When I Grow Up...

I don't know if anyone else out there enjoys the car ride home from work, but I sure do! It is one of my best "thinking times" (except for in the shower...Yes, I know that is also strange, but I think a lot in the shower). So I was thinking today and here is what I came up with...

When I grow up, I want to be able to cook. Not cook like I do now, (which would be what I like to call fooking, or fake cooking), but REALLY cook. Fooking, or fake cooking, is the only kind of cooking I know how to do. It would consist of dumping a whole bunch of can foods into a crock pot and calling it soup. I can also make a mean spaghetti and a durn good salad. But, I am a southern girl. I need to learn to COOK. You might be asking yourself what on Earth brought this up today?! Well, I will say I did have a peach cobbler for breakfast. Thanks to one of my wonderful students (who proudly presented me with warm cobbler) and her southern mama, it was one of the best cobblers I have ever had. It sure made me miss my Nana! Now that is a woman that can really cook.  I've tried taking some lessons from my Mema over the last year or two as well. Now that woman can really cook, too! The particular lesson I remember wasn't so successful. I bought the wrong kind of pudding, my meringue didn't rise, I didn't layer my shepherd's pie quite right...so I guess I'll leave the cooking to Nana and Mema! My crock pot veggie soup wasn't a bad effort, but it can't hold a candle to the three women mentioned above...

When I grow up, I want to be a strong, determined woman. I know this is random, but at the same time it really isn't. See, I was driving home thinking about this blog post when my sweet mama called. (She is a strong, determined woman, but not the one I am speaking of right now!) She wanted to check on my day and invite me to a little ladies happy hour on her porch. Her dear friend Debbie was joining her on the porch and so I decided to drop on by. If I have ever met a strong, determined woman, it is Debbie. In the last six months, Debbie has proved her strength and determination in recovering from a horrible motorcycle accident. When I got to Mom's, Debbie was helping carry the snacks outside (mind you she hasn't been walking long), she had driven herself to mom's house, and she practically ran to me and give me a hug. Now this is a woman that was in the hospital for over a month and hasn't spent much time out of a wheel chair in the last six months. I just hope that one day I will be as strong and determined as sweet Debbie. It was so wonderful to see her out and about this evening and have some "girl time". If I was able to spend more time with Debbie than I do, I feel like I could learn many valuable lessons from her . Tonight's topics of conversation...1. We don't like girl drama and gossip. 2. We do like our "biker family" and the love, grace, and hospitality that is extended to our "family members" when it is needed. I have many more wonderful things I could say about my  "biker family" and how much I love them, but since this post is about what I want to be when I grow up, I will refrain. (Though being a biker when I grow up doesn't sound like such a bad idea after all...) Thank you, Debbie for reminding me what is important in life! Love you! 

When I grow up, I want to be a hostess. I love a good party, but I will never be able to throw one like my mama. I have also been thinking about this a lot in the last few days. My mama can host a tailgate like nobody's business. Since David and I met, I have been trying to imitate her tailgate hosting skills at the Clemson games, but all I end up getting is tired. My mama can do it all. So I show up tonight to visit...Here is the list of reasons that I want to be her...(Just a few of them! If i listed them all we would be here all night!)

1. Her house is immaculate.

2. She has snacks AND drinks set out.

3. She has her house decorated FLOOR to CEILING with the cutest Halloween stuff ever!

4. She has a drink waiting on me.

5. Her porch is immaculate (candles lit, accent lights and fountain running, music on, cushions out, etc.) 

6. She, herself looks precious!

Perfect hostess in a nutshell....CC!!!

I remember my Nana having this poem framed in her house. I have no idea why I have always liked it, but when we were cleaning out her things when she passed, it was one of the things I wanted. I have kept it pinned on my bulletin board, but have not ever shared it. Since this post is about being strong, determined, a fabulous cook, and a good "hostess with the mostess" it seems like the right time to share this from my Nana. Anyone that knew her can certainly say that I just described her. So I guess what I am trying to say is that when I grow up, I want to be Nana.

"Woman's Sphere"

They talk about a woman's sphere as tho it had a limit:

There's not a place in Earth or Heaven

There's not a task to mankind given

There's not a blessing or a woe,

There's not a whispered yes or no,

here's not a life, or death or birth,

That has a feather's weight of worth, 

Without a woman in it.