“Your son/daughter is the exact spitting image of Grandpa Fred or Aunt Betty.” Obviously, these people don’t understand how the reproductive process actually works. I can see bits and pieces of parents and grandparents in each and every one of my children, but mostly I can see completely unique individuals. Over time, they grow, learn […]
Today’s weather was wonderful and the cousins are in town, so we spent the day at the zoo. We started off with a picnic and cookie cake. Then we played in the Kids’ Cove water and sand areas. Everyone rode the carousel. Even the nocturnal creatures were happy today. Children ran, climbed and laughed. Juice […]
Over the weekend, I learned how my mother introduces/describes her children. “Hello! This is my son Danny, this is my son Matt and this is my XX-year-old daughter Cathy.” It was funny the first time I heard her do it. After she did it the second time, she had to change it. “This is my […]
Even when I’m not a walking stomach virus, I have always found funeral homes to be completely void of oxygen. They are suffocatingly hot or freezing cold and they reek of overlapping perfumes. The cemetery always felt like a breath of fresh, clean air. Maybe it’s because of my family’s bizarre yearly family reunions at […]
I couldn’t begin to count how many funerals I have attended. My parents never replaced dead pets or shielded us from dying relatives. Our extended family has always been close. Sincerely close, gathering together as a group for all day eat-athons multiple times a year while seeing each other in smaller groups every other weekend […]
Today I was going to whine about how much the paper charges to run a short, no-photo obituary. Yesterday, a man who was a friend and classmate of my grandparents called my mother to offer his condolences after he saw the obituary in his Sunday newspaper. The stories he told my mother about my grandparents, […]
How did people make 5 hour drives before XM radio? Why did we torment ourselves our children by making this trip without a DVD player? When seeing people you haven’t seen for many, many years, the process works something like this: You look at a woman approaching you and know that you should know who […]
I’m off to the “Outdoor Capital of Tennessee” to be indoors most of the day today and end the day tomorrow, standing outside. Hopefully, the weather (and the children) will allow me to sneak in some photography of the trees scenery.
Maedelle Hearington Evans was born May 12, 1918 in Wildersville, TN. Her mother died when she was 10 and she spent the rest of her childhood helping to raise her younger siblings. While most of her family left school early to work, she graduated from the University of Tennessee. She married Rex Evans while he […]
I should write my own obituary and post it somewhere everyone can find it after I’m gone. Family wouldn’t have to worry about what I would want said and I could leave behind something darkly sarcastic. While I’m at it, I’ll make some music requests. No pipe organ allowed. Pink Floyd instrumentals only. I’ll work […]