2018 Joy Journal

January 8 Second Sunday Supper was joyous last night. Andrew seemed relaxed and started off sitting by Barry and talking about pickups and I heard him say, "I'm not sure I made the right decision," in son-asking-father tone. And then John came in and the three of them discussed the comparative pluses and minuses of various makes and models of pickups.  Kim went straight to pet Mama Cat.  When I said that Tori and Josh were still good friends, still good to each other, had just decided that they didn't have the kind of fire that takes you through all of life's troubles, I ended up looking at Kim, who was nodding as in how important that is, and I remember her saying about meeting John, "It isn't like I didn't know right when I met him that he was the one." Chris said, "I wish all of my relationships were that mature," and Andrew, in big brother love, "So do we." Chris said, loving back, "I know y'all do!" J...

January 4, 2018 Woke up at 5:26. A kind of hopeful sign that my body clock has reset after DST. Angela is all right. She went into work early this morning, so I didn't get to see her.  Tori sent me a Marco Polo message this morning on her way to work. Beverly sent a text and a Marco Polo. She and JA were about to get underway on the third day of their trip. She said it is 24 degrees there and their hose froze. Tyler was almost through getting dressed at 6:18 a.m. so he seems like he is intending to have a good semester. Got to see John for a minute yesterday when he came to get Noah. He asked Tyler if they were going to see him this weekend. :-) Chris came to get some rent money, and Shawn was with him, so Tyler got to laugh and visit with them for a little bit.  Brittany had ankle surgery yesterday and when I talked to her last night, she said that Morgan had come over to have lunch with her.

January 17, 2018 Got this screenshot in a text from Kennedy, with a follow up text, "I got selected!" She'd been telling us about this. The art department at her college was contacted about a competition of designs created using a 3D printer to be given as takeaways for the VIP guests at Pensacon. The woman who was to make the selection did not show up on the appointed day, and Kennedy thought the whole thing was a wash, and then she got this email.   I replied about how excited I was, and she said, "I ran around looking for you guys but just couldn't wait for you to know!!! I'll be back for my hugs later. ...I"m already trying to get extra tickets if y'all are interested. I love y'all so much!" When I told her that I couldn't believe I wasn't there for that and thanked her for letting us know so that we could share in the excitement, she said, "No worries! I"ll be this excited all day!"  ~ Bri...

January 15 Erin.... thank you again for the Christmas. It was very much appreciated. ..   She was cleaning the hall bathroom, and I went to tell her that I was walking over here, and to give her her tip, in case she finished before I got back. She thanked me, and said so genuinely, "And thank you again for the Christmas. It was very much appreciated." It made me feel good.  Didn't talk to Beverly much over the weekend, but we did phone visit, etc., some last week. J.A. was off this weekend so they did a lot of exploring and hiking.  Angela came over yesterday afternoon and we play rumicube and sequence. She'd been to Books a Million to just wander among the books and see what interested her and came home with a book on history and book about the world's greatest books. We had fun talking about them. Kennedy came over late in the afternoon and played a couple of games of sequence with us. She is excited about some sculpture projects she's workin...

February 21, 2018 Chris And Tyler talking while waiting for the school bus. Tyler was standing by the driver side window, facing Chris, who was still seated in his truck. I don't know what Tyler was talking about but it was pretty animated.  Barry seems happy and excited. We decided on an RV yesterday and this morning he said, "We have so many great adventures ahead for us." I feel the same way.  I got to see Angela for a few minutes this morning. She looks tired, but she said they have Bentley on some new medications. It will be about a week before we'll know how his system adjusts to them. He is very sedated at the moment, but the seizures have stopped.  Tori said that she has been really happy with her car so far, and that she and Josh definitely had some learning experiences figuring it out. She's coming home this weekend, and I sure am happy about that.  I finally got a bowling party set up for us, so we'll see how that goes. At l...

February 5, 2018 Well, for starters, last week went quite well, as far as hitting the mark on my objectives. I finished the donation request for Rouse's for the CAC and took it all the way to the store, and she said she would email it right then.  I got to take a walk in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. I can see myself living on the island, taking walks in the woods and on the beach, except that I can't exactly see how that would work.  Brittany came out a couple of hours early yesterday afternoon, before Second Sunday Supper, and she and Papa sat at the kitchen table while I puttered around in the kitchen, and we just had a really relaxed visit. We got her to tell us about her thesis and the breach and the models she is running and she told us about Skyler doing this great kickboxing class.  When Beverly called Friday night, I asked to speak to J.A. and I can still hear the tone in his voice when he said, "Thank you for asking to speak to me."  Angela stayed ...

February 20, 2018 Dr. Vance said everything looked fine. Beverly and I got to phone visit for about an hour yesterday. Kim sent me a text about Noah's soccer game. I had to rush a lot yesterday, but I did get through the bulk of month end and did at least get the sales tax paid, etc.  Chris waited for the bus with Tyler.  Angela sent me a good morning message. Barry said the French Toast that I made was good. 

March 1, 2018 Barry woke up early this morning, at the same time I usually do, and we didn't have a lot of early morning responsibilities, so we went to Waffle House and had breakfast. He sat facing the people he usually talks to and that worked out better for me because otherwise I end up making eye contact with them, and not really knowing what to say. Chelsea was there and knows our new regular, which I really like. Barry orders the All-Star with a half order of dry raisin toast and I order two scrambled eggs, and we ask for it to all be served at the same time. So, I get a half a piece of toast, a half a waffle, a piece of bacon and two scrambled eggs. Lots of flavors without being served more than I can wisely eat. Yesterday, Beverly and JA celebrated the anniversary of their first date and seemed to have had a good time. Went bowling, for one thing. We had a tiny text conversation. Got to visit a bit with Angela this morning and got some hugs. Noah's team won the...

March 19, 2018 The weather is nice enough that I am able to leave the writing shack door open, and I'm enjoying the bird sounds. I like to think that Bentley and Bella, who are hanging out with me, are enjoying the fresh air, too.  So I got hugs from Angela this morning. We got to visit with Tori and Josh this weekend --- they came in for Kayla's shower. Tori said her project launch went well, although sales seem to be going more slowly than they'd hoped.  Andrew laughed at the pie-rate joke I shared on his timeline. Beverly called Barry while we were on our way home from dinner so we talked to her on his truck's bluetooth thing. She'd finished up her weekend and is on her schedule so will have this week off.  Heard back from Faith. She was having a busy Saturday, getting ready for her prom. Zak and Vivian went to Houston and are having a good time. Vivian's 21st birthday was Saturday, so there are some fun pictures and greetings in the Facebook J...

May 2, 2018 Morgan felt Davis move yesterday!! Got to visit with Beverly on the phone for a bit. She has her test scheduled for Thursday and her 90-day review for work is on Friday. She said that she had seen where Chelsea passed her GED and that she was really happy about that. She said it was partly because she was proud of her and partly because she figured she'd been studying a lot because it had been a while since she'd seen Jaden --- Chelsea usually posts pictures of him on Facebook and she hadn't done that for a while. Got to hug Angela this morning. She has an appointment to take Bentley to the vet re: the diarrhea.  Chris said he can go and meet Dr. Formwalt with me. 

April 26, 2018 I got to talk to Beverly last night. She and JA are going to try to come home around Mother's Day.  Angela came over last night, per Beverly's directions, so that Papa could check her finger and see if it needed lancing. Lots of laughter. An eventual pin prick. Barry and I got a late invite to judge in Florence this Saturday, so we're going to drive up there. It will be our first BBQ adventure. Chris had some interesting tools in his belt and so he told me about them --- three different glass cutting tools for doing particular things. He's been working on some pretty mirrors.  Shawn said he'd be at Goodtimes: "I promise, Granny."  Got to text Tori a little bit. She said it is just too fun that we get to officially name the bay property.  I got to talk to Daddy and ask him about the pelicans.  I have known for a while that Daddy especially liked pelicans, but until a recent trip home, I had not known why. Nana brought it ...

May 14, 2018 Andrew called after he got off work yesterday and we got to have a little visit. He said that he was sorry he couldn't be here. He said that he might be coming home sooner than expected, because someone said something stupid on Friday, and he said something smart alecky in his reply. He said, "I'm 2000 miles away from the people who take care of my soul." He'd already talked to me about how much he misses Annette, so I knew what he was talking about. He said everybody there knows he'd rather be home. The people you would expect to be annoyed by his frankness are not, he said. Most people there are trying to climb the corporate ladder, but he is not. Most people there won't say the things that need to be said, but he will, and they are grateful.  Annette basically pulled Second Sunday Supper together for me. I couldn't even think of what to serve. She suggested party food, and so that's what we did. John and Kim stopped by and pick...

May 24, 2018 I don't know. Maybe that's one way to look at it. We'll see. Anyway. Got to spend some time with Annette yesterday, helping her get set up in her new version of Quick Books. And some vist-y time. She said that Skyler was already done with school. Sky was on AB honor roll for the last two quarters and had done well enough in her classes that she didn't have to take her EQTs. Andrew will be home this weekend but on for about 48 hours. He told her he could stay out there through the weekend so his per diem would kick in, but she told him to forget that. They're both ready for him to be home. Got to have a nice relaxed visit with Angela last night after she got home from work. Someone left their office, went to McDonald's and called to relay some troubling symptoms. Should they come back? "No," Angela told them. "Call an ambulance." The man was having a stroke. Dr. Elliot was going to go up after work to check on him. Heard ...

June 15, 2018 Barry's check up with Dr. Jacobs went well yesterday. We learned that clogged arteries can be reduced with exercise that gets your HDL up to 45.  There are things in the office that need to be done, and I'll probably start my 12:30 session out there, but it isn't too bad.  Andrew called Annette while she was here yesterday morning, and he said that he loves me.  She said, re: her Quickbooks, "I just need my Vickie to come home." I think I'll start signing my cards to her "your Vickie." She's really getting the hang of figuring Quickbooks out herself, and it was fun to see her happy about that. She said Brittany is in a really good place, and that she went to talk to her professors to tell them she was burnt out and find out what she could do to accelerate her graduation date. She'll present in January and get her Master's in May.  Beverly sent me a text that she misses me. Maybe she'll call this morning. A...

J June 18, 2018 My computer isn't broken and my hotspot is working.  Angela and Kennedy stayed after supper last night and helped me clean up. Ange is hoping to go test drive a car today.  Sent JA, Rodney, and Brandon Father's Day texts and heard back from them.  Texted with Tori a little bit. She said she's feeling a little bit better but slept a lot this weekend. When we saw Jaden at the Waffle House Saturday morning, he recognized me and leaned towards me when I made the kissy face sound. Evan and Chelsea and Jaden were here for Second Sunday Supper and Jaden had a big time running through the house.  Chris, Shawn, Erin and Wylder were here. Shawn is giving really big hugs these days.  John and Noah were here. Noah went outside to play soccer. ;-) Faith drove Michael and Daniel here. I think that was the first time she's done that. Faith has graduated, so Michael led us in the blessing. I told him to give the "Hurray punch" and "I...