Remembering

Lately I've been asking my friends and family for their thoughts on my blog.  And I keep getting the same responses.  "Not personal enough," "we don't see you in it,"  "no personality."  Really?!  I was so shocked.  I thought my witty, lovely, personality was so obvious (okay, being sarcastic here.)  But I decided to listen instead of just getting defensive.  So I'm going to push myself to get a little more personal or at least relax my writing style a little, my goal with this blog is not a Pulitzer...

This post might be taking the "personal" thing a little too far but hey, why not jump right in and go for it?  A year ago tomorrow my grandaddy passed away.  He was a wonderful man and I am so lucky to have spent the time I did with him.  When I was little, he'd pick me up from school on Fridays and immediately take me to the McDonald's in their little country town outside of Nashville (I didn't say he was a healthy man.)  He knew every waitress there and they all loved him.  He had the most endearing charm and charisma of any man I've met.  With a full head of beautiful shiny white hair (which he held onto long after most men his age,) he'd saunter over to the counter, give the girl a wink and we'd get three happy meal toys instead of one.  This was a big deal to me, it made him an instant hero.  This kind of behavior didn't mean he was in any way unfaithful to my grandmother, he adored her.  I remember being a teenager and watching the two of them walk back to the house after putting bird seed in their bird feeder.  They didn't realize we were all watching inside and he grabbed her hand and they both smiled as they walked closer.  It struck me as one of the most romantic moments and it has stuck with me thankfully.  There are many memories that I could share but I'll hang onto those for now, this sharing thing is making me a little sad tonight and as I've said before, that's not what this blog is about.

In addition to sharing some personal stories, I'm going to do something else surprising, I'm going to share my picture!  Whoa!  Yea, get ready!  At right is an image from this past fall.  KTW melted my heart one sunday afternoon and took me to pick apples and pumpkins.  It was a beautiful fall day, sunny but crisp. I knew when I walked out the door just what I needed, my grandaddy's scarf.  After his funeral last year, we went back to their house.  I was told to take what I wanted but at the time, all I wanted was this scarf, I like to think he's keeping me warm when it's cold out.  And you know what?  That day in the apple orchard, I held hands with KTW and smiled, a lot.