Taken on the USS Yorktown the day after Thanksgiving

The man in the middle of the above picture is my wonderful Grandpa, the man I'm closest to next to my Daddy. We've always had a special relationship, ever since he retired 2 weeks after I was born. I learned to cook standing on a chair next to him, wearing his too-big aprons that he kept in a special drawer in his dresser. We watched cooking shows together, especially Justin Wilson, the Cajun chef ("Ah gawr-an-tee!"), sitting in his brown recliner together. He taught me how to peel potatoes just right and passed down his mother's recipe for pasty.

He's also a musician, playing the trumpet and piano. When I was in middle school, he took me to my piano lessons every week and in college, I knew he was in the audience for every concert and voice recital I participated in. Now that I'm singing for the CSA music ministry, I get to talk to him about the music we do and my own development as a singer (by the way, that's Catholic Student Association, not Confederate States of America... because that is a distinction that has to be made down here).

The family's trip down here for Thanksgiving was particularly special because on Friday, he took all 11 of us to the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier like the one he served on during the Korean War. We climbed all over the ship together and I understood a little better all the stories I've heard him tell for years about his time on the Kearsarge. As we walked the decks, I watched him travel back in time to when he was about my age and relive the memories. At one point, towards the end of our visit to the ship, just after he'd seen the memorial to those who had served on his ship and died during the Korean War, I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just slipped my hand into his and he held it pretty tight for a few minutes. I think it's safe to say that we have a pretty tight bond, and I am so glad that we got to share that day with each other.

I wish I had space to write about all the interesting things my grandpa has done. He and my grandma have some wild stories about their early marriage when they lived in Chicago, and they and my grandpa's sister (who has since passed, but was very religious when I knew her) would go out on the town. He worked for the government for years, in computers when the industry was just being developed. They moved down to NC from Washington in the 70s and he and Grandma are the original owners of their house.

I also don't have space to list all the things he's done for me, as he's been financially as well as emotionally supportive. No matter what I'm doing, both of them are incredibly interested and supportive of everything I try. This weekend, we were going somewhere together and talking about grad school. Grandpa told me how proud he was of me for what I'm doing and said that he thinks it's great that, if I go on and do a Ph.D., I'll be the first doctor in the family. Even though he didn't finish college himself, he's incredibly smart and encourages education. Which is good, since I'm planning to make that my career :)

Yes, I am one blessed lady.

Quote of the day

“It’s uh known fact, Pheoby, you got tuh go there tuh know there. Yo’ papa and yo’ mama and nobody else can’t tell yuh and show yuh. Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves”

~Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (p. 192).

Things I Love Thursday: Thanksgiving edition

Pat and Erin in August

(I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this blog, but I wanted to write this anyway)

This year, just like every year, I'm thankful for my sweet family (who came down here, which saved me a trip-they rock!), old and new friends, and all the blessings in my wonderful life. But this year, I want to call special attention to the lovely girl in the picture above.

I've known her since early high school; her family has gone to my church for a long time. This summer, she and my brother started dating and before too long, I think I'll have a new sister (I promise I'm not jumping the gun-both families know they're planning this :) ).

She comes down to see us most weekends and what I love is that even when Pat can't be around because of school commitments, we have a lot of fun by ourselves. We've had beach days and movie nights, shared pots of coffee and bottles of wine-she's a fun chick and we're developing a wonderful friendship. Erin fits right into our family and I'm glad that Pat picked her.

Even though realization that my brother seriously dating someone means that I'm an adult (a fact which is starting to become less scary as I adjust to being on my own) was kind of terrifying at first, Erin couldn't be a better friend and eventually, sister.

Bright spots in a rough day

I suppose it's just the end of the semester looming, but today was really rough for a couple of reasons:

1. I'm sad that my family gets to be together in NC while I'm here (even though they'll be here in one day and a wakeup)

2. I'm a little overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done before December

3. My foot hurts

4. The library is insisting that I lost a book that I know I returned

5. My laptop bottom is cracked, so I have to leave work tomorrow to go to the Apple store to see what they can do about it

However, today hasn't been all bad. For everything that's upset me today, there's been something positive to balance it out.

First, when I parked at school today, one of the compact car spots was open, which is never the case. And since I drive a little car, I got to park there, which made me pretty cheerful. The parking garage leads me to #2. I was walking to the library, minding my own business when a running guy brushed by me-he didn't actually touch me, but he was close enough that it scared me to death. I let out a gasp because I was wrapped up in my own world and that startled me out of it. He called "sorry" over his shoulder, but then when I got further up the street, I saw that he had stopped to apologize properly. He said that he hadn't really been paying attention because of his iPod, and asked several times if I was OK. Of course I was, but his kindness in actually taking the time to make sure made me grateful for human kindness in general.

Third, I have a new pair of shoes! A woman in my Old English class got them, wore them once and found that they hurt her feet, so she passed them on to me. They're oxblood (which is about the worst color name I can think of) leather heels-not practical for cobblestones, but oh so pretty for other things :)

Fourth, I had a bit of a breakdown this evening and rather than sit around feeling sorry for myself and eating a bunch of crap, I decided to clean my apartment really well. 2 hours later and I have a clean apartment (#5!), but I feel much better about myself. Lately I've renewed my commitment to taking care of myself, because I'm seeing how much of a physical toll being in grad school takes on a body; if I'm going to be in this kind of environment professionally, I need to make sure that I'm in tip-top shape. So the fact that I kept my commitment to that makes me pretty proud of myself. Also, I am now exhausted, so I'm off to bed. Maybe one of these days I'll become a regular blogger. Maybe.

It must be the end of the semester...

Because my kitchen looks like this:

My to-do list for this weekend has about 30 things on it, most of which are school related, and I've committed myself to starting my end-of-term papers by setting up appointments with professors to talk about them (eek!). But again, really, I'm happy with what I'm doing. And I'm starting to get super-pumped for next semester: Early Modern Epic in Translation, Tolkien and TA-ing in an undergrad Chaucer class.

In other news, only 11 days until my family gets down here for Thanksgiving and I get to spend the weekend at the beach house with them. Since I have my own kitchen now, I'm going to bring a few things... just not sure what yet :). Thanksgiving is also part of the reason I'm trying to get ahead now, because I know that I won't want to work while everyone's down here.

I know I'm being a bad blogger right now, but... I still have a job, which means that I'll be down here for most of December and school gets out somewhere around Dec 10th, so I should have plenty of time in about a month, if anyone ever even reads me by that point!

Things I Love Thursday

Going home. Because with whom else can you take pictures like this:

Dinosaur faces

I can't even begin with this one...

He loves the distorted options

The river

It's gotten significantly colder here; it dropped from almost 80 degrees yesterday to between 55 and 60 all day today. Work was freezing, but at home, I have my blankets and sweatpants and hot tea and a comfy couch to curl up on with my book. I do like this mild version of cold, so I'm not complaining.

I noticed today, though, that when the chilly wind blows, you can smell the river. Because the Ashley is a tidal river that comes from the swamps, it has a highly sulfurous odor (which Jack, without fail, comments on every time he's here). I wasn't a fan of it when I first moved here, but it's become familiar.

The river smells of courage, because it's taken a lot of bravery to move away from NC and all my beloved people there.

The river smells of independence, because this is where I've chosen to settle (at least for now) by myself.

The river smells of promise, because there is so much that I haven't done, but I can see before me.

The river smells of love, because I'm learning to love this city and the people I'm meeting here.

It may be a little strange, but I think that the smell is comforting, for all these reasons. It reminds me that I'm not in Kansas (or Raleigh) anymore, but I'm not there because I'm supposed to be here. And it reminds me that I'm incredibly blessed to know what I'm supposed to be doing and where I'm supposed to be at this stage in my life. And that is very good.