It was better than a cruise.
Mine and Charlie's trip had a rocky start. It's just hard for me to leave everything behind. Especially since I have a cell phone attached to the palm of my hand at all times, when travelling. With four daughters and 3 grandchildren, well, it's hard to let go.
We travelled to Gulf Shores on Monday July 7th,
stopping at Peach Park in Clanton for fresh peaches, blueberries, one watermelon, and homegrown tomatoes. Summertime in Alabama. You can't beat it. Passing through Montgomery we were officially in South Alabama. Soon the memories flooded back. I'm home. Next, Ft. Deposit, then Greenville, then Georgiana, Owassa and Evergreen. But on to Gulf Shores and the Phoenix Condominiums. There had been some "stuff", "girl stuff", which involved lots of phone calls - mostly me calling home - but hard to leave it alone - throughout the trip. So my emotions were rather unstable by the time we got out at the Phoenix. Charlie and I got unpacked and did a bit of unwinding on the deck, watching the Gulf and Sand, and smelling burgers which folks were grilling around the pool. We then went to "Zeke's Downunder" and ate outside with a view of many, many boats, owned by folks wealthier than we are.
On Tuesday, after a day in the sun, under an umbrella, reading, relaxing, listening to the gulf waves crashing, crashing, over and over, and dozing, waking with a start, surprised to find myself in a chair on the beach, Charlie and I drove over to Pensacola to take Lib(Charlie's mom) out to eat at a very local spot. Fried Shrimp, Raw Oysters, Salad - it was good.
Let me just say that there is a crossroads between Gulf Shores and Pensacola. It's called Innerarity Point. As a child I was blessed to have parents who had friends who owned homes there. It's on the Bay. It's wonderful. Because of those folks' hospitality and generosity, we were able to vacation in 3 different homes during my childhood, at Innerarity Point. That's another blog post. Moving on.
By Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, I had left Scottsboro behind. The dust had settled with any issues that had "cropped up", and all was well with the Rhodes Girls - so I was able to relax. Charlie and I spent Friday on the beach and travelled to Evergreen Friday afternoon. We got there at 6:00 pm, with fresh boiled shrimp and the makings for salad, to share with Mary Ann, my SIS. It was good. Love to be in Mary Ann's house, surrounded by Evergreen stuff, Mom's fingerprints on everything, with Mary Ann's maintenance and upgrade. M.A. suggested we go for a drive after dinner to see two houses, in Evergreen, which are being rennovated. The 3 of us did - Charles, M.A. and myself - I was driving. The second house we saw is directly across the street from Williams Ave - the sacred street - where I lived from age 3 - 20. I drove down Williams Ave, just because. I know every house on that street. I could count them and name them now, but don't want to take the time. Our house was the eighth house on the left. The eighth out of 12 houses facing the street. Our house was the 9th lot, and the 13th lot was at the end of the street. The house on the 13th lot faced back down the street. In that house lived the Bells. Sue Bell Cobb, the youngest of 3 children, is now our Chief Justice in Alabama - Who knew? Well, I guess I just did take the time to count them. Anyway, as fate would have it, my oldest cousin, Bert, and his wife, Susan, live in the house which I grew up in. Yay! It's still in the family. Bert, Bert, Bert. He is the dearest person - well, it's hard to leave out all the other 9 cousins - But there's only one Bert and I love him so. Also his wife Susan. Bert is 11 years older than I. Susan, was a teenager when I was a little girl. She was my hero - one of my heroes. She was beautiful - and I still see her that way - as a young blonde teenager. I guess she is 10 years older than I, so that would make her 67.
So, back to our "drive". We passed 305 Williams Avenue. Mary Ann saw Susan and Bert at the door, I yelled out "HELLOOOOOO". We pulled in the driveway. NO INTENTIONS of getting out. They came to the car, wanted us to see their flowers, reluctantly got out, looked outside, ended up inside and staying until 10:00 or 10:30. It will go down as one of the best times I've ever had in my life. It wasn't planned, but spontaneous. We couldn't have planned it. We talked about everything in the world, our past, our present, what we think - it was the best. Funny aside, when we were leaving, again, I was driving - Bert and Susan were trying to figure out the best way for me to "back out" - you'd have to know the driveway - I had to remind them - this was the driveway I practiced on when I was 15. I know every inch of it - every way to maneuver. The entire year I was 15, waiting to be 16, I drove and backed out on that driveway, without my parents in the car. But never beyond that point.
Charlie and I drove to Maranook on Saturday to pick up our "baby girl" who is on Support Staff at Camp Maranook in Lafayette, AL. Charles and Barbara Kendrick-Holmes are the Mama and Daddy of that camp. They are Kate's "other parents". This next statement is a tribute to them and what they have meant to Kate. They undergird what Charlie and I have invested in Kate - they also fill in the blank spaces which we have left undone. They are Godly People. I love them for what they have meant to Kate.
We got Kate and came home on Saturday. LOVE TO BE HOME. LOVE IT. My acre. I wallow in it. The grass needs cutting. LB had left the house in GREAT SHAPE. YAY for LB!!
And the moment when I saw Ellie and Luke on Sunday night. That's heaven. Who can top that acclamation???? They threw themselves upon me. "It was too much to bear", as my mom used to quote her mom and aunt - "Northcutt Drama". They squealed over me, they squealed over Kate, and they squealed over Charlie. And then they saw their Daddy - See?? Ellie and Luke had been with their MOM in McDonough, GA visiting Laura Beth, Ada and Scott. They returned on Sunday, when Charlie and Steve were at a "church meeting". So they came straight to my house, saw me, then Kate, then Charlie, then Steve. It was all separate. Those two little bitty people couldn't have showered us with more blessings. How can I be so blessed as to have two little precious people love me so? But they did it to each of us, the same. Too Much. The only thing that would make it better would be to have Ada in the mix.
Kate had prepared, on Sunday evening, a meal for Charlie and me. And a birthday cake. My birthday was Monday July 14th. 57.
So, Monday was my birthday - and Kate woke up here, but had to leave by 11:00. She was a bit late, but got away. I turned around to see my house and how we had added clutter upon clutter. I was sorting through all of that when I received a phone call from my "cousin-in-law", Martha .......
Save that story for next day's post.
For the record, my dear friend, Mary Bratton called me ON MY BIRTHDAY, to wish me a happy birthday and to set a date for "lunch out". Also, got a voice mail from SWEET SUE Paulk, who was out of town, to wish me a happy birthday. Also, Ann and Ellie showed up early Monday morning with a gift and card and candles to put in the cake which we had already cut on Sunday night. Thanks to all - I forget most birthdays and those that I remember, I'm tardy in my recognizing them. I deserve nothing, but those who remember - that is grace upon grace. If any of my daughters forget, well, it's only what I taught them - reach a certain age, and one can forget. :-) The forgetting relieves my own guilt - therefore, the forgetting is a gift in and of itself.
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