Southern Chill

This is NOT the kind of weather that makes me a happy camper. In fact, It makes me not want to ‘camp’ at all. I think the only thing to do in weather like this, is to stay in bed, read magazines, and drink hot chocolate. However, the world obviously does not agree, and continues turning. It has been in the 40’s the past few days and it’s just not pretty. Now I know some of you may laugh at this nonsense, but for someone who was born and raised in the deep south…it’s a tragedy. All the clothes you have to wear…the sweaters, and the coats, then the gloves and the hats, and ear muffs…Yuck. If I am shopping and go inside a store, I can’t even shop properly because I feel so stuffed. The best way to handle this is to leave the heavy clothes in the car, and RUN into the mall. Then do all your shopping there. Now, I am one who thoroughly enjoys a good shopping adventure…but the getting in and out of the car in this weather does put a damper on things. Kind of takes some of the FUN out of it. I do not mind a little cool weather…cool enough for a sweater…but much beyond that is just not fun. My son, husband and I visited Ann Arbor, Michigan last year. It snowed before we got there and while we were there…but, the sun was shining. Now we truly enjoyed that experience…even though we had to buy more clothes[ what a shame ]. But that can last me for a lifetime. It has only snowed here maybe 3 or 4 times in my lifetime. Only once did it stick. Schools closed and the kids had a blast. In fact, there was enough for my 3 boys to build a snowman….of course that left the rest of the yard bare. A sweet memory, none the less. I know I should quit complaining and look for blessings in this deep freeze…or at least pray for an early spring!

Today was a work day for me. I am so blessed to have the perfect job. My chosen profession was nursing, but at the time I was in nursing school, I also took private music lessons at Samford University. Add that to my 12 years of piano and I have quite a few hours racked up in music education. After several years in the nursing field, I quit to raise my children. I had all intentions of returning, but, dear friends, our intentions are made of dust. God’s plans are written in stone. More later on what filled my days and years until I began working at First Presbyterian Preschool 17 years ago. Wow! Has it really been that long? I have the best boss and fellow teachers possible. It is a joy and a gift from God to work in a Christian setting. The ladies I work with are like family. We laugh together, cry together, and pray together. We really do ‘bear one another’s burdens.’ And the children…what can I say? A child is such a precious thing. Pure innocence and love…along with a healthy dose of curiosity and stubborness. What a joy it is to be around those so fresh from God. I teach music…so I have an advantage of being able to work with all the students in the school. And mostly we have fun. Singing and dancing and pretending…such fun! Of course we do 2 programs a year, so we have to do some hard work…learning parts, and standing still, and not waving on stage. When these little ones , who are so full of love run up and hug me, I feel as if God himself is saying,”You’re doing o.k.” I have learned much from the children. Life lessons, really. You’ve heard the saying: “Sing like no one is listening and dance like noone is watching.” Well, one of the first things I learned on this journey is the kids do not care how well I sing, they only care that I do sing. As far as the dancing goes, well, I find that if I let go of my inhibitions…they usually let go of theirs. And you know what…I usually have as much fun as they do. Why is it that as we age we become so careful to stick to the narrow path? Maybe we all need to find that childlike freedom to just be. Sing as loud as we want and dance how we feel. “God is happy when we sing praises to him.”Psalms 149:3,4. And I want God to be pleased with the things I do.

I have been blessed with 3 wonderful sons. My oldest, Adam, is a photographer. My middle son ,Alex, is still at home. And my youngest ,Ian, is in grad school. You can check out my son Adam’s website, Perfection Photography. Let me know how you like it.

Welcome to my blog. This is a new challenge for me and I invite you to come along with me for the ride. This blog will contain a little bit of everything. From fashion, to inspiration, to jokes, to everyday life and lessons learned. Please feel free to comment. It would help me greatly and give me feedback. I’ll talk to you soon.