Packing Up

It's time to return home. The car is rented and packed to the gills with two weeks and seven people's extra stuff. It's been fun but it's time to go home and get other stuff done.

I've done many things - gone to parks, watched fireworks, changed hotels, taken tours, shopped, and eaten a lot, just to name a few. However, there are many things that I had planned to do but didn't do. For instance, I didn't:

*Read any of the books and magazines I was going to read in my "down time." Whatever down time I had was spent sleeping. Or eating. Or planning to do one or the other.

*Work out/exercise. That would include jogging or lifting weights or skipping. My jaws got a workout from eating and talking, but I don't think those are included in any workout program, at least not in boot camp, which is going to kick my even more ample butt on Monday, when I return. After having not worked out for too many weeks.

*Go to the movies to see "Tangled" or "Little Fockers" or any movie at the theaters. Usually we go to at least one during Christmas, but not this year. I did watch two movies on DVD and listened to one on the drive down, but "Tangled" is still MIA.

*Find a cute Christmas tree skirt for my Christmas tree. Last year's skirt was the same tacky, awful one that I'd had for a few years, so last year after Christmas I ditched it. This year the Christmas tree had no skirt and looked quite nekkid when there were no presents under it. I had planned to purchase one at the after-Christmas sales or during my Disney shopping. But I didn't find one that I liked. Guess I have a few months before I will need one. On that note, my Christmas tree is still up at home. With no skirt.

There are probably more things that I had planned to do but didn't. Since I will be leaving in a few hours, I guess it really doesn't matter - I can just add these to the list I will need to do when I get home!

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Today's blessings: Sea World with Maribeth and surprise addition of Steve; Avis lady; Lindley hair and toe video; kitties at the timeshare

Davidson Travel

As you can see, Lindley (and her parents) left this morning to return home. Actually, my home since theirs has been gutted by the remodeler for remodeling. Anyhoo, their trip was the most recent travel for this Christmas vacation.

Let me give you an overview. Originally, Steve, Molly, and I were going to go to Disney World to meet up with my brother and his family. We had two rooms (one December 24-31 and one December 26-January 2) and John had one (December 26-December 31). We flippity-flopped rooms so that we were basically all over the World, but everybody had a place to stay.

Maribeth decided to return to Nashville and go with us to Disney while Mathieu is in Cuba, so instead of spending our life savings on airfare, we decided to drive to Orlando. So, Steve, Maribeth, Molly and I drove down on Christmas Eve. We all stayed in one room until the 26th when Maribeth and Molly moved over to the one John had but changed over to Molly. John, Anne, David, and Michael came down on the 26th and stayed in the one that we had but changed over to them.

Sam, Lynnette, and Lindley flew to Texas for Christmas with the Ogles. Once Mississippi State was headed to the Gator Bowl, Sam, Lynnette, and Lindley decided to join us in Orlando with a side trip for Sam and Steve to Jacksonville for the big game. So, S/L/L flew back to Nashville on the 28th and down to Orlando on the 31st. Meanwhile, Molly flew back to Nashville on the 30th.

By the time S/L/L got into town, we were out of two of the rooms and needed more space. So we packed up and moved to a 4-bedroom place where the towel bar fell off the wall, we couldn't check in until 6pm (crunching the timeline for Lindley's 7:30 bedtime, which got even crunchier when the requested crib was not in any of the four bedrooms), and one of the kitchen stools was broken. The saving grace of this place was that we could see all the Disney fireworks from our balcony.

Anyhoo, S/L/L flew back this morning. Steve, Maribeth, and I were originally going to drive back today. However, Maribeth could get a good deal at Shades of Green because she is now a military wife. Steve, on the other hand, needs to stay at Marriott for a few nights so he can get some more points so he can achieve his platinum (or gold or diamond or superstar) status and get free nights, or free ice, or something like it. So, he and Maribeth have decided to stay another week. This had been made possible by the fact that Steve's company recently was bought and he has some free time.

So, we three were going to all drive home on Thursday and Steve and Maribeth were going to fly back on Sunday. That seemed sort of crazy (the going home part - the other part seems perfectly sane after already having been down here a week), so I suggested they just remain here for a few days before the Marriott/Shades of Green trip. That seemed acceptable to them, except for my part.

Since there are a few bills that need paying at home, I needed to return and pay them. If Steve was going to fly home, he would need his golf club travel bag. We also have a car load of luggage and stuff from the family members who have come and left. So, I got a pretty good deal on a rental car that I will pick up tomorrow night and drive home Thursday, after I pack it to the gills with all the stuff that is currently packed in Steve's car.

Eventually we will all end up back home. I'm not sure exactly when, or how, or where. But I guess that's the good thing about our family - we're always at home when we're together.

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Today's blessings: taking Sam, Lynnette, and Lindley to the airport; First Watch with Steve; shopping with Maribeth; Red Lobster for dinner via Steve

Peggy Bailey

I'm not sure if this post is about old friends, or modern technology, or the fact that it is indeed a small world after all (especially at Disney). Perhaps it's a little bit about all three, and how they all came together in Germany. Sort of ...

But let's start at the beginning. I grew up in the small town of Starkville, Mississippi. Back in the day, it was even smaller, so small that I can remember when McDonald's came to town. When I started first grade, kindergarten was optional. The schools were segregated and all the white kids attended one of two elementary schools for grades one through six and then joined together in the 7th grade.

By the time I reached 7th grade, schools were integrated, so we had new friends from different schools.One of these friends was a girl named Peggy Bailey. We were in band and a few classes together. I don't remember much about those days, mostly because it was 35+ years ago and Peggy and I didn't get into any major drama together. I remember being in Mrs. Hodges's Algebra class together and band trips. I remember how nice and sweet Peggy was and her blond hair and how Judy started calling her Peggy Irene and then Irene (and since I was never fond of my name, I thought it was really neat to change your name).

Anyhow, I graduated high school a year early, flew through college, got married, left Starkville, and started a different life. I probably saw Peggy/Peggy Irene/Irene maybe once at a class reunion, but that was about it. I was terrible about keeping up with my high school friends, which I will explain in a bit.

Anyhoo, fast foward to 2009. I was walking in a 3-Day event and wrote a book to raise money. Somehow Irene had found out (I believe through Anita, another friend I will tell you about later this year) and wanted to contribute to the cause. She said she was going by Irene now and living in Louisiana with her husband. She told me about her husband, her son and daughter and their families, and her grandson, Owen. We became facebook friends, and kept track of each other that way.

Fast forward a little more to this Christmas week. I saw a picture of her on facebook, and I thought, "I know where that is in the Magic Kingdom!" I wondered if she was currently in Disney World, which is where I happened to be. I started to inquire, but since I had just done that with another friend who actually had been there a few weeks prior, I decided to just let it go.

I posted my own picture of my trip at Disney, and Irene posted a note asking if we were there and maybe we could meet up. And here's where the trepidation set in. The reason I never connected with my old friends was that I had changed since high school. I was way bigger, and way older, and way grayer than I was in those days. In addition to physically being different, I was emotionally different, and probably intellectually different (although maybe not in a good way). Would Irene take one look at me and think, "OMG - WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!" (Okay, so maybe she's seen my illustrious photographs on facebook - maybe she would have some warning, but seeing it up close and personal could be harrowing).

I really debated about meeting up. But in the end, I decided what the heck - God didn't put it all together for nothing. So I messaged or facebooked, or whatevered (yeah, a phone call would have been helpful, but refer to the intellectually different comment) and we tentatively agreed to meet at the caramel popcorn place in Germany.

And so we did. On a way-too-chilly morning in December, we met each other and our spouses and Irene's family. Irene didn't pass out from the shock and need medical attention, and it seemed as all those years dissolved into merely moments. I realized that in those years, we passed a generation - we missed talking about our own kids and now talk about our grandchildren. But I also realized that some things never change - Irene is still nice and sweet - and blond!

So what's this post about? Is it about old friends, or new technology, or a small world? Maybe, but I really think it's about this - God saying, "You need a special blessing today, and I think I'll call it 'Irene.'"

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Today's blessings: Eggs and spinach for breakfast via Sam; MK-ing it with Lindley, Lynnette, Sam, and Maribeth

January 2

I think Lindley has the right idea for 2011.

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Today's blessings: Strolling around the resort with Lindley; lazy Sunday

Number One

Happy New Year! 2011 is here, and as usual I am full of good intentions. Eat wisely, exercise on a regular basis, jog on a schedule, be productive, blah, blah, blah. I'm hoping 2011 will be the year that I will finally achieve those goals that I keep putting in front of me.

But there is one thing that I will definitely do. Sam wrote a book this year about "50 Things Your Life Doesn't Need." It's caused me to think about all the stuff that I don't need in my life, and plan to get rid of at 50 of those things.

But it also caused me to think about something else - about those things that I do need in my life. Those things that I cannot do without. Those things that make me who I am. Those things that are most important. I hope to write about one thing on the first day of each month of this year. For you mathematicians, that makes twelve. Maybe by focusing on twelve, I can focus on making the important things the things, and focus less on those unimportant things. Anyhow, today's the day it all starts. So here goes ...

The most important thing in my life is my faith. It's the thing that gives me purpose, give me hope, gives me a foundation, and gives me life. Without it, there's no meaning. With it, everything has meaning.

My faith is fairly simple - I believe in God, the Supreme Being Who created all that is, all that has been, and all that will be. I don't know everything about God, but I do know this - He is Love. I believe that He sent a part of Himself in his Son Jesus Christ to teach us about love and ultimate sacrifice. I believe that God created us to be in fellowship with Him and with each other. I believe that He wants us to be an extension of Him and His Love to be shared with all that we encounter, whether it be human, animal, agriculture, or anything else that crosses our path. I believe that we are here to make this world a better place, and that once we are done here, there's a better place waiting for us.

So if my faith's the most important thing, what will I do this year? I hope to love and show love more, I hope to pray and listen more to my Maker, and I hope to do that which He put me on this Earth to do.

Because in the end, if I can get the most important thing in my life where it needs to be, then all the other important things will fall into place - and that will make 2011 will be an unbelievable year!

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Today's blessings: Sea World with Lynnette and Lindley; Old Key West with Lindley, Lynnette, and Maribeth; Wolfgang Puck dinner with Lynnette and Maribeth