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For Matt and Shannon: I Like You

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

My dear friends Matt and Shannon got married this past Saturday in Auburn. (Todd and Matt grew up together in Auburn.) The in-laws kept the spawn, so Todd and I had a whole weekend of fun, staying in a hotel and hanging out with friends by the pool. Much fun was had by all, and i think we are still recovering. (I know I am.)

We took less photos than we usually do at get togethers like this. I can only chalk it up to the heat and not wanting to carry anything around that I didn’t have to have on me. Also, it’s hard to hold a drink and take photos at the same time.

We did get some good ones, though.

Here is me with T at the Rehearsal at St. Dunstan’s. It was so freakin’ hot, I thought i would die.

Look! We’re sober!

Jess, Scott Henderson’s wife, and Matt’s mom, Fiona, whom i adore.

Erin, the sister of the bride and Maid of Honor, hammin’ it up at the Rehearsal dinner, which was at a nice restaurant called Hamilton’s. The food was great! It was just too hot to eat a ton of it, which we really paid for later.

Shannon, the Bride, looking not at all nervous, even though I know she was exhausted. But she never showed it.

Todd’s friends Tom and Brian were in town. They are always a blast to hang out with, although I was a little upset Brian didn’t bring Nikki. For those of you who went to HS with me, Brian started a job on Monday and he works at the same company as Brett Shell. Small world, huh?

Old friends, Scott and Ned, at the Rehearsal dinner. They grew up in Auburn with Todd, but I actually met them years before I met Todd, when they both went to school in Athens. How strange is that?

After the rehearsal dinner, we went to The Independent, which was pretty cool for an Auburn bar. They had a pool table. Adam kicked my ass in pool for a few hours, but all y’all know how i like to play games and drink beer, so i enjoyed it anyway. Then we played quarters at about 1 am. Yep. In a bar. I also enjoyed that, despite another ass-kicking.

Carlie and Brandon were there, too! I love them.

And then Ned drove me home (thanks again, Ned!), so Todd could hang out longer, and then my head kind of hurt Saturday morning. I know there is a correlation here somewhere, but I just can’t connect the dots.

Somehow, i worked through the lack of sleep and the pounding head, and then hit the pool with Todd and friends. Why does a pool feel so damn good when you have a hangover? The only thing ruining it was the presence of the most obnoxious Florida Gator fan i have ever met in my life.

Got dressed for the wedding, in my new red dress. I was having one of those self-defeating “hate my hair, hate my body days.” And then I got tons of compliments, which was nice and ironic, but really all i wanted to do was take that bitch off and get in an ice bath.

The wedding was at Greystone, which, you may remember is where Todd and I got hitched. And Ned and Vanessa. And Iain and Noelle. So, it was pretty cute that Shannon wanted the four couples to be included in a photo for the wedding photographs. I am looking forward to seeing that one.

This is Matt’s mom at the wedding. How sweet does she look?

So, the wedding was at five? And it was about 98 million degrees that day. (Okay, not really, but it was 96 when I sat down on my lawn chair before the ceremony started.) Everyone spent the whole wedding waving fans at each other, and as the alcohol started flowing, up each others’ dresses. People fought over the cool seats in the house, and women elbowed their way to claim a spot straddling the floor vents. I am not kidding when I say it was the hottest wedding I have ever been to, bar none. And I have been to a wedding on Hilton Head in July.

Here is Iain attempting to cool off pre-ceremony. How cute were the boys? They wore plaid ties, khakis, white button downs and chucks. Very cute.

I think Todd got this one right before the ceremony. I like the way they are looking up.

This is Shannon’s friend, John, who performed the ceremony. He did a stellar job, and looked damn good doing it. Loved the Truman Capote look. It’s also my favorite photo from the weekend.

I think this is about the point that we stopped taking photographs, by the way. I know, can you believe it? You can see the remainder of the photos on Dogwood Girl’s Flickr.

Shannon asked me to read in the wedding. I don’t know if it was the heat or too much fun the night before, or what, but somehow, the Officiant skipped right over my reading during the ceremony. I sat in the hot sun, and tried to figure out what I was supposed to do. Should I clear my throat loudly? Yell out during the ceremony? I finally decided that I should go with it and just let the ceremony go off seemingly without a hitch. And for the most part, very few folks noticed that I was on the wedding program, but did not read. Since Shannon might be disappointed that folks didn’t get to hear the reading, I am posting it here for all to see. This is an abridged version of a much longer children’s book. I just thought it was so very them, and Shannon did too. (I am guessing Matt never read it in the first place.)

Congratulations, Matt and Shannon. Best wishes for a long and joyful future together!

I Like You
by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

I like you and I know why.
I like you because you are a good person to like.
I like you because when I tell you something special, you know it’s special
And you remember it a long, long time.
You say, Remember when you told me something special
And both of us remember

When I think something is important
you think it’s important too
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I’m funny and you think I’m funny too
I like you because you know where I’m ticklish
And you don’t tickle me there
except just a little tiny bit
sometimes
But if you do, then I know where to tickle you too

You know how to be silly
That’s why I like you
Boy are you ever silly
I never met anybody sillier than me till I met you
I like you because you know when it’s time to stop being silly
Maybe day after tomorrow
Maybe never
Too late, it’s a quarter past silly

Sometimes we don’t say a word
We snurkle under fences
We spy secret places
If I am a goofus on the roofus hollering my head off
You are one too
If I pretend I am drowning, you pretend you are saving me
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
then you are getting ready to jump

That’s because you really like me
You really like me, don’t you
And I really like you back
And you like me back and I like you back
And that’s the way we keep on going every day

And I like you because if we go away together
And if we are in Grand Central Station
And if I get lost
Then you are the one that is yelling for me
“Where are you?”
“Here I am”

I like you because I don’t know why but
Everything that happens is nicer with you
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you
It must have been lonesome then

I like you because because because
I forget why I like you but I do
So many reasons
I don’t know why
I guess I don’t know why I really like you
Why do I like you
I guess I just like you
I guess I just like you because I love you.

Tags: Greystone, MattStew, Shannon, Weddings
Posted in Auburn, Beauty, Friends, Marriage, Photography | 6 Comments »

Aw, HELLs Yeah!

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Just received this in an email from what I thought was my children’s deadbeat Dad, on the lam in NYC.

Subject: Uh Oh
Message: Whaaaaat’s This????

Pretty. Shiny.

I guess maybe he really was working. . . or else he was very. very. bad.

Tags: Wedding Anniversary
Posted in Cool Stuff, Family, Gifts, Life, Marriage, Mushy, todd | 3 Comments »

To the Best Boy a Girl Ever Met In a Bar

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

We met at the Fountainhead. Later, you told me you remembered me being blond! The Fountainhead isn’t there anymore. We met for drinks the next week at The Stein Club. Gone. That Indian place in Midtown where we met Katie and Judy for dinner? Gone. Three pets, three houses, two kids later, and we’re still together. You still snore just as loud as the first time I heard it. I am still the Goat Man. But we’re still together, eleven years later.

And I wouldn’t change one day of the last eleven years; They have been the best years of my life. You have made my life richer in hundreds of ways. You are my life partner, one half of our united parental front (it’s us against them!), my most trusted confidant, my favorite cruise director, my chosen partner-in-crime, my most loyal supporter, and the first person to tell me honestly when I am wrong. (That doesn’t happen often, of course.) You are my best friend.

You are my steadying hand, my staying hand, my pushing hand, my lifting hand. I hope that I give to you what you give to me. You make me better at everything I do. You have taught me about selflessness. I hope that everyone I love will someday feel this this with another person.

Happy Anniversary to the best boy a girl ever met in a bar.

And in honor of this day, I put a little set of photos of the two of us together on Flickr.

Love,
Annie

p.s. Thanks for letting me back it up and tuck my toes in when my butt and feet are cold.

Tags: Anniversary
Posted in Family, Life, Marriage, Mushy, Photography, todd | 6 Comments »

Best Husband Ever

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Woke up this morning to hear Tiller singing 12 verses of her original song, “Whole World Friends.” Then Todd whispered that he was taking the kids to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast (kind of a ritual for Todd and the kids on Saturday mornings) and then they were going on to Lowe’s for their free kids’ building seminar, and they wouldn’t be back until lunch.

BEST. HUSBAND. EVER.

Tags: Marriage, Tiller, todd
Posted in Family, Home, Life, Marriage | No Comments »

A Shower for an Old Friend (and a New One)

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Last night, Todd stayed with the kids and Camille picked me up to go to my old friend Kevin Fagan’s wedding shower. I have known Kevin since 5th grade (Mrs. Godwin’s class, represent!) and I can’t even do the math on that many years, but we went to elementary school all the way through college together. He is one of the most unique, funny, smart, loyal, and sincere people I have ever met. He is also in the top five for strangest people that I know, but then I kind of like strange people and collect them, and keep them around me. It helps to tone down my own weird when I drown myself in other oddballs.

Jamie and I went to high school together. We go hears without seeing each other, but i have seen him three times in the last three or four months.

The happy couple opening their gifts. The Rainwaters sitting on the hearth between them. As my Mom would say, it was old home week.

Don't they look real purty?

I love these girls.

Matt and I gettin' all waify and supermodel for the camera. I think he looks a little slow in this one, and I look like a bear ate a chunk of my face.

I think she is checking his beard for small insects or birds' nests. I love him, because he quietly plays along with our games.

This time, Natalie plays nice.

Nat and Kevin, the Groom.

I still remember the day that Camille introduced me to Brian. We were in high school, and buying tickets for some show, but I can't remember what for the life of me. Camille had that red car.

This time from Matt and Nat.

Jamie did very well for himself. His wife is a sweetheart.

Kevin and his high school friends. From left: Jamie, Camille, Kevin, Natalie, and Me.

Adding in Matt and Brian, and we have the Bulldogs.

Kev, this girl's a keeper. We likey.

Isn't young love wonderful?

This one just kinda cracks me up.

Not sure what I am doing here.

I think this is right before he re-enacts the great Roswell High School Air Conditioning Walkout of 1989.

Anyone who drinks with Natalie on even a semi-regular basis will recognize this sort of thing. Basically, you just follow her around with a camera and stuff like this happens.

We didn't actually go to Dixie Tavern, but instead went to Ru San's next door. But I love this sign, and love that it is right next to a sushi place. I had edamame and Brian and I split the Dr. Zhivago. Yum!

You can't tell, but I am trying to reach for his firecracker roll while this picture is being made. That was some yummy stuff. (That's what she said.)

That Julie was such a wild child. After the shower, she really let loose and chugged sake.

The thing that strikes me as funny (and comforting) is that hanging out with all these folks that I have known for 20 plus years or more, they feel like home. Family. I know that they have seen me at my best and my worst and they still love me. Just like family.

Tags: BrianC, Camille, College, Elementary School, High School, JulieM, KevinF, Kish, MattP, Natalie, RyanF, Wedding Shower
Posted in Family, Friends, Humor, Life, Marriage, Memories, Mushy, Photography, Roswell | No Comments »

The 80’s Comb

Monday, February 15th, 2010

You thought this was going to be some fun post about 80s hairstyles [Robin, I’m lookin’ at you], and oh, are you going to be disappointed. It’s a post about a comb. From the 80s. No, I am not kidding you.

See, we were talking about 80s stuff at a girls’ night recently, and somehow Todd’s comb came up.

We're taking it on Antiques Roadshow next time they come around.

I am pretty sure it is the comb that he had in middle school or high school, because I remember people having similar ones, TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO.

What is truly funny about this is that I started dating Todd eleven years ago this week (we met on February the 13th, 1999) and I think i laughed once or twice about this comb, like, “haha, couldn’t afford a new comb, huh?” and then somehow, i just started using the comb when I was spending the night over there, and one day, the comb was not funny to me anymore, and now i use the comb from 1986, and don’t even think twice about it, and that is just sad, and some kind of even sadder comment on what marriage does to a girl.

Like I’m so downtrodden that I can’t even buy my own damn modern day comb. And if i did buy one, it wouldn’t be aqua, white, and pink, that’s for dang sure.

Tags: 80s, comb, Dating, Marriage is Sexy, todd
Posted in Beauty, Family, Home, Humor, Marriage, todd | 6 Comments »

The Bigass Bulldog Birdhouse Birthday

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Why, yes . . . yes, I did get a $100 dollar Georgia Bulldog birdhouse for my birthday. Funny story behind that, which I will get to in a moment. But first, I have to say that I had a lovely morning, getting to sleep late, which for people with kids means eight a.m. (Screw you, childless folk.)

I woke up to Todd and Tiller climbing in bed with me (Rollie had already caught the bus), and Todd doing a darn good version of The Beatles’ “Birthday,” with Tiller grinning like a cheshire cat and a cup of coffee materializing on my bedside table.

Coffee. In. Bed.

Then I was informed that I should finish my coffee get dressed and go downstairs. I did, and I found this:

Hundred dollar Georgia Bulldog birdhouse with hydrangea and cards.

I was a little caught off guard. That is one big ass bulldog birdhouse. Did the Tiger husband really buy me a bulldog birdhouse? Is this a joke? (Also, let’s be honest. While I am a bulldog fan, I don’t want to be those people. You know, the ones who have UGA everything. That being said, if those folks at the lake ever die, I am so going to try to buy their huge Bulldog statue they have in front of their cabin, right on the lake.)

We opened the very sweet cards from the kids and Todd, and I oohed and aahhed over the birdhouse and the hydrangea. I asked Todd, “Am i really allowed to put the birdhouse in the yard?” It seemed to pain him as he replied, “yes, baby, you just tell me where.”

“Where on earth did you get it?” I asked.

“Echo’s garage!” Tiller replied with glee. “Echo” is what Tiller calls Mr. Echols, the old man who lives next door to us. Some things you just don’t correct, because they are too cute.

I stared at Todd and then the truth came out.

Mr. Echols likes to show us stuff in his yard. He has a friend, who made him a couple of birdhouses, huge wooden deals, kind of more on the side of what Todd and I call, “Country Christian” or “Ducks in Bonnets” style than cool and funky folk art Finster-style birdhouses. Meaning, not exactly what I would choose, but neat enough.

So, Echo was showing Todd the birdhouses and telling him about the friend who makes them, and all the different styles he makes. “He also makes Georgia Bulldog birdhouses,” he said.

Todd replied, “Oh, Anne would love that!” Being polite, you know.

So, a few days before Christmas, Mr. Echols pulled Todd aside to show him my new birdhouse. That’s right. He just went ahead and had the guy make me the birdhouse. FOR A HUNDRED DOLLARS.

Todd had already bought me Christmas gifts, and he didn’t want to hurt Echo’s feelings, so he decided the birdhouse would be my birthday gift.

And what a gift it is. . . I will never look at that birdhouse without thinking that my husband, the Auburn Tiger, is sweet enough to just cough up the hundred bucks so as not to hurt Echo’s feelings, and that he loves me enough to put up a bigass Bulldog backyard birdhouse for me.

Already this birthday is pretty bitchin.’ Thanks, Toddler!

Tags: Birding, Bulldogs, Garden, Tiller, todd
Posted in Birds, Cool Stuff, Family, Football, Gardening, Georgia, Gifts, Home, Humor, Life, Marriage, Tiller, todd | 3 Comments »

Christmas 2009 Recap

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

So, here’s what we’ve been up to. . .

Christmas Eve, Rollie came down with quite an ear infection. Quint took good care of him.

We spent Christmas Eve at Leelee’s house. There was much cuteness of children and stuffing of our faces, and dogs running around, and Cecil drinking scotch. Todd and I brought the kids home afterwards and tucked them in, then readied for Santa Claus. Luckily, this year there was no Victorian dollhouse to put together. Which basically means we lay out the loot under the tree, stuff the stockings, and pour ourselves a well-earned nightcap. I usually watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Christmas Eve, but i am a good wife and I let Todd kill zombies instead. Oh, Holy Night. . . .

I played with my camera. I just love a Christmas tree in the dark.

Rollie got a Hot Wheels bike from Santa. I love that green color.

Tiller got a Hello Kitty bike. I wish it came in my size.

I love a Christmas tree in the dark.

I used to sit in the living room in Roswell, in the dark, and just look at the tree.

This is an ornament Vanessa gave me years ago. I love it, but it is heavy and i have to tie it down on the tree so that it doesn't fall.

This is an ornament my sister gave me. It looks like snow. I can't believe we haven't broken it yet.

The next morning, Tiller found the stockings and didn't even see her bike at first!

Tiller was beside herself. Pure joy.

Rollie didn't feel good and we could tell. He wasn't really amped up at all until he got Monster Jam tickets in his stocking. Santa is kind of an asshole, as he only left two tickets, so Tills and I am on our own that night, I guess. Sigh.

Todd and I drank coffee, cuddled, and then untwisted a lot of twisty ties and rubber bands from cardboard while drinking mimosas.

Todd and I drank coffee, cuddled, and untwisted a lot of twisty ties and rubber bands from cardboard.

That afternoon, Mom, Dad, Lisa, Mark, and Dash came over. We all opened gifts, drank wine, played toys with kids, and made a lot of noise.

Two generations. Not sure what Tills is doing here.

Rollie really didn't feel well. You can see him feigning excitement here.

Tiller decided to throw a tantrum during gift opening. Always fun to discipline your child in front of your parents.

These things just aren't that exciting. I just don't get it. Robotic hamsters?

Alex was a gift unto himself.

Birdie didn't really get the whole Christmas thing. He could have gotten a lump of coal in his stocking and he would still have this look on his face.

After the dishes were clean and dinner done and kids in bed, we finally go to relax.

So, let's talk gifts. My dad got me these. As far as gifts from Dads go, this is not bad. V. comfortable, not offensive to look at.

My sister got me these and also an awesome necklace. She buys me the best gifts. I also kind of like my camera skills on this one.

From my mom, who evidently still thinks i am six. Yes, i am a 37 year old with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer pjs. Note the Abominable Snowman.

These are the best. LOVE getting these from the kids. I see myself crying over them for years to come.

I have a thing for the Black Cat Fireworks logo. It cracks me up, always has. Todd finally got the hint and got me a Black Cat shirt! Rowr!

He also got me a thermometer. Lisa rolled her eyes that I would get excited over this, but I love getting stuff for my yard, and nature-type stuff.

So, i saw that Todd had put The Monsters of Templeton on his wish list. He noticed the same thing on my wish list. We both got one for Christmas. From each other. Much laughter ensued. I am thinking we maybe need to spend a little time apart, or by next year, we might be wearing matching Christmas outfits. On the plus side, we can have our own little book club. At least for one month.

Todd also got me the Merge Records book I've been wanting to read. Will probably start this one next. Yay! That cover photo makes my heart pogo.

The next morning, we got up early, kicked my parents out, and headed for Auburn.

While we were in Auburn, the kids got some time in on their new razors, and I had a few heart attacks.

While we were there, the kids got some time in on their new razors, and I had a few heart attacks.

We did some hugging.

And Tiller pitched another fit. . .

And then we hugged some more and rode the dinosaur at the park.

Then more hugs with Uncle Lyle . . .

And even more hugs with Lyle and Denise.

We had lots of fun, and my in-laws spoiled the kids, and I didn’t get one single picture of my niece, Luci. We left on Monday and came back to Atlanta. On the way, we decided to stop and get fireworks, which was funny, because I was wearing my new Black Cat shirt.

Kids with Todd at Black Cat Fireworks store.

Since then, we’ve been recovering from Christmas, putting away the loot, stuffing our faces with cookies and drinking wine. Yesterday, we felt we needed some fresh air and exercise, so we hiked up Stone Mountain with the kids. I had my doubts about whether they could make it, especially Tiller, but she didn’t lag at all. She picked her way up the mountain like a mountain goat. That’s her new nickname. The Mountain Goat. We didn’t have to help them at all, which as a parent, is nice.

Taking a rest on the way up.

Tiller looking stoic, while the boys cut up at the top.

I was kind of disappointed that no one had decorated this little tree behind us for Christmas. Also, please don't judge my fashion choices.

Todd had fun with perspective.

And they kids thought it was hysterical.

Rollie was rocking out, I guess. Not really sure, but he's a cutie.

One last shot overlooking downtown, before we head back down the trail. Tiller and I took off after this and kicked Todd and Rollie's asses. I'm just sayin.' You don't mess with The Mountain Goat.

I took some shots of Tills with the flags at the bottom, while we waited for the boys. Did I mention the Mountain Goat and her Mama beat them down the mountain? By many minutes? Girls rule, boys drool. (Tiller and I decided we wouldn't tell the boys that, though.)

All in all, we had a great Christmas vacation. Last night, I had dinner at Bistro VG with some friends from high school: Kevin Fagan and his fiance (she is awesome – they were in town from Richmond) and Jamie Kish and his wife, and Camille and Joe showed, too. Natalie didn’t show, which was disappointing. I ate a cheese tray and drank wine. Yum! The kids and todd went bowling today, and I am thinking about cooking dinner and building a fire tonight and perhaps playing some Beatles rock band. We shall see.

Them tomorrow, New Year’s Eve! We are having some friends over and their kids too. Should be interesting.

Tags: 2009, Christmas Vacation, Family, kids
Posted in Atlanta, Auburn, Books, Dash, Family, Holiday, Home, Life, Marriage, Memories, Parenthood, Photography, Rollie, Roswell, Tiller, todd, Travel | 2 Comments »

A Solstice Story

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

As i mentioned briefly in another post, I have been a little stressed out. A little anxious. Todd and I decided to go to the lake this weekend to blow off some steam and relax. And by relax, I mean relaxing in the time-honored Palmer way, which is to work your ass off to near-exhaustion performing manual labor.

We went down Saturday afternoon and got there in time to warm the place up. (It was 40-something degrees when we walked in.) Todd started some yard work, the kids ran around like wild animals (a good thing), and I started some John Maghetti for dinner. After it was on, the sun was setting, so I grabbed a couple of beers for Todd and I, and went outside to play with the kids, watch Rollie hit the tennis ball with Todd (no we don’t have a tennis court), and shoot some pictures and enjoy my favorite time of day at the lake.

We took photos and ran around, then went inside and ate dinner while watching Elf. You can’t beat John Maghetti, and the fire going, and belly-laughing at Elf with your husband and kids for stress relief. Honest to God, I just about bust a gut when Buddy says to Jovi, “It’s just nice to meet another human that shares my affinity for elf culture.” That is some good stuff. Just kills me. I also love that Rollie would laugh along with me and think it was hysterical just because we thought it was hysterical.

So, we got up yesterday and had breakfast and then Todd and I worked in the yard all day long, cutting shrubbery back to tame the wilds and pulling vines out of high pine trees, and tearing mistletoe from dogwood. And the kids played. Now, usually they play and then fight for a while, then play some more. This was almost pure playing. Almost zero fighting. Just running around, and rosy cheeks, and noses running and then wiping their snot on their sleeves, and yelling to hear their echoes across the lake, and tiller being the master of all the dogs in the area – Choco, and Josie, and Quint all a swirling mass of furriness following her around. They threw rocks and earned two dollars hauling clippings up to the burn pile. We were all cold when we started, and then warmed up with play and work.

I felt tired but good. We worked til we just about fell out and it started getting dark. We made two absolutely huge piles of limbs and vines and leaves to be burned. We had windburn on our cheeks and blisters on our feet, and scrapes and sappy fingers.

And I had no anxiety.

We cleaned up and took showers and had a couple of beers. We warmed by the fire. We went to town with the kids and had pizza and then to WalMart to let them spend their two dollars. We went home and tucked in two tired kids and Todd let me watch four episodes of Friday Night Lights.

And I had no anxiety.

Todd went to bed during the last episode of FNL. I guess he just couldn’t take the mental turmoil of Saracen and Riggins, and Coach and Tami, and the rigors of living the west Texas high school football life. Or maybe he was just tired. I was fifteen minutes from midnight. I had places to be.

I opened a last beer and made that “let’s go outside to pee” sound that I make to the dog at night. I think i got that one from my Daddy. Some of you know the sound. Quint struggled to his feet (he is old and has arthritis), while I put on a hat and a sweatshirt and my old wool plaid barn jacket that I leave at the lake because it is ugly, but I love it and still like to wear it.

I went down to the lake, and purposely left the lights out so that I could see the stars. I debated getting a ladder out and trying to disable the damn security light, but a) I had consumed at least six beers at that point, and I’d probably fall off the ladder and b) Dad would see the light was out and I’d end up back up the ladder fixing the damn thing within weeks.

It was clear. I thought to myself, “Which way is East?”

Easy. I had seen so many sunrises over that side of the lake, mornings fishing with Pop and Dad, up before dark, Grandma making me a thermos of hot sugar and milk with a drop of coffee, that I knew it by heart. I sat down on the far side of the dock, back to the pontoon and the power plant, on the narrow walk. I sat cross-legged, Indian style, criss-cross applesauce. I tucked a hand in my wool plaid pocket. Occasionally, I switched off hands in the pocket and hands on the beer. Mostly, I gazed up at a clear winter sky, and looked for meteors.

Quint came to sit near me. He wouldn’t lie down. He stared at me. He wondered what the fuck we were doing out in the cold midnight, when we could be on the couch near the fire. I saw it in his eye and the attention and cock of his ears.

I shushed him and rubbed his cold ears. I looked out across a glass-like lake, not a ripple on it, with no wind in the trees. i heard the plant occasionally, and wished I couldn’t hear it. I imagined what it would have sounded like on a lake with no power, what it would be like with nothing but natural light, the light of stars and moons. I couldn’t. There were Christmas lights across the lakes. I heard geese, and nothing else. I saw a couple of planes, the only other sign of life in this strange December 20th night. One day before Winter Solstice, ushered in by the Ursids.

The lake was so calm that I could see the reflection of the brightest stars on its surface. And oh, the stars!

A blanket of stars in a swath across the eastern sky, for me and me only, reflected on my lake. It was five after midnight. No meteors yet. And then there was one. And then it was gone.

I sat for almost an hour, sipping my beer slowly, staring at the sky until my eyes grew tired. I would see a shooting star and it would be gone, and I felt that familiar star-gazing feeling of relief that I was really seeing something, and awe that I knew to look that night, that man has learned so much about something so boundless.

I wondered about the other folks who might be out looking up that same night, the night before the Winter Solstice. And yet I was so alone, just me and my dog. I could slip into the lake and no one would ever find me. I stood and walked back to land. I stood there at the edge of the lake shivering, Quint sitting patiently at my side, and told myself I would go in when I saw the next meteor.

I saw it, streaking across the sky, and then it was gone. I went inside and crawled into bed with my husband and I was happy and satisfied and feeling small and big all at the same time.

And I had no anxiety.

Tags: anxiety, nature, The Lake, Ursid meteor Shower
Posted in Birds, Cool Stuff, Family, Gardening, Life, Marriage, Memories, Musings, Photography, Quint, Syndicated, The Lake | 3 Comments »

Clark Griswold, Robert Gibbs, Bartimaeus, and Jesus

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

No, this is not the beginning of a joke. It is the only title i could come up with for this post that covered it all. It started out that I was posting about Todd’s high school friends’ husband’s light display, and veered off into a discussion of my Mother-in-law’s failed dreams for Todd’s future, Todd’s 20th high school reunion, and a Houston minister’s sermon, inspired by one of my blog posts, wherein the Minister compares me to Bartimaeus and Jesus. Yes, that Jesus. (No laughing.)

You try and give this post a better title . . . .

Yes, I know Clark Griswold. Or, at least, we’ve met. He’s married to the girl Todd was supposed to marry. You know, if my mother-in-law had gotten her way. Her name is . . .well, we’ll call her “G.,” and she and Todd went to school and church together growing up in Auburn. Their parents are friends and Todd’s mom worked at the church, and his mom finally told me one day, not long after Todd and I married, that she always wished that Todd had dated G. G was sweet and Christian and smart and exactly what Peggy thought she wanted in a daughter-in-law. I think maybe she thought some of this goodness would rub off on Todd. She must have told me 30 million times that Todd used to get in trouble in school. (I think she still holds a grudge about the wringer she was put through due to Todd’s behavior, and now that I am a parent, i understand.) G would tell her that Todd always had the smartest answers in class, and my MIL was just baffled by his behavior. G could see the goodness in Todd! She was perfect. I believe my mother-in-law also secretly coveted an arranged marriage for Todd’s younger brother and G’s younger sister. None of this came to pass, of course, because I am a complete and total Maneater, and we don’t often practice arranged marriages here in the South, even in Alabama.

I never met G. in the many years Todd and I have been together. G’s parents came to my wedding and we would see them around town when visiting Auburn. I even met G’s little sister at one point. But no matter how often i heard about her, I never met G until Todd’s 20th reunion. You know the one. Robert Gibbs, Press Secretary for President Barack Obama was there? It was the one where I got bored and pretended to be one of Todd’s absent high school friends after his sex change. Yes, I am now probably on some kind of CIA/FBI list for impersonating Robert Gibbs’ high school classmate.

So, I finally met my competition, G., and her husband, Clark. And it turned out we hit it off, and now we are friends on Facebook, and she reads my blog. She even used something she read on my blog as inspiration for one of her sermons. (Certainly a first.) Yes, she is a preacher. Or minister. Or whatever she calls herself. I am not sure. We grew up calling the person who did the sermon ‘the preacher.” If you are so inclined, please listen to the whole sermon, as G. is really a great writer and speaker. My mention in the sermon comes in about the last fourth of the sermon. I must add that she did me great justice in the sermon, because I am certainly not as compassionate as she makes me out to be. It did make for a great sermon, though!

So, with all of this high drama, I barely had a chance to get to know her husband at the reunion. I wish I had. I really want to know the man that has the vision to create the following light display. No, I am not an Auburn fan. But I married into an Auburn family, and I do have an appreciation for the fanatical desire to stamp a team logo on one’s house in large, bright, multicolored, musically-coordinated lights to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.

And I just love G. all the more for being a Minister in Houston whose house looks like this during the Christmas season.

2009 Lights On Merrimac Ridge Animated Lights from Merrimac Ridge on Vimeo.

Tags: Auburn, Bartimaeus, Christmas Lights, Clark Griswold, Compassion, Jesus, Religion, Robert Gibbs, Sermon
Posted in Auburn, Dogwood Girl, Family, Football, Friends, Holiday, Humor, Marriage, Syndicated, todd, Video | 9 Comments »

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Clark Griswold, Robert Gibbs, Bartimaeus, and Jesus

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