Coast Trip And Productivity

Friday, May 4th, we went to the coast and had lunch with Jane Claire and I got to hang out with her for a little bit before we headed to the condo to meet our friends from Meridian, the Baird’s, there. Before the Baird’s arrived I had a nice polite talk with the lady downstairs to not call security on us as she has the past 2 times we’ve been there, as I was not in the mood for her shenanigans. My mother always said to kill people like her with kindness. I did, even though she said that it’s because we are “heavy set” that we walk harder and therefore disturb her. If I’m lying I’m dying I swear to you I did not punch her in the face. Hill was with me or the scenario may have gone differently. I told her how impolite that was and she said, “Oh not you, your husband.” I said I do not care who you are talking about – you don’t say that to people. She assured me that there is nothing wrong with being “bigger” and I said well obviously there is and stomped my large impregnated tail up the stairs. I dislike her a lot.

So Friday night I stuffed my heavy set face at the Jourdan River Steamer and hung out with the owners, they are so fun. If we lived down there they would probably be our BFFs. Saturday Wes and Chip fished while Bridget, Ella, Hill & I hung out. We ate at the Waffle House which is a breakfast mecca for pregnant people (Bridget is due in August.) After breakfast we went to the Children’s Museum which was the perfect weekend because it was the museums 14th birthday! So they had all kinds of activities and outdoor concerts…and cake. It was nice.

Saturday night we went and ate at some yuck-o restaurant. Seriously, I have never walked out of a restaurant to my car and headed straight for the ditch to puke. It was not ok. I was not ok. I may have vomited out my baby. I was telling this story to my mom and you know what her response was? I crack up thinking about it…her response was not “Oh, no how awful. I’m so sorry you got so sick.” Her response was “Oh, no how embarrassing!”

Once that was out of my system I was ok. I vowed to Jesus that if I survived I’d never to eat marinara sauce again. I’d pleaded similar situations to him before and he’d never let me down even though he knows I never keep my word.

Sunday we took the kiddos out on the boat. It was hot. Hill and I like riding in the boat…but not so much sitting there waiting for fish to eat our bait. The guys wanted the kids to catch a fish. It took forever to catch one. Once they did catch one I was happy because that meant we could drive the boat around and feel the breeze in our face. Bbbzzz, wrong! In a man’s world that means, Oh! A fish bite, there must be more - - let’s sit here longer and try to catch more fish as our wives and children self-combust into a fiery inferno! Six years later we returned to the dock and ate lunch and Hill and I headed home to Kosciusko since Chip had to stay behind for work reasons. It was a good weekend. Very exhausting. Hill and I were glad to be home to play with our puppies and sleep in our own bed.

Sunday afternoon I caught word that one of our beloved local doctor, Gary Holdiness, was killed in a bicycling accident on the Natchez Trace. Not only was Gary was an avid cyclist, but very safety oriented. He helped advocate the 3ft law in Mississippi for cyclists. He will be missed by many. Please keep his family in your prayers as they endure their journey through life without their rock.

I always thought that he thought Hill was the most adorably precious child ever conceived. He was his doctor when Hill was in the hospital with pneumonia at 9 months. He was concerned about Hill’s wellbeing as if Hill were his own child. When we go see Dr. Carter (which is fairly often) Gary would always peek in at his favorite most beautiful little man. Not that I’m disappointed to know that Hill wasn’t his only favorite little man after the many many stories I’ve heard about his other friends and patients – it just goes to prove that Gary had that impact on so many – like you were the only one, you had his whole undivided attention and you are without a doubt special. Rejoice as he has met his maker. The one he longed to be with one day, we just never assumed it to be so soon. Thank you for being an angel here on earth and saving so many both physically and spiritually.

As the air was somber Monday, the Rotary Club met up at the local hospital. It is undergoing complete renovation and is almost finished. We got to be the first group to tour it and eat lunch. Not too sure if this is something to be proud of, but I was the first person ever to be served at the new cafeteria. Food was great and facility is absolutely amazing. Our community should be extremely proud to have a facility of such great caliber.

Then Monday night, May 7th, for the first time in over 2 months I had a feeling of self-worth. Most of you know my mentality is productivity productivity productivity 24-7 leave nothing undone as there is always something to be done! Well since this child has been living in me I have been a Grinch that loafs around in a funk. I figured out that if I can muster up the energy (and gumption) then if I do something productive I actually feel good about my life. We recently purchased a house to be redone and possibly rented or resold depending on the alignment of the stars. Well the first order of business is to get a new front door. What Chip failed to do (because I want to blame him it’s easier that way) is get a door that has been stained and finished. So as much as I was dreading staining the door I actually enjoyed it and felt like I had served a purpose other than gestating. All I have to say is thank 8 pound baby Jesus for being a carpenter and showing his skills to others so that they could be his angelic disciples and finish this project so I don’t have to worry with it. Amen.

Wednesday, May 9th, I actually straightened up the house and folded the monstrous pile of clothes and put them all away before the county came out and mistook my house for a landfill. That was kind of nice. While I was cleaning Chip was grilling out BBQ chicken outside. When he’d open the door I would secretly be sad because the chicken smell made me feel pukish but I wanted to eat it! Then when he brought it in it looked so good, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of pulling it off the bone to eat. So, I felt stupid for asking but I had to have Chip pull it off the bone so I could eat it. I felt like a weirdo and as much as I’d hope that Chip thought it was peculiar too, I’m sure he was just happy that I was happy and not telling him to take his yummy chicken and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. Oh I’ve been evil. Who will be the President of Chip’s support group? I’ll be happy to make refreshments for the group if needed. We should have signs for people’s yards made that say “Prayers for Chippy.” It’s that bad.

Below are pics of the coast trip.
One of Hill being a silly goggled cowboy. One of the fish that was caught on our fishing outing (Hill and Ella). Then one of Hill lounging in my bed...so glad to be back home and in his element.