Happy Heart Day!

In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of love.....
I personally feel (like many others) that you should celebrate your love for others 365 days a year, and not just on February 14th. That being said, I still secretly think the idea of this particular holiday has the best of intentions. Husbands send their wives flowers to their office, usually causing extreme jealousy from her coworkers, wives send their husbands cookies or balloons to their office, much to their embarassment, Moms and Dads still feel the need to send a card or at least a balloon to their children.

I grew up in a family that says "I love you" at the drop of a hat, and that is absolutely not an exaggeration. We say it ALL THE TIME! I love it! And even though we say it nonstop, it still means a lot to hear it, and to say it. And for those families who perhaps don't say it often, I think today is a great day for them, because there are some people in the world who may not hear it as often as they like, so today I am happy because maybe someone is hearing the words that they so need to hear.

Matt and I are happily celebrating our first Valentines together as a married couple. He was on call last night, so today he got home from the hospital at 2, and I picked him up shortly after that for a Doctors appointment. He is now in our guest room sleeping, and I'll be waking him up in a few hours so we can have dinner, and watch a few TV shows together. Mythbusters, and LOST. Our night is exactly how we would want it, and we are doing nothing out of the ordinary for each other just because of what today is - even though, for dessert, I've made chocolate covered strawberries. Ok, Ok, I'm a sucker for a little bit of romance and perhaps today IS special after all!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

A SOUTHERN TRADITION

Many of you reading this blog will understand what this one is all about...

This past Friday I traveled about 40 miles North of Atlanta to visit my Mom and Aunt and Grandmother at my Great Uncle James' house in Cumming, Georgia. I had the best time sitting around their dining room table, snacking, talking, crying a little at old memories, and learning a lot about what their lives were like many years ago. There were four generations there at one point during the night, and I, with my journalistic tendencies, was closely just listening to the many conversations going on around me. There may have been just four generations there, but there were stories told about my relatives seven generations back. It was wonderful!

I began to ask questions to the eightysomethings sitting around me and I loved what I heard.

A few examples:

-My Grandmother's class ring was $14.00. Her brother, James, bought it for her with the money he earned pushing a wheelbarrow. Today, a class ring costs $320.00.

-"We need to go ahead and go so we can get back" - what does this mean exactly? Ask my Grandmother.

-"What in the Sam Hill are you doing?" - who is Sam Hill, you may ask? No one knows!

-"Hold it Newt, you're headin' for the pea patch" - this one just means you can't drive!

-"Hold it 'tween the ditches" - another reference to not knowing how to drive...

-"We didn't have much clothes, but what we did have was clean" - a direct quote from Uncle James.

And finally, just some Southern words to make you think:

-thingamajig

-doohickey

-shore 'nuff

-up yonder

-simon slick

-awright is the same thing as saying hello when you answer the phone

The night was interesting and fun to be around my family and I hope everyone has the chance to learn about the folks from our past who still have a lot to say!