I’m back in Gainesville, with the first post of the new year! I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas, and that the new year has started out well.
My break has been great. I’ve gotten some much-needed downtime, and that’s always a plus. And I was able to see a lot of friends that I hadn’t seen in a while. I drove up to Birmingham and saw Ricky and Tammy for a couple of days. I went to church with them on Sunday. Ricky sat with me so I wouldn’t be all by myself among a couple of thousand (Dawson Memorial Baptist Church is not exactly your small church) while Tammy sang in the choir. It was kind of funny when at the end of the service, a lady sitting in the pew in front of us turned around and said, “I just enjoyed your singing so much; you two should be in choir!” Ricky should have told her about 1122 Productions’ duet career.
I also got to see my friends Chad and Karen one night; we saw The Two Towers. All of us had already seen it, but we wanted to take it in again. We also cajoled Chad into going bowling. I promptly rolled the worst two games I’ve bowled in a while. I’ll mark it up to not having my shoes and my left-handed ball…yeah, that’s it. I had hoped to see my friend Amanda some over the break, but I wasn’t able to get in touch with her other than seeing her at church once. So if you read this, Amanda, e-mail me!
I got to play golf for the first time since May, and found that not only does absence make the heart grow fonder, it also makes the golf swing better. I played better than I ever have before. I even made my first-ever birdie! I’ve updated my golf page accordingly.
Alas, not all was well. My car was sicker than we had originally anticipated, so my parents told me to leave it in Ozark with them. This left me in a tough position; the only other car available was our S-10 pickup. This wouldn’t be bad normally, but it’s a stick shift. We all remember our previous encounter with a stick shift, don’t we? No time like the present to learn again, right? So what did I promptly do? Just used it to drive all the way up to Birmingham when I went to see Ricky and Tammy. I hadn’t realized just how hilly Birmingham is, but being in a stick shift will make you learn a lot of things really quickly. I wonder if they’ve managed to scrape all that rubber I left off of that one hill yet. I told my mom that going through one area that included lots of traffic lights back-to-back, I was praying to God for “green lights, good starts, or nice people”. But now I’ve driven it exclusively for almost a week now, and I have to say that I’m getting pretty used to it. And a good thing too, seeing as it’s going to be my mode of transportation for a while.
But now I’m back. This afternoon has been mainly spent taking down all the Christmas decorations (always kinda sad in a way), unpacking all of the boxes of stuff that my sister and brother-in-law were holding for me at their house, and making a grocery run because I had next-to-nothing in the apartment that was edible. I’m trying to wash all of the clothing that was in those boxes too…it’s like getting a completely new wardrobe!
The break’s been great. Now I’m ready to jump back into the swing of things again and see the friends that I’ve made down here. I just hope that they aren’t all too mad about the Outback Bowl fiasco. 🙂
I read your article in MountainWings and enjoyed it. I just want you to know that my business could open doors for you, if you wish to take a look.
My mission in life is to help as many people in life to accomplish their goals and live their dreams.
Velda
I read your article in MountainWings. I, too, was different growing up. And, like your sister, I was proud of the fact that I was different because I did everything I possibly I could to make my dad proud of me. He was a minister, & I didn’t want to hurt or disappoint him in any way. Now, at 46, I’m thankful for that because it has helped me transfer that same goal to my Heavenly Father. I don’t mind being different, and I don’t care what people think, because I strive to be like Him & only His opinion matters. I wish you well in finding what you want to do with your life.
I have read your site for the first time and am “hopeful” to say it best. I have a 10 year old son with Asperger’s Syndrome and having dealt with the fears and anxieties that go hand in hand all his life (and without knowing what was going on for the first 8 years of his life), I am encouraged to think that our “geek” can succeed. I am trying to jump ahead 10 years and wonder if it had been my “geek” son writing home or posting such a website how would I feel. I think I would say mostly “relieved!”. We are daily subscribers to Mountain Wings and a Christian family (with other younger children). It’s funny you mention telepathy — my son and I are telepathic towards each other — something I find interesting in twins. I have awakened from the dead of night already knowing there was something seriously wrong – and I don’t know if you can understand it or not, but it goes beyond the “mother’s intuition” I have with my children.
I’m happy to see in your “journals” that you haven’t forgotten or let go of your true values and morals. It’s comforting to a mom to hear a child say “I prayed to God for …. ” I hope your mom remembers to tell you that too.
Good luck in all that you do. With God on your side, how could you go wrong! I shall strive to carve that same knowledge and confidence in all my children and hope that someday a mom will be encouraged by my son’s web-notes like I was yours.
Trish MacParker