I made it…

I made it… and actually had a really good time. I have so many good feelings about this weekend and I’m so happy I did it! A road trip with my parents was just the thing I needed and so did they. The trip started off like this:

Mom and Dad picked me up at my house and we were on the road at 6:30. Just minutes down the road on Hwy 10 East my mom gets a call from someone wanting to start a prayer chain. My mom get s all the details and hangs up the phone… then asks us to join with her in prayer for the little boy, who has some sort of respiratory, problem and tells dad he doesn’t have to bow his head and close his eyes since he was driving. It’s now 6:45 and mom rips out her latest AVON book and asks if I want to look at it, then shows me what she plans to buy all the grandkids for Christmas. I take the Avon book and thumb through it and mom asks me if I ever shop at Citi Trends. (Citi Trends is an Urban Clothing store in Greenville). She proceeded to tell me of her new AVON clients there- their names are Poo, Viola, and Doe. Dad begins singing Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do from The Sound of Music. Mom starts talking about my nephew Taylor. She begins telling me a story about what happened at church last Sunday with him. Dad interrupts her, “Now Deborah, be nice”. Mom begins her story. She says a man at church is always cutting his eyes at Taylor when they let him play in the aisle. (Mom informs me she has already talked to the Pastor and he doesn’t mind Taylor playing in the aisle) Well, last Sunday mom got angry when she looked over at the man and saw him shaking his head and saying stuff under his breath… Mom then tells me she called the guy a Sadducees! I then asked her what a Sadducees was… and here is the definition.

There were many Sadducees among the "elders" of the Sanhedrin. They seem, indeed, to have been as numerous as the Pharisees (Acts 23:6). They showed their hatred of Jesus in taking part in his condemnation. They endeavored to prohibit the apostles from preaching the resurrection of Christ. They were the deists or skeptics of that age. They do not appear as a separate sect after the destruction of Jerusalem.

I’m not sure how  she came to call him that…  she probably wanted to sound really mean, but still remain appropriate for church.  So, a Sadducees he was!

At this point into the trip- I was second guessing myself. I began to think, “Well, at least I will see my friend on her wedding day and it will be nice to see her family.” But then after the first twenty minutes into the drive it was pretty quite. I started talking about my day and what was going on in my life and even sang some songs for them I am planning to sing at the Fair with the Ritz Players.

I brought along a tape recorder, I borrowed from work, and purchased six hours worth of audio cassette tapes before the trip. I made a list of questions prior to the trip and asked mom and dad  if I could interview them. I asked them questions about their childhood- favorite toys, pets, and best friends. I asked them question about their first love, first kiss, and awkward dates. I had them answer questions on religion, politics, fame, and fortune. I also asked them questions on the choices they made regarding the raising of me and my siblings. Without a harsh word, without a fight, and with only a few tears shed… I now have nearly four hours of the only real conversation I have ever had with my mom and dad.

I learned so much about my dad and how he quit school at 16 and ran away from home. He left and traveled all over the place with the carnival. Yes, my dad was a “CARNI”… he eventually came back home to Iowa City, IA and enrolled back in high-school. He told me how he graduated from high school at the age of 21 and how hard it was to stick with it while he was ridiculed by his peers. He talked about the years he was a Taxi Cab driver and all the people he met, and his enlistment in the U.S. Army and how much he enjoyed being stationed in Hawaii. He told me about the time his neighbors across the street got a television and how he and all the neighborhood kids would watch it through the window.

I learned a lot about my mother and the bad choices she made in life… and some of her regrets. I didn’t realize my mom had such a tough time in high school- as far as fitting in, and that is something I can definitely relate with to her. I have seen senior portraits of my mother and she was a beautiful woman, but she never thought she was. She told me about her first marriage and the hell she went through as a single mother of three and the hurt she felt in being such a disappointment to her parents.

I learned that there is so much about who I am that is a direct reflection of how they raised me.
I’m a leader not a follower- I get that from my dad.
I’m a compassionate, sincere, and forgiving person- I get that from my mom.

Before we got to Dallas, I gave my dad “permission” to be as corny as he would like. I promised I wouldn’t get embarrassed, and that any joke that came to his mind could be told. He took my "permission slip" and ran with it. He was cracking jokes on every waitress and every restaurant. Some really laughed and some courtesy laughed (I can tell the difference) and sometimes… I even laughed. At the wedding he met a guy named Jack and after Jack introduced himself, Dad said, “Well, Jack nice to meet you but I won’t be saying Hi to you at the Airport!” then said, “Hijack!” and then laughed hysterically at himself. I had to give it to him… that one was one of the better jokes and I laughed at Jack's reaction. Then he met a guy at the wedding, who happened to be a magician. Dad told him, “My brother is a magician” and the guy interestingly says, “Yeah?” and then my dad says, “Yeah, he can walk down the street and Turn into a Bar.”
**and Cue the Crickets**
okay- so that one was pretty lame and so were most of the jokes for the weekend… but the difference is- I didn’t let myself get embarrassed or aggravated with him.

The things my mom does that aggravate me are harder to ignore. AND the thing about it is… the very things I get aggravated with her about- I constantly do myself. Like- we both our constantly losing our keys and debit cards and we each take entirely too long to tell a story and to get to the point. Also, and this is the worst- WE both forget what we were going to say. I realixe that as I am getting older... I’m beginning to be much more like her.

We arrived at Rosemary’s house early Saturday morning at 6:30. She was so happy to see us! We all talked for a little while and then mom and dad went to sleep. I went with Rosemary to run errands, but first she took me to the local coffee house- Rock Bottom Coffee. We went to the Galleria in Downtown Dallas and made stops at Best Buy and Target. Then we went back to het place to get ready for the rehearsal. After the rehearsal, everyone went out to eat at El Felix an authentic Texan Mexican Restaurant. Chris, the Groom, thought it was going to be a typical rehearsal dinner- but Rosemary had is serve two purposes- it was also his 30th Birthday Party. I enjoyed visiting with all of Rosemary’s family and meeting Chris’. fter the rehearsal we went back to Rosemary’s where we worked on the flowers for the wedding.

The next day, Rosemary invited me to spend the day with her bridal party and friends. We went and had threading done to our eyebrows. Threading is an Indian way of removing hair- if you have never seen or heard of threading...Watch this YouTube Video:

I had never had that done before and it is wonderful! I have been trying to find a place In Montgomery that does it. Its way better than waxing or plucking, it still hurts- but not as bad and the results last longer. Then we went to the wedding site and made the flower arrangements for the tables. Then- after that, Rosemary treated us all to mani’s and pedi’s. Okay- Greenville isn’t up to par with how pedicures are supposed to be… they should include a glass of wine or bottled water, a sea salt scrub, and hot towel treatment around your legs and feet. Yeah, it was pretty much the best pedicure I have ever had… and get this.... I had not one but two manicurist working on me at once- one for the feet and one for the hands!?!?! It was heaven.

Then we left to get ready for the wedding. Rosemary wasn’t your typical bride- it didn’t even faze her that thunderstorms swept through TX and they couldn’t get married outside, like they had planned. The wedding venues staff moved the ceremony inside and they married one another in front of a large fireplace with hundreds of lit candles. It was beautiful! After the ceremony they provided wine/ beer cheese, crackers, and fruit. I drank a beer with Dad and mom got upset. lol. (That’s another thing I learned about my dad… he was quite the drunk as a teenager.) After the formal sit down dinner we then dined on an armadillo grooms cake and wedding cake. Shhh… don’t tell anyone, but my mom even sipped on champagne during the toast. After everyone had eaten and drank a few… we danced and danced and then danced some more. It was a Great Wedding!

After the wedding, the parents and I went back to Rosemary’s house- went to bed and woke up Sunday morning to leave. After a bite to eat at Denny’s, I slept nearly the entire way back to Alabama. We ate at Ryan's Buffet in Meridean, MS... and there I let my parents know how much I enjoyed them this weekend.

Here is a picture from the slideshow at the wedding:

Back row: Mom, Rosemary, Choua, Dad, Me

front Row: Michael, Lynn, Andrew, Crystal, my sister Emily.

I could ring her neck for this one:

In the pic above:

Apparently, I was very fond of the "Gangsta, I Love You" Hand Sign and I must have taught Emily how to throw up her Gangsta ily Sign, as well. -Hilarious.
I think I may submit this to awkward family photos.com

More Pictures from the trip will be posted soon! :)