Seems We Just Got Started

Y'all remember practicing for your big day "getting your drivers licence". I would dream of the day Mama would be in the kitchen cooking and would need me to drive to the grocery store (by myself) and pick up some milk, just milk. I don't remember that ever happening but that was my dream ride. You see I could take the back road and it was gravel at the time. I figured out real quick if I hit the brake real hard the car would slide a little (ok, a lot sometimes). She must have known better; that's why she got her own milk. I remember having my licence only a week and we were coming back from a family reunion near Cross Roads. Y'all know Grisham Hill on 25 North (back then that hill was bigger I do believe)? I was behind a log truck (yes, a log truck on Sunday) and I thought I needed to pass it. I had never passed before and, needless to say, I forgot to run this idea by Mama. Well it was all clear, so here I go. Mama must have been looking down or swattin...

Laura Nicole  Darwin 7lbs, 11oz and 20 inches long Back in '80 we were living in Jacksonville, Florida and I was working at a store called Woolco, it was alot  like Wal-mart is today, in case you're not as old as me. One day I was telling a co-worker about me staying hungry all the time. She then says maybe you're pregnant. We get to figurin' things up and she then tells me I need to have a pregnancy test done. Well, now, back in-the-day they didn't sell them sticks you pee on, so I had to go to the doctor's office. Sammy did the morning show, so he would leave around 4 in the morning so he could prepare for his on air show at 6 a m. I didn't tell him that morning what I was up to 'cause I wasn't sure I'd go. I really didn't think I was pregnant, but to ease my mind I went. I think I help them open up the office that morning 'cause I just wanted to get it over with and get on to work. They let me stay in the lab and wait f...

A few months before I got married Daddy and Mama bought some land and a double wide trailer at Eastport lake. I remember telling Daddy, you would get this when I'm leaving home. He said well you don't have to get married. Huh!! I got married! That summer we saved some money and bought a boat. Most of the time we would drive down (45 mins away) on Saturday night but this one particular weekend we got to Iuka just in time for church and we were so excited about showing off our boat. I'll never forget this. Now I  grew up going to the United Methodist Church here in town and Lord, I reckon' Daddy and Mama have sat in the same pew as long as I can remember.(that would be left side as you enter the church, 4th row from the back and sat near the window). Do y'all have a favorite spot? Well it made things easier for finding your parents. For example; if you were up front singing, you could look in that direction and see them gloating, not at me, cause I couldn't carr...

Alex turned one year old Tuesday, March 19th. Wow! Somebody pinch me. When Nathaniel and Nikki got married we offered them our house at Eastport to live till they could find a place.  The understanding was that we would be coming back in late April to live for the summer, so move over. One morning (July 12th to be exact) I hear Nikki running down the stairs just a mouthing. I could tell she was excited. When she got to me she was shaking a pregnancy stick. POSITIVE! WooHoo! # 2 grand baby on the way. Shhhhh! I couldn't tell anyone. Get this, she took a pregnancy test everyday till her first doctors visit. One Sunday, Nathaniel and Nikki invited us all, Richard, Cheryl, (Nate's parents) Jackie, Burnette (Nikki's grandparents, Sammy and me out to eat. We all met at Gillian's, a little restaurant at Eastport Marnia. Nikki and Beth worked there in the summers while in high school, so guess who was working there that year? Yep, Kinsley. Kinsley and a few of her friends wo...

The night that you left us, our heart were split in two.  One side was filled with memories, the other side went with you.  As I lay awake at night and all around me is asleep,  I just take a walk down memory lane with tears upon my cheek.  Remembering is so easy,  I do it all the time, but missing you is a ache in my heart that never goes away.  I hold you tightly in my heart and there you will remain,   life may go on without you but I assure you it will never be the same.                                                                                                                     Dear Lord, I could never get through the days withou...

Back in '84 we moved from Kansas City to Iuka, my home town. Sammy/Rusty was just starting up his consulting business. Actually, when we moved here he (we) had 5 radio station (you know a little food on the table).  We knew being a consultant would be quite a bit of travel, so he wanted for the kids and me to be close to family. Even better than that we lived just right down the street from my parents and where I grew up (HOME SWEET HOME). It took a little getting use to him being gone 4-5 days out of the week. We had Nikki (4 yrs old) and Beth (2 yrs. old) and when he would leave, of course they would cry and hang on him, so it made leaving a little rough at times. In '85 Jay comes along and after a year or so, then we had three crying after him and sometimes four... me. Sammy/ Rusty always from day one called us every night to see how our day went and tell us he loved us. One by one he would talk to each one of us. When Jay was around 3 yrs old, Sammy had a daddy to son tal...

Back in early summer of '75, still living in Florence, Al, we had been married a year and a few months. We had moved to a little cottage. It seemed back in the woods to this city girl. It was a cute little greenish  house (1 bdrm), it sat a good ways off the road and it had a huge yard. Oblivious, we didn't see the yard 'cause after a month that thing needed mowing. Guess what??? No lawn mower. As I've heard my daddy say, we didn't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out. Just living on love!! Back then Florence didn't have a mall so Sears was located down town. We put on our best clothes (Lol) and got all excited 'cause we were gonna make our first Big purchase. I guess I was more excited about a mower than he was 'cause that was one of the three things I could do before I got married, mow. You see he knew what he was gettin'. There had been  many a day (back home) when he came for a short visit, before he went to work, and there I sat ri...