Cars

I live with a couple of gear heads. My beloved and my boy are both crazy, CRAZY, C.R.A.Z.Y. about muscle cars. My beloved is a "Pontiac" man and LOVES his '77 Firebird Trans AM. My boy is a Ford kind of guy and is a Mustang man all the way. Actually, my beloved is severely outnumbered. My boy has two Mustangs, a classic 1968 beauty and an newly purchased 2003 coupe with lots of after market toys on it. My girl has a 2001 little firecracker and I have a 2008 fire red honey. I think that some of this gear head stuff has rubbed off on me.

I used to not know didly about cars . . . still don't, really. But, I can sure spot a classic if there is one in eye shot. And, I have come to appreciate the classics that are still on the road today. We usually go to the local annual antique car show which is held at one of the city parks in our hometown and I love to see all of those cars restored to perfection. I have seen first hand how much hard work, blood, sweat, tears and love that go into those cars. I can understand how you could very easily get hooked. As a matter of fact . . . I guess their may be more than just two gear heads in my family.

A New Appreciation

I have always recognized that I have great parents. Well, almost always . . . Of course, there were those teenage years where I thought that most everyone else's parents were way cooler than mine. Don't most teenagers go through that? I think my kids are right there right now. :) Anyway, my mom and dad have always been there for my brother and me. And for my kids. They have been there in all sorts of ways.

They are amazing grandparents (Mimi & Papa) to my children and my kids spent enormous amounts of time with them over the years. Time spent fishing, bike riding, garden planting and picking, cookie baking, card playing, cow chasing and many, many other activities. A relationship that my boy and girl will be able to treasure for years to come.

I have always appreciated them, but I think that I also took them for granted. You know what I mean . . . my mom would call and want to chat and I had more important things on my agenda. The very important t.v. show that I wanted to watch or some other inane waste of time. So, I would hurry her off of the phone. Or, either Mom or Dad would want me to stop by the house, but I had other "important" business to attend to. NOT.

Anyway, recently my dad had a health scare. A tumor on his left kidney. CANCER . . . Let me tell you, when you hear that word, it puts everything else into perspective. He had sugery to remove the kidney about 6 weeks ago. He came through the surgery with flying colors and has recovered remarkably well. He did have a set back about 4 weeks ago, but since then he is doing so great. We are so blessed that the type of tumor that he had is almost always confined to the kidney (as was his) and his right kidney was uneffected. Praise God!!! He is 72 and I am 44, but I'm not ready for him to move on to his Heavenly reward.

So, as a result, I am much more aware of my good fortune to have both of my parents still living and still married to each other after over 45 years together. They are amazing!

Tradition

Tradition is a very BIG DEAL where I come from. HUGE deal, really. Tradition is the reason for almost everything around here. The saying is if you do it more than once, it's a tradition.

My family has traditions too. One of them is that we watch the Major League All Star Home Run Contest together every year. Well, every year but this one. For some reason, it sneaked up on us. We missed it. And, I am very sad about this. I know it's silly, but I feel like I really blew it. I mean, it's not like there was anybody in it this year that we care anything about. But still . . .

My kids are getting older, 20 and 16, and I know I won't have them around for these silly little rituals for that much longer. I guess, that's what I am really mourning. Not the home run contest, but the opportunity for all four of us to be in the same room focused on the same thing and enjoying spending the time together.

Sad Sight

I recently saw something that made me very sad. And homesick. Longing for the "good old days". What I saw was a sign advertising an insurance office. It now stands in what was my grandparents' front yard in central Texas. This sign is planted right around where 1st base used to be. You see, my brother, cousins, dad, uncles, aunt and I played many, many baseball games in that front yard. We also played touch football and "Country Jay" a baseball inspired game that my dad and his siblings invented when they were children. As a matter of fact, as the years went on, my beloved, my cousin's spouses and eventually my children all played their share of baseball in that yard. That yard was perfect for baseball and football. Wide, deep and flat. First base and home plate were usually whatever we found lying around (a piece of wood, old seat cushion, etc.) placed where 1st base and home plate should be. Second base was the pole that held up the martin house (bird house) that my dad made for Granny. Third base were the cement steps that led up to the front porch. Now this blasted sign is right where 1st base should be. Sadness.

My grandparents were farmers. Their home was surrounded by fields that my grandpa cultivated. Corn, black-eyed peas, oats, wheat, maize, all crops he grew. Field corn and sweet corn were always planted in the field east of the house and black-eyed peas in the field to the west. Depending on the time of year, oats or wheat would most likely be planted behind the house. Now there are homes being built on all sides of the little house. Housing developments as far as the eye can see. This makes me very sad . . . homesick for my childhood, my grandparents and open spaces. I don't think I'll drive by there again.