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April 27

Boys Will be Boys

I am seriously in need of some girl-time. I'm definitely not a girly-girl, I don't really like to shop, I don't mind getting my hands dirty, I like being outdoors, and I thoroughly enjoy sports. I don't know any women, short of Robin Roberts, who can match my knowledge of sports...(not that I really know Robin Roberts...). I can talk about the infield fly rule, I know what an icing call is, and believe it or not, I can probably name all of the head coaches in the NFL. But this weekend... I've simply had too much ...between 2 Penguin hockey games, (which they won! GO PENS!) and the two-day event that is the NFL draft, I'm in danger of losing what little femininity I have left.... I think I'll go shave my legs and paint my toe-nails.

June 01

Goin' to the Chapel

Well, it's June, and I promised to be more regular - ok, well, maybe regular isn't exactly the right word, I've never been regular... how about I promise to be more faithful, ok..that's not right either...oh well, I'll figure it out , and get back on the blogging trail this weekend.

For now, here's a couple of photos of the beautiful Mrs. Smith, my sweet Whitney. She was the bride that every little girl dreams of being and her Mr. Smith was quite the handsome prince too.

The first photo is of Whitney sipping the traditional pre-wedding food of brides everywhere, a chocolate milk shake, the other is of the far more traditional cake-cutting ritual. .

January 29

The Weather Report

It's raining in my corner of the world today. Hallaluah! for rain and 46 degrees. We have truly dodged a weather bullet in Western Pa. this winter. This much rain would have been a ton of snow if the temperature had been 15 degrees colder. I used to like snow, I looked forward to it and dreamed about it and hoped for it. That was in another place and time.

In the south, snow lasts a few hours, sometimes even less than that, and almost everything comes to a slow halt while it's on the ground. I remember clearly the first significant snowfall after we were married and I moved to Pa. We awoke at the usual time to see about 2 inches of the white stuff on the ground. I dilly-dallied around to the point that my husband was concerned and remarked that I was going to be late if I didn't get a move on. I replied 'we can't go to work today, there's snow on the ground!' He howled and told me to get my rear in gear, that I wasn't in the land of magnolias anymore and that the world didn't stop because of a little snow.

He launched into the story of the blizzard of 1995, or some year like that, when he'd driven 50+ miles to work in 3 feet of snow in a sub-sub-sub compact car. I was careful to keep my muttered 'up hill both ways' comment low enough that he didn't hear me, and quietly realized that I'd married a madman. I went about getting ready for work that morning in total disbelief that anyone with good sense would be traveling in such conditions.

Since that time, I've gotten more comfortable with going about my daily life while the stuff is on the ground. I'm still cautious about walking on it and I am probably a little more timid about winter driving than a native northerner, but all in all, I'm adjusting, and on days like today, very, very grateful for above freezing temperatures.

Hurry up, spring!

9:51 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it | Family Stories

January 14

The Parental units

My parental units are interesting people as individuals, as a couple, they are a hoot. They are both wonderful human beings, but quirky as hell. Guess I come by my oddities naturally!

My mom reads my blog, so I probably should be a bit careful, but on the other hand, this is my space and as long as what I say is the truth, she has to accept it, right? Right? OK.. heads up Mom, read on at your own risk...

Just last month they observed their 48th wedding anniversary, and this month will both turn 65. They've spent 98% of their lives so far together... they married at age 16 and had 3 kids before they were 21. While it wasn't unheard of to get married so young in the south in the 1950's it was still a challenge for them. Despite being married and already having one baby (me!), they both managed to finish high school, and that was uncommon.

My mom stayed home with the babies while my dad earned the living. He worked at a primary job during the week but usually had a way to make a bit of extra money on the weekends when times got tough, which was most of the time. Even so, they managed to buy a house as soon as they were old enough to legally sign the documents. I didn't realize until much later that they spent more than a few sleepless nights worrying about how to make the $40 a month house payment.

They are probably as unsuited for each other as any 2 people you'd ever meet, but whatever it is they have between them, it seems to work for them. So, who's to judge. My dad is friendly and for the most part very outgoing. He likes to talk and tell stories (sound familiar?). He's opinionated and not shy about sharing his thoughts. My mom is much more closed. Unless you know her very well, you'll never know what is going on in her head. Even if you do know her well, it's sometimes hard to actually get her to communicate. She's very complex and complicated, but the unusual thing is that she doesn't see herself as being that way.

I really meant this post to be a tribute to them, to their commitment to each other and to their family, but that seems sort of sappy to me as I try to put it into words. I'm realizing that they just went about the business of doing the responsible and mature thing even though they were very, very young. They raised 3 reasonably successful kids; they are well-respected in the community in which they've lived for nearly a half-century, they met their financial, familial, and social obligations; they each selflessly took care of sick and aging parents; they weathered serious illness, dad's mid-life career change and mom starting her first job at age 54. They are unique and remarkable people and I'm proud of them. To say they made me who I am today wouldn't be quite right, it's more accurate to say that they had high expectations of their kids, and that they taught us both directly and by example, and maybe more importantly, they allowed us to become the people we were meant to be.

Maybe I'll tell you more about them later. Depends on how my mom reacts to this!