My Idea of a Best Day Ever...

After a wild morning of forgetfulness trying to get to Atlanta, I finally arrived only 4 hours later.  Debbie, being the hostess that she is, slowed down her schedule to cater to me.  We started our days with a lingering cup of coffee in our pj's....filled the days with shopping and eating...and ended them with a glass of wine.  My idea of a best day ever.  Only it was 3 days in a row. 

 

It's a challenge to stay in the moment...just be...

much less remember to capture some of it with a camera.

So alot of these pictures were taken from the cell phone or a moving car.

 

My friend lives in an urban townhouse down the street

 from a historical area of Roswell...Big City meets Mayberry.

 

 Walking to the shops and restaurants, this is a tucked away sitting area in the townhouse development.  On Friday nights, homeowners can walk down with their cocktail and their dogs for an evening of socializing....they call it Park Tails. 

Move me there.

 

 

Would you look at those trees?

If you live near me, you will understand how awesome that is to see.

Fall colors....ahhh.

 

 

 On the right are some townhomes...

straight ahead the cute street of shops and restaurants. 

Perfect weather...outside dining.

Chip took us for a ride in his 1930 LaSalle that once belonged to his aunt. 

No power steering, no windows, but plenty of leg room. 

 

Why they call the "trunk" the "trunk."

 

The trees...

 

the trees...

 

 the trees.

 

I got to go to Ballard's Backroom!  If only I had had a truck,

I could have brought home some treasures.  While I didn't buy anything,

I did have fun seeing all the things in person. 

 If you haven't heard of Ballard Designs...now you have.

And we went in and out of lots of cute stores like this one. 

 

Bad cell phone picture...but cute idea on the front porch of this store.

Yeah way down yonder on the chattahoochee
It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie
We layed rubber on the georgia asphalt
We got a litte crazy but we never got caught

We crossed The Chattahoochie River several times while out and about. 

 

 

 

 

The '88 models. 

 

 Cameron (my second child) and Taylor (Debbie's first born)

 were born 10 days apart in February, 1988. 

They met when they were 4 and were in Kindergarten and First Grade together. 

While they've grown up and are now adults...they are still the same to us. 

 

This is Blake and Taylor when we met them back in 92. 

 We love these kids and honestly, they are frozen in my mind like this. 

A gentle giant...Blake. 

These boys are all grown up in to two great men.

 

Next up...it's all about the football!

 

Until then....thankful for this trip, this family, the lasting friendship.

Getting There....

I just got back from a trip to Atlanta for a visit with my friend, Debbie.  It included lots of eating, shopping, wine and coffee, talking, analyzing and laughing.  And that was just Wednesday!

But first I had to get there.

I rarely travel without Chuck but this time I was going in a couple of days ahead of him for some girl time with Debbie so I was on my own getting myself to the airport.  You should know that he flew out of the same airport for a business trip to D.C., one hour before my own flight,  but he leaves 3 hours before and I just could not give up that much sleeping in and last minute packing on that Wednesday morning.  This really seems silly to me now but it did not at the time.  I am extremely selfish and mindful of the hours I clock in sleeping.

So I wake up at 5:00 am, shower, dress, finish packing and roll my suitcase in to the kitchen.  With an ETD of 6:00 am for an 8:33 am flight, I was doing great on time as we're only about 25 minutes from the airport. I fixed myself one more cup of coffee, loaded a couple of dishes, fed the dogs their treat, turned off some lights and turned on some others, set the alarm and got in the car.

The time was 6:10...not too bad.  Traffic was light and I was on my way.  About 20 minutes in to the 25 minute drive to the airport, I was mentally patting myself on the back.  It sounded in my mind something like this....

Well, I still got it.  I got up on time! I pulled out of the driveway by 6:10!  I could have been out by 6 if I didn't have to give the dogs their treat.  I am so good at this traveling thing.  What a beautiful morning!  Traffic is starting to build...thank goodness I left when I did.  Set the alarm?  Check. Turned on a light?  Check.  Packed my medicine?  Oh, yea I did.





 

and then.......








a long silent pause........in my brain.........






wait a minute.


Did.  I.  Put.  My.  Suitc..................





And that is when I realized I had not put my suitcase in the car.  I called Chuck and screamed  what I had done and could he get me on another flight? And he calmly said he would call me back.  I called Debbie and dropped a few choice words as it was all starting to sink in.  All the while, I had pulled off the freeway and was racing back in the other direction toward home.  I had allowed myself plenty of time to get to the airport once, but certainly not twice with a trip home, too.

So, Chuck got me on a flight at 12:40 something and I had nothing but time on my hands until it was time to head to the airport again.  Ugh.

The second chapter goes something like this.  I get to the airport for the second time that day way ahead of schedule.  I park in the parking garage with valet service.  When the parking attendant asks how I'm doing, I tell him about my forgetful, wild morning.  He gets a good laugh. 

I get on the van to the airport from the parking garage and as it is almost to the drop off place in front of the airport, I reach in my bag for my cell phone. 
 

 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???



 

Yep. I forgot my cell phone in my car.  I move up to the jumpseat by the driver and ask him if he can radio back to the parking garage to see if my phone is in my car.  While he is radioing, I turn and ask everyone on the van if they think I can go without my phone...they all say in unison "NO!" 

The driver hears back from the garage....they have my phone and will put it on the next van...all I have to do is wait at the drop-off in front of the airport for the next van to get there. 

It's not even 10:00 am.  I've been up since 5:00 am and I'm not even in the airport yet. 


Thank goodness, it was all uphill after this.

When I finally arrived at Debbie's with my suitcase and cell phone, this is what was waiting for me in "my bathroom." 

It was a great weekend from the weather to the food to the company.  More on that later. 

You Could Not Tell Me Then....

Back row:  Nanny holding Will and G'Daddy

Front row:  Cameron, Jack and Jordan

 

Halloween 1990

 

 

You could not tell me then to stop and relax because it was all going to go by so fast.  That's the trick of time, isn't it?  Long days, short years.  It's so cliche that it's irritating at the time.  And now when I hear myself tell my young mom friends to enjoy every moment, I want to slap myself because I sound like an old lady.

But oh, my.  It's the truth. 

I remember feeling overwhelmed on many Halloweens with so much to do between getting everyone dressed up and cooking our traditional chili and cornbread and having the whole family over which meant additional cleaning and serving.  Chuck would pull in to the driveway when it was about time to eat.  I could never relax and enjoy it.  At the time. 

And today...we bought the candy, I'm making the chili and cornbread but there are no trick-or-treaters to get dressed and fed in a rushed frenzy before trick-or-treating.  And I have all the time in the world. 

And it's not so fun.

And this picture makes me miss my daddy who dressed up in a prison suit on Halloween, 1990, because just a few weeks before he locked himself out of his house and was trapped between the security gate and front door.  He was trapped in a little area for hours.  When he saw this prison costume at a Walgreen's he knew he had to have it.  His humor was subtle.

And I miss those babies. 

Sorry for the melancholy.

I really don't allow myself to feel too much pity but something washed over me when I found this picture.  Because....(I'm slapping myself).... it does seem like it was just yesterday.

The melancholy could also be brought on by low blood sugar this morning. Chuck bought about 6 huge bags of candy and we got in to one of them last night.