eyes. Yes, you’ve grown about four inches taller, but it’s also the way you act, the way you think, and the things you say.

    The other morning I opened my eyes to see you staring at me with a big smile on your face. You said, “What’s on our AGENDA today, Mama? Do you know what an AGENDA is? It’s a list of things to do.”

    I assured you that I knew what an agenda was, but Mama was going to need some caffeine before I could provide an itinerary for the day. You can’t help that you’re a morning person, it’s a genetic trait you inherited from Daddy.

    You’ve reached the point I had long dreamed about and actually enjoy going shopping with me. I hear so much of myself as you pull out a skirt from the rack at Gap, give it the once over, and murmur to yourself, “I’m not too crazy about this” while you shake your head.

    It’s like looking in a mirror.

    Five seems like the end of an era. Maybe it’s because I know that in just three short weeks, I’ll walk you into your Kindergarten classroom.

    That walk down the hallway will be the first of many steps that will lead you into your own world.

    And you’re ready. You are more than ready.

    Daddy and I have prayed so many things for you since before you were born and, true to form, God has done more than we could have asked or imagined. You are a light in this world, not just to us, but to everyone who meets you.

    You are our bright star and we’ll be cheering you on every step of the way.

    Last night as I tucked you in bed, I gave you a kiss and said, “Just think, that’s Mama’s last four-year-old kiss!”

    You put your little hands on either side of my face, pulled me back down to you, kissed me softly on the cheek and said, “That’s a four-year-old kiss that you can keep forever, Mama”.

    And I will. I’ll keep it forever.

    I love you more than you’ll ever know.

    Love,
    Mama

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  • This is why I should never be alone with the remote control

    Oh.

    Hi.

    I bet you clicked over here expecting to see a Fashion Friday post. It would appear that I have, once again, fallen off the Fashion Friday wagon.

    Truly, I had every intention of answering a few questions. I even went so far as to begin some research on the internet.

    But, you know what they say, the road to Fashion Friday is filled with good intentions.

    The trouble began when Caroline decided she wanted to spend the night with Mimi and Bops. Mimi arrived to pick her up at 1:30 and I didn’t even wait for her suitcase to get loaded in the car before I jumped in my car and headed to my new favorite boutique.

    Plus, P left on an overnight fishing trip.

    I was in my house. All by myself. In charge of the remote control.

    Here’s how my evening went:

    5:00 p.m. Arrived home from shopping. Was actually empty handed in spite of the fact that the lady at my new favorite boutique offered to give me 25% off a beautiful shirt. What was I thinking when I walked out?

    Clearly, I was delirious from all the freedom.

    5:30 p.m. Checked email and Twitter. Looked at Fashion File Inbox to see what questions I should answer for Fashion Friday.

    6:00 p.m. Stomach starts to growl. Called in an order for a crispy beef taco plate from one of my favorite Mexican food places. Okay, I also ordered a big tostada covered in chile con queso.

    Giddy with the freedom.

    Must celebrate by eating a lot of cheese.

    6:37 p.m. Ate delicious plate of Mexican food. Whoever said “Food isn’t love” has never eaten a really good crispy taco plate.

    6:48 p.m. Started the DVR to watch the latest “Project Runway”. I’m pretty sure the winning dress was the same one I wore to Homecoming in 1986.

    7:52 p.m. Picked up computer to get down to the business of perusing the internet for fashion solutions. Decided to flip through the channels just one time. Lo and behold, “Sweet Home Alabama” was on. I can’t turn off anything starring Reese Witherspoon.

    Or Patrick Dempsey, for that matter.

    Other movies I can’t turn off if they are on T.V. include “Gone With the Wind”, “Steel Magnolias”, “The Philadelphia Story” (the one with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant), “Coalminer’s Daughter”, “Lucas”, “Breakfast Club”, “Pretty in Pink”, and “Giant”.

    I’m sure there are others but I can’t think of them right now.

    9:06 p.m. “Sweet Home Alabama” ends and I wipe away a few tears. It gets me every time because I am a big sap.

    9:08 p.m. Open computer to check email and get down to the serious business of writing Fashion Friday.

    9:14 p.m. Check the T.V. again and discover “Smokey and the Bandit” is on.

    Well, how can I turn off the Bandit?

    People, I am only human.

    10:00 p.m. Back to the computer. Must write. Must heed the fashion emergency call.

    Decide to read a few other blogs first just to get in the writing frame of mind. And while I’m searching the internet, I might as well take the time to respond to some email.

    10:30 p.m. Turn T.V. back on just for the background noise.

    “The Holiday” is on and that part at the end where Jude Law is crying because Cameron Diaz just left for America? I must watch it.

    I have no willpower.

    Thus, I have no Fashion Friday post.

    But, hey! Now I’m wondering, what are the movies that you can’t turn off if they are on T.V.?

    And don’t be embarrassed if it’s a Lifetime made-for-television movie. I have been known to indulge in more than a few movies starring Tori Spelling or Tiffani-Amber Thiessen back before she became a serious actress and dropped the hyphen and the Amber.

    I’m not proud.

    I just feel like I need to be honest.

    Y’all have a great Friday!