We found a car for Ruby last weekend! While she was at a musical with a friend (have I told you she is so much like her Gran?!?), we bought it and parked it sideways in the driveway so she would see it when they pulled up.
They drove to church And they are driving to school! Can you say Mama has worked herself out of a big part of her job?!? It’s weird and good at the same time.
There’s nothing quite like teaching your kids to drive and then letting them actually drive off with most of your heart buckled up inside.
Gracious, parenting is NOT for the faint of heart. I often tell Josh I feel like I’m living at my wits’ end at all times in this season of life. Lots of big breaths and learning what to harp on and what to let go. If middle school boys would decide black tennis shoes are more cool than white tennis shoes, all the middle school boy moms would be much happier and less frustrated. It would be a start anyway.
Everyone wants to be remembered for something great after they are gone from this earth. At the rate I am going, I am likely to be remembered for my ability to do laundry or maybe my stellar weekly grocery store runs.
Faced with this quandry of how I might be remembered, a random thought occurred to me over the months we were sequestered to home last March, April, May….until we realized we could indeed go on with life. While we were home eating all of our feelings, I decided to try and find Druie’s famous cherry pie recipe. Now, you may be wondering who Druie is. Well, the facts are that she is Josh’s grandmother on his dad’s side. The opinion, of which an in-law, such as myself, best not question, is that she is the best cook to ever walk the planet.
I recently asked Josh for some of his favorite dishes by Druie, and he smirked and said, “You know, everything she touched was just the best thing you’d ever put in your mouth.” Alrighty, then. He continued, “Fried chicken, cubed steak, pork chops, corn, field peas, dressing, lemon meringue pie, cherry pie, strawberry pie…” Abruptly interrupting him, I asked if he was fully aware that I was not at all a great cook when he married me. He said he didn’t need to eat like that on a regular basis anyway. So, it truly is no secret that cooking isn’t my favorite thing. I do it almost daily. I wish I loved it. I wish I cared enough about food to even take a second look at a recipe that involves more than four steps, but I do not.
During our Stay-at-Home order, I made a “Cherry Delight” recipe which got raving reviews from Josh and may have been as close as I was going to get to matching the famous Cherry Pie dessert Druie made. To be fair, Irvin had tried a couple of recipes that just didn’t cut it, so my work was made easier by his previous efforts. Also thanks to Irvin, I have Druie’s Thanksgiving dressing recipe written out with clear instructions for “the best dressing known to man.” I don’t think Josh would celebrate Thanksgiving without it.
Now just because I don’t regularly fry up chicken or whip up a pie to die for doesn’t necessarily mean that I can’t be known for my cooking skills some time far in the future when I am old and gray or maybe when I am no longer walking this earth. Here’s my plan. I am going to have my grandkids call me “Druie.” Over the course of the years and the story-telling and the recipes that will be passed down, the coming generations won’t know which Druie was the original G.O.A.T. cook. In the blur of the lines of who is who and when she lived and where, I might get even half the credit for being an amazing cook as she was and maybe it will be said of me, “you know, everything she touched was just the best thing you’d ever put in your mouth.”
Amazingly, we are already in March! I want to sit and blog. I have started several drafts and have yet to return to them. Because LIFE! I’m living it, that’s for sure. Recording it and expounding on thoughts seems like something that may need to wait. One day. I hope.
In the meantime, let me use photos to catch us up.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Mothers of teenagers need a dog. The faithful one in the house that isn’t emotional or dramatic. She still wants to sit with me every chance she gets. She goes on walks with me, happily. She greets me with a smile and hugs when I get home. If I could just train her to unlock the door and help me unload groceries and maybe put away her toys, this relationship would be near perfect. Found this old photo on my phone. Gracious, time has ticked right on by. I love this kid. He turns 14 this month.
Josh and I are doing proactive things to stay healthy and keep this pill holder filled with vitamins and probiotics rather than Blood pressure medicine or some other medicine we can keep from taking. Some choose to wear masks on walks outside alone or alone in their car or even double masks. Others of us are listening to scientists and doctors and upping our Vitamin D and K. Taking Quercitin and Zinc and a multivitamin and probiotic. We’re trying to make good food choices, rubbing thieves or On Guard oil on the bottom of our feet at bedtime, and I go to the gym three times a week like it’s a job and enjoy walks with Rolo often. We are getting 8 hours of sleep, too. There are things you can do to be a healthy person. Wearing a mask is just not one of them.
We hosted and engagement party for Noah and Ashley! It was so fun to love on them in this way. I didn’t get a photo of the family…but it was a wonderful night of fun and celebration!Mack played in his first middle school baseball game and got a hit and ended up going home eventually, so that was super fun! I’m proud of him for jumping into baseball at his age. It seems most boys have played their whole lives. Mack has not—and he wants to let us know “y’all should have made me play when I was little.” Well that’s exactly what we didn’t want to do! You know those parents. Dad was a baseball player so little son has to play and like it, too. Mack liked football. We went that route for a while. Now we’re trying baseball. It is what it is. He’s got a lot to learn, but no matter what you do, there’s always more to learn!
Ruby has prom April 1, so we have to find a dress soon. And we hope to get a car for her this month, so that’s a lot to think about!
And here’s Molly. She can sometimes be found randomly videoing things around the house. Who knows what she is doing with the footage?!?? I just need to approve it beforehand.
And I end the way I started. With the puppy. She loves me a little too much sometimes.
Hopefully there will be more lively, interesting blogs to read in the near future! Hang in there with me. ❤️
