Twenty-five years ago, I was only 28 years old. Amie was 10, Curt was 8, Bryce was only 3, Lance was just a month old, and Drew was not even born. Yesterday was the anniversary of my dad's last Valentine's Day. I remember it every year. The first 10 years were harder, and although it's true what they say about time healing all wounds, time never makes you forget or long for that last chance to say, "I love you" one more time, or "I'm sorry for not being the princess you thought I was,", or wishing for a chance to be Daddy's Little Girl one more time.
Things I miss are hearing the song, "Robin, Robin, I've been thinking, What a fine world this would be...", "Peggy! Where's my no salt!", "Who farred that shot?", "Roostus Rastus, Johnson Brown," the song, "Peanut on the Railroad Track," and him calling me Daisy Mae. I miss lying in Mama and Daddy's expansive King bed while they simultaneously watched TV and read, and getting tickled till I couldn't stand it, and laughing, and running away from that awfully scary, children-chasing gorilla he became, or watching him wiggle his ears and whistle at the same time, and listening to the song "Cool Water" with him, and making that trip to the farm before the house was completed, and snuggling under some covers in the cold car while he grilled the best burger I've ever eaten to this day, and watching Hee Haw with him, and arguing that Eric Clapton HAD to be a better guitar player than Buck Owens or Roy Clark.
I don't miss sharing ONE bathroom at the summer place in Bluffton.
He gave us a good life, and while there were things that went on behind closed doors that I was never privy to growing up, I know in my heart that my dad, The Senator, as he is known in Velociworld, worked hard to provide us with privileges of music, dance, sports, the ballet, clothes every Christmas from Rich's in Atlanta, special Disney movies about the wilderness, shopping sprees with friends, drive-in movies with red Kool-Aid and brown, butter-greasy grocery bags full of home-popped popcorn (My favorite was the double feature of "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"), homes where we could spend time on the water skiing, crabbing, fishing, and shrimping, red towels that had our names embroidered on them, and, once, a long time ago, the honor of wearing t-shirts that said, "Vote for my Daddy."
I want my children and my grandchildren to know that they have a lot to look forward to when they see him on the other side of the veil and hug him and talk with him and give out those hugs and kisses he missed in this life. I am so proud to be the daughter of Ralph Lloyd Crawford Sr.
I love and miss you, Daddy!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Happy 28th Lance!
So here we are in the new year! Happy Birthday to Lance today! Yay! Here's a picture of him rockin' out with his bros when they got together at Curt's before the big family reunion. Good times! Check out my boys! Talk about mad skillz! Dude!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Give it to Mikey..... He'll eat anything!
Hmmmm..... What's on the menu tonight? What can I make on the fly? Through the years I have seen some interesting things in refrigerators and freezers. We had a cow eye in the fridge when Lindy did a science project in high school. Nice! I used to go giggin' for frogs as a young newlywed. Talk about budget food! I've had to tolerate a few minor myocardial infarctions when I lived with an avid fisherman who had a habit of leaving fish heads intact. I wasn't used to opening the fidge to find something looking back at me with an open mouth that seemed to say, "How YOU doin?" I've seen my share of white butcher paper with black magic markered labels on various and sundry (and sometimes surprising!) body parts from pigs, cows, elk, and deer. I'm tellin ya, I thought I'd seen it all. But the latest thing to hit the freezer in the Dunford home has me surprised yet again... 
Yep! It's Scamper! Amie noticed an odd smell that rivaled a pungent diaper in the office and when she had Clay check on Scamper, they learned that he had unfortunately died. I know they loved him, but I'm thinking taxidermy is a more viable option.
I was happy to learn that the cute little ball of fur that attacked me on the stairs one morning was not intended to be Amie's next culinary experiment to make my Atkins diet more appealing. Clay's just been waiting for his hectic schedule to allow him the time to preside over a befitting funeral for the family pet that is no more.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Good Timber
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home > Hobb
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home > Hobb
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-legged Beasties
"From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night, good Lord deliver us."
This has been one of my favorite Halloweens in a long time. I guess it's because I got to experience first-hand through the eyes of some of my grandchildren that excitement that builds all month long. Amie and Clay started things off with a Halloweenie Roast on a Friday when it rained all day. Poor Clay was out in the rain mowing the lawn, and the rain never did let up. It ended up being a ton of fun. Clay grilled the hot dogs, they set up a jump house in the garage for maybe 25 kids who showed up, and by dang they DID get a fire going in the barbecue pit for the marshmallow roast.
I decided to decorate my desk for work. Amie carved the pupkin for me during a Family Home Evening, and I made some spiders out of pipe cleaners and googly eyes. I had the most decorated desk at the office. I especially liked the black garbage bags I laid for the foundation. You can't see the sign I had that said, "Watch out for flying monkeys."
So on Tuesday before Halloween, we had a chance to dress in our costumes and go to the church for Trunk or Treat. Here's the whole crew:
Amie went as Giselle:
Here I am as a witch. When I dressed up for work, I painted my nails black.
Take one more look at the group: Who is that Mullet Man? And did you see the princess, the cute witch, and the 2 kitty cats?(hint: one is fast asleep)
When I get a chance, I'll have to show you the pics Amy took of Madison, Preston, and Jackson on Halloween. Madison was a bride, Preston was a soldier, and Jackson was the cutest puppy I've ever seen! I sat at the bottom of the driveway all decked out in my witch's garb to hand out candy to the kiddies, and I had a ton of fun! It did get pretty cold, though. There was hot chocolate for everybody when it was all over.
This has been one of my favorite Halloweens in a long time. I guess it's because I got to experience first-hand through the eyes of some of my grandchildren that excitement that builds all month long. Amie and Clay started things off with a Halloweenie Roast on a Friday when it rained all day. Poor Clay was out in the rain mowing the lawn, and the rain never did let up. It ended up being a ton of fun. Clay grilled the hot dogs, they set up a jump house in the garage for maybe 25 kids who showed up, and by dang they DID get a fire going in the barbecue pit for the marshmallow roast.
I decided to decorate my desk for work. Amie carved the pupkin for me during a Family Home Evening, and I made some spiders out of pipe cleaners and googly eyes. I had the most decorated desk at the office. I especially liked the black garbage bags I laid for the foundation. You can't see the sign I had that said, "Watch out for flying monkeys."
So on Tuesday before Halloween, we had a chance to dress in our costumes and go to the church for Trunk or Treat. Here's the whole crew:
Amie went as Giselle:
Here I am as a witch. When I dressed up for work, I painted my nails black.
Take one more look at the group: Who is that Mullet Man? And did you see the princess, the cute witch, and the 2 kitty cats?(hint: one is fast asleep)
When I get a chance, I'll have to show you the pics Amy took of Madison, Preston, and Jackson on Halloween. Madison was a bride, Preston was a soldier, and Jackson was the cutest puppy I've ever seen! I sat at the bottom of the driveway all decked out in my witch's garb to hand out candy to the kiddies, and I had a ton of fun! It did get pretty cold, though. There was hot chocolate for everybody when it was all over.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
3's and 8's - My response to being tagged
3's and 8's
3 Joys
1. My children
2. My grandchildren
3. My sibs
3 Fears:
1. Dying in a fire
2. Drowning
3. Belinda’s house without haint blue shutters
3 Obsessions:
1. Swimming
2. Atkins
3. Movies
3 Surprising facts:
1. I was a cheerleader
2. I played center guard on the basketball team in school
3. I won a doubles tennis tournament in college
8 Things I'm passionate about:
1. Seeing the good in others
2. Force – Hate it!
3. The death penalty (I have a solution for Californians who think it’s inhumane. There was a case in 2006 of a guy who had brutally killed a high-school girl. One of my friends had known her. There was a lot of press about how it was inhumane for him to undergo lethal injection because … Wait for it… HE WOULD FEEL THE PAIN OF THE NEEDLE!!! So my first thought was that he wouldn’t have cared about that pain if he was diabetic and needed that daily insulin! And here’s my solution: Drive a gang of death row buddies out to the desert once a month. Tie them securely to a chair and drive away. No needles… No human interaction to cause their death… Just them and God. Each month, the next ones get the special effect of seeing others get carted off to the morgue before they take the deceased’s place. No political infractions and cost-effective, too!)
4. Garage sales
5. Old books
6. Music
7. Comedy
8. Reverse discrimination – I hate it! I shouldn’t have to cross a language barrier of any kind if I haven’t left the country. State and federal governments need to figure out that the same laws they put into place to avoid discrimination have only advanced it. People who move here should not be accommodated in any way. You know where you’re coming, so YOU make the adjustments. And, by the way, I don’t want to have to keep hearing how I owe anybody anything because of travesties that happened IN THE PAST. Build a bridge and GET OVER IT.
8 words or phrases I say often:
1. Dude
2. I’m just sittin’ here lookin’ like this
3. Nekkified (as in, What are you doin’ all nekkified, Faith?)
4. Is my music on? (At the pool, I get to listen to music when I swim)
5. It’s hot in here
6. Hello Lil Boo Boo Dey, which was recently changed to, Hello little Doo Doo Day (I started calling Lia Boo Boo Dey, until I noticed the number of dirty diapers ( I have to mention here that when I was young, we were not allowed to sing the Boo Boo Dey song, because of the ugly part and the part where it says Mama tells them to shut up their mouth. My mother hated that. I can’t help it. It stuck. So I don’t mean anything bad by it when I say it.
7. Poo Tinky Feet (This started with Faith. One day I grabbed her foot and put it up to my face and said, “Ewwww! Poo tinky feet!” Now I do it with all my grandkids. When I come home from work, Faith will just lie down on the floor for me to get her feet. And Jackson is fun to do that with. I love how he crinkles up his nose when he laughs when I do it. Guess y’all better be ready for Granny Robin when you come for your visit, Andersin, Laycie, and Masen!
8. Bah choo! (When I sneeze, that’s what it sounds like)
8 Things I want to do before I die:
1. Get to my goal weight
2. Get remarried
3. Write a book
4. See Paris again
5. Have my own place
6. Water ski again
7. Snow ski
8. Go on a mission
8 Things I pray for:
1. Drew
2. Willpower
3. For my will to match Heavenly Father’s will
4. Grace under fire
5. Gratitude for all of my blessings
6. To have unconditional acceptance of others
7. To forgive people who give me a reason to cry
8 Things I've learned:
1. You can’t force anyone to do anything
2. There is something good in every person
3. Fear is the opposite of love
4. Everybody has a Gethsemane
5. To forgive others and myself
6. I don’t control anything
7. The Atonement was for me, too
8. Laugher IS the best medicine
8 People I tag:
1. Lance
2. Bryce
3. Amie
4. Drew
5. Curtis
6. Lindy
7. Kim
8. Anybody else who will play along
3 Joys
1. My children
2. My grandchildren
3. My sibs
3 Fears:
1. Dying in a fire
2. Drowning
3. Belinda’s house without haint blue shutters
3 Obsessions:
1. Swimming
2. Atkins
3. Movies
3 Surprising facts:
1. I was a cheerleader
2. I played center guard on the basketball team in school
3. I won a doubles tennis tournament in college
8 Things I'm passionate about:
1. Seeing the good in others
2. Force – Hate it!
3. The death penalty (I have a solution for Californians who think it’s inhumane. There was a case in 2006 of a guy who had brutally killed a high-school girl. One of my friends had known her. There was a lot of press about how it was inhumane for him to undergo lethal injection because … Wait for it… HE WOULD FEEL THE PAIN OF THE NEEDLE!!! So my first thought was that he wouldn’t have cared about that pain if he was diabetic and needed that daily insulin! And here’s my solution: Drive a gang of death row buddies out to the desert once a month. Tie them securely to a chair and drive away. No needles… No human interaction to cause their death… Just them and God. Each month, the next ones get the special effect of seeing others get carted off to the morgue before they take the deceased’s place. No political infractions and cost-effective, too!)
4. Garage sales
5. Old books
6. Music
7. Comedy
8. Reverse discrimination – I hate it! I shouldn’t have to cross a language barrier of any kind if I haven’t left the country. State and federal governments need to figure out that the same laws they put into place to avoid discrimination have only advanced it. People who move here should not be accommodated in any way. You know where you’re coming, so YOU make the adjustments. And, by the way, I don’t want to have to keep hearing how I owe anybody anything because of travesties that happened IN THE PAST. Build a bridge and GET OVER IT.
8 words or phrases I say often:
1. Dude
2. I’m just sittin’ here lookin’ like this
3. Nekkified (as in, What are you doin’ all nekkified, Faith?)
4. Is my music on? (At the pool, I get to listen to music when I swim)
5. It’s hot in here
6. Hello Lil Boo Boo Dey, which was recently changed to, Hello little Doo Doo Day (I started calling Lia Boo Boo Dey, until I noticed the number of dirty diapers ( I have to mention here that when I was young, we were not allowed to sing the Boo Boo Dey song, because of the ugly part and the part where it says Mama tells them to shut up their mouth. My mother hated that. I can’t help it. It stuck. So I don’t mean anything bad by it when I say it.
7. Poo Tinky Feet (This started with Faith. One day I grabbed her foot and put it up to my face and said, “Ewwww! Poo tinky feet!” Now I do it with all my grandkids. When I come home from work, Faith will just lie down on the floor for me to get her feet. And Jackson is fun to do that with. I love how he crinkles up his nose when he laughs when I do it. Guess y’all better be ready for Granny Robin when you come for your visit, Andersin, Laycie, and Masen!
8. Bah choo! (When I sneeze, that’s what it sounds like)
8 Things I want to do before I die:
1. Get to my goal weight
2. Get remarried
3. Write a book
4. See Paris again
5. Have my own place
6. Water ski again
7. Snow ski
8. Go on a mission
8 Things I pray for:
1. Drew
2. Willpower
3. For my will to match Heavenly Father’s will
4. Grace under fire
5. Gratitude for all of my blessings
6. To have unconditional acceptance of others
7. To forgive people who give me a reason to cry
8 Things I've learned:
1. You can’t force anyone to do anything
2. There is something good in every person
3. Fear is the opposite of love
4. Everybody has a Gethsemane
5. To forgive others and myself
6. I don’t control anything
7. The Atonement was for me, too
8. Laugher IS the best medicine
8 People I tag:
1. Lance
2. Bryce
3. Amie
4. Drew
5. Curtis
6. Lindy
7. Kim
8. Anybody else who will play along
Friday, October 3, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
