This is the only real picture I have from Thanksgiving 2020. It was our 2nd Annual Turkey Bowl. I’ve always wanted to have an Annual something-or-other. So last year…I decide a Turkey Bowl touch football game to be held the day before Thanksgiving was as good-a-thing as any.
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That song…..Back in the Saddle….comes to mind.
It’s been a minute. I blame the children. Six kids has put me in way over my head. And I’m not ashamed to admit it. Since I last wrote…we’ve been to Disney World, for crying out loud. Twice! We’ve been skiing. We’ve adopted a 6th kid. We’ve had a son graduate High School and move to Clemson. We’ve celebrated Birthdays, Christmases, Easters, St. Patrick’s Days, and everything in between. We’ve seen a talented musician born in our second son. The two little girls were the most beautiful flower girls a country wedding ever did see. We’ve watched Aiden cheer at competitions and Jr. High & High School Football and Basketball games. We’ve watched her team win NCA…twice and Summit once. We’ve read Twas the Night Before Kindergarten for the last time for our baby boy blue. We’ve seen goals met and victories won. We’ve seen disappointments. We’ve lived through first dates, first boyfriends, first girlfriends, and first heartbreaks. We’ve celebrated life…and we’ve mourned death. We’ve lost grandmothers who were backbones on both sides of the family. We’ve lost babies who were desperately wanted. We’ve said hello and goodbye to family and friends. We’ve grown. We’ve laughed. We’ve cried. We’ve thrown in the towel…at least a few times over the last few years. We’ve rallied and faught. We have let go and held on. I am 10 pounds heavier…Chad 95% grayer…and we both feel a lot older. It’s his 48th Birthday today…and that sounds and feels ridiculous. I’ve gone from the reality of having another baby to being excited about being a grandmother some day. It’s the biggest transition to date.
I quit writing for a multitude of reasons. The most obvious….being super busy, over-extended, shifted priorities, and down right tiredness. But there is also the real reason….the knowledge…deep in the shadows of my mind…(where the fear lives)…that our adopted children could be located. Do they know our names?? Are they looking for them? Will they recognize pictures? Is it safe? These were the questions I poured over at first…and the real reason I quit writing. Facebook and Instagram can be set to private. But this blog….is not. It’s “findable.”
A few months ago I heard my children talking about this blog. They found it and started searching it and reading stories about their lives…which is exactly what I intended them to do. I had once imagined them huddled around a computer on Christmas Eve…laughing and remembering while they read through these old posts. I didn’t anticipate them finding it as teenagers. But there they were…reading…laughing…and telling me how they wished I had not stopped. And it made me wonder…is the risk worth it? J and E will be there with them…huddled around the computer…and how sad would they be if the stories ended with them? So…here we are. There is no way that I can go back and re-tell the life that has happened. But I can start where we are. Which is right after Thanksgiving break 2020. Family came from Iowa. We did fun stuff. J wore his Clemson football uniform to the Turkey Bowl and it might as well have been the National Championship. Aiden, Aubree and Annslee helped me in the kitchen and it might as well have been a food network reality show. Tayler surprised us and flew in from Kansas. We went to UK’s and rode horses and shot fireworks and almost talked the Chad & Davey into letting us adopt 2 female kittens that were to be named Dolly Parton and Jolene. A very natural left handed golf swing was discovered at Top Golf for E.M. by her Grandaddy. It should also be mentioned that Gramma Sue is surprisingly good with a golf club…although a heating pad will ultimately follow for pulled back muscles. Katie still reigns as the best Aunt to take the youngest kids to the park…and having Colt home is heaven.
I have an outside job now. I am employed by the local school district to teach an advanced academics class on Fridays and I substitute teach when I can. I am headed to the High School tomorrow. Aiden promises to come for lunch and Chase brings me candy before he leaves for early release. So…it works out. I’m not promising anything, But I’m hoping. I’m hoping for a lot of things. And the continuation of this blog is just one of them.