Zeus in snowy dog heaven

White Christmas!!

First time it has snowed on Christmas Day in my lifetime. THAT'S something to record!

Hospitality suite

M. played at UGA this week. Kati (our former German exchange student from 2003, visiting this Christmas) and I drove down to Athens and arrived about an hour early. We parked and found a rear entrance to the stadium by the parking garage. After wandering around in the building we found a security guard and asked how to get to the colosseum. She said it would open in a few minutes but pointed us to the 'hospitality suite'. I asked what she meant. "Oh, you can go in there and get some dinner!" "Really?" I asked. She assured me to go on in. So Kati and I went to the hospitality suite. And ate to our hearts content, though I did have the decency to cover up my purple and black sweater, surrounded as we were by a sea of red. For of course, the hospitality suite was filled with UGA supporters (and one assumes, donors). Between laughing ourselves silly, we took pictures to document our security-guard-approved party-crashing.

Then we went in the colosseum, saw that our tickets were in the nosebleed section, and promptly went down to the second row. In a few minutes a nice genteleman arrived, stating that we were in his seat, but that he owned the whole row and were welcome to stay in the seats if he could just have the aisle. Then during the game a fan across the court kept yelling to "Put in Moses!" Have no idea who he was, or why he decided to petition for M, but eventually he did get a few minutes of playing time. (It was especially cool to watch the game later, recorded on ESPN, and see him on TV!)

So thank you UGA fans for all your hospitality and support!

Why is it when your kids are doing something....

....that you can't take your eyes off them? When Chelsea was Baloo or Titania in the play; when Clark was on the football field or in the chorus; when Grayson was in the Mr. Eastside pageant or running crosscountry; when Mackenzie was on the court or part of the homecoming court.... I have absolutely no memories of anyone else! All I can do is watch my child in wonder, love, and admiration. It was that way last night....Mack's team played against Wofford. Even though he was only in for 44 seconds of the game, he's the player I watched the most.

Ho Ho Holidays

The Christmas party season is well underway. Tuesday night brought Kathy's annual girlfriend party. The only man in the place is our bartender Matt, the perfect bartender. He tells everyone how great they look, keeps everybody's glass filled, and poses for photos with everyone.

Looking forward

Ups and downs rattle your teeth for awhile, but eventually, you settle into whatever reality looks like. That's where I'm at. My teeth are rattling a little, but I am looking forward to the road smoothing out into a new normal. I was recently chosen with 2 others from my program to work in England this spring. Tabitha (pictured with me) and Ryan and I will go to the University of Sheffield, and work in Student Affairs there for 5 weeks. By then, I hope I'll have Grayson back from Afghanistan, the 2 year divorce over, and be able to really have a great time, without worries.

A tough day ahead

This is how my day started today.

I can't stop crying after reading today's headline, after just talking to Gray last night. This is where he is. I can't bear these sad headlines. But I've got to stop crying, because I have to be in the dentist's chair at 9. And then my day really goes downhill, with a temporary hearing at noon. Most days I love and celebrate, but today seems like a rough one brewing. I want to find something today to celebrate and appreciate. Please God.

How my day started!

I'm lucky to have some of the best friends on earth. Seriously. Old, new. Young, old. Married, single. I love them.
So this weekend I went up to Asheville to celebrate my old friend (as in, she's been my friend a long time) Beth's birthday. Her hubby Steve has also been my friend for 30 years. And joining us was a new friend, Kingsley, whom I met last year. We dined at the Biltmore House, and ate scrumptious food. I spent the night with them, and awoke to snow! Beth served a lovely breakfast and we visited this morning. I returned to a dog who was happy to see me -- another of my good friends. I went to a friend's birthday party, then relaxed with another friend to watch Dan in Real Life (my favorite Steve Carrell role). Wrapped up the night with a Skype with my favorite Marine and a few phone calls with other friends.

I am grateful tonight for friendships that last across time, across distance, across grief and loss and misfortune.