the perfect blogging time

well let's see what's been goin' down up in our hizzie as of late...

evelyn said "ma ma" for the first time thursday night. it shocked me, sam and my cousin, matthew, who all heard it loud and clear. since we have had NO LUCK getting her to say it again. humph. but she jabbers on saying "da da" all the live long day and that makes sam beam from ear to ear.


my mom's birthday was yesterday and for her birthday she requested to take evelyn to see the old people at the retirement home near our house. this is not an uncommon activity or request and was something we did quite often growing up. i credit my "comfortable-ness" around the elderly to such visits and think it is important for children to be around the elderly for a few reasons. first, old people love young people. and if you could have seen the smiles when they saw evelyn, my cousin matthew and neighbor taylor, you wouldn't have been able to help but smile too. second, many people are afraid of the elderly, especially ones in retirement and assisted living homes, and this is not something that should be feared. life should be celebrated, even until the very end, and many of these lives are not celebrated and often forgotten. this makes me so sad and hope that i will have many people come visit me wherever i find myself in old age.

so we walked around, talked, hugged and loved on as many people as we could find. it reminded me of my college days working at The Courtyard. i couldn't help but think about some of my favorites: Polly, who had Parkinson's, Clyde, who wouldn't sleep anywhere but the recliner in the living room. Roscoe who wore his wife's wedding band on his pinkie finger. sweet Reba who i know i will see in Heaven, and Pearl who would always laugh at whatever you said.... i certainly wished i could go visit them or wondered if they were even still living. i think i consider that job the best job, outside of being a mother, i have ever had.

it is hard to believe that thanksgiving and christmas are upon us. it is exciting to be able to share these holidays with evelyn even though she really won't know what's up and why we are eating so much turkey and stuffing.  she will be 8 months old next week and it is hard to imagine that she has almost been "out" as long as she was "in." right now she is fighting a nap. sam is trying to rock her to sleep whilst watching the tennessee game. perfect blogging time, huh? i thought so too.