Now on to College!

Well, it's official! My baby finally graduated from high school and is on her way to UGA- just signed a housing contract this evening. Very moving ceremony and then a fabulous dinner at Ritter's with siblings, grandparents, and aunt and uncle. Lovely time!!

Graduation!

Here is a pic of Bill and me with Anna before attending Walton High's Night of Inspiration. It was a great evening and just a little taste of what will take place on graduation night. This entire graduation process brings back fond memories I have of graduating from White Oak High in Jacksonville, NC in 1979! Now I have a daughter graduating and heading off to college. How time flies!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day to you! All of us children appreciate the things you did for us over the years.

Some of my fondest memories with my mother were when I was little. We would spend hours in the kitchen, especially during the holiday times, baking cookies, cakes, and all kinds of treats. I remember doing crafts, needlepoint, cross stitch and crewel, and decorating my first bedroom with white and blue furniture while my dad hung blue flowered wallpaper on the walls.

Every time I look at a container of jello (yes, my oldest child just got her wisdom teeth out!), I am reminded of Jello 123 in the 70s. The stuff was horrible, but my sisters and I begged Mom to make it, and she obliged, preparing it in lovely glass parfait dishes. And then there was the weekly meatloaf with the Le Sueur garden peas that popped in your mouth, fried chicken (prepared by our Help), ham and cheese stuffed hamburgers about four inches thick and served on English muffins, and then the Swanson's chicken pop pie on Friday nights since she and Dad were going out. Sorry Swanson's, but those things were nasty! I now have my own homemade chicken pie recipe, which is delicious!

A lot of that special time in the kitchen where food brought us together ended once I got married, but the memories are still there. As I've grown older, times with Mom have been replaced with shopping trips, the occasional excursion to Las Vegas (I don't recommend that!) and discussions about movies, books, TV shows, and recipes. We're different  in many ways, and yet in many ways we are similar. She can make me as mad as a hornet and vice versa, but she's still my mom! How can I forget her tucking me in at night when I was little and the kisses on the cheek? There's nothing like a mother's love and tender affection.

Thank you, Momma, for your love over the years! And thank you for giving me a glimpse of how to show love to my own sweet children!