Happy Birthday S!

  Friends, five years ago my very smart daughter, C, decided her brother should meet S.  We all owe C a lot for her inspired genius.

S has four younger sisters of her own, and she really knows how to be a big sister...just ask B, who is her biggest fan (next to me, of course.)

When T shared with me that he was going to propose to S, I had just finished cancer treatment.  My first thought was, if anything happens to me, she will be there to take care of him.  She has been a great partner for T and a wonderful addition to our family...her BIRTHDAY is a great reason to celebrate!! 

What to get this sweet girl for her birthday?  T suggested anything from Anthropologie.  C, my favorite personal shopper, helped to narrow it down.

Happy Birthday, S.  We love you!

Funny Fannie Flagg

I started this book on Siesta Key....with very high expectations.  Once again, FF delivered.  

Best quotes:

"I am telling you, Dena, when you live long enough to see your children begin to look at you with different eyes, and you can look at them not as your children, but as people, it's worth getting older with all the creaks and wrinkles."

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"They say the truth can see you free, but sometimes it can really depress the hell out of you."

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"Being a successful person is not necessarily defined by what you have achieved, but by what you have overcome."

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"Remember, Sookie, nothing says more about family than good silver and real pearls.  The rest is just fluff."
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Of course this was her most famous book...but there are so many other great ones:

I love Fannie Flagg.  With her trademark wit, she  uses quirky, honest characters experiencing the very normal human condition to send an important, yet hilarious, message about life:  it's better if you keep your sense of humor.

Mother's Day Victory Lap

On Mother's Day we sped down the beautiful eight lane interstate from Louisville to Nashville to spend the day with our favorite newlyweds.

Our first stop was the Cheekwood Estate and their gorgeous gardens!  Next door is Belle Meade Plantation....another highly recommended stop, especially for Sunday brunch.

Next stop was Kay Bob's for a late lunch....the food was outstanding and the service was even better.  Friends, the chef gave me the recipe for his amazing chocolate  pie...Happy Mother's Day to me!

It was parents' weekend for the third years at Vandy's School of Medicine...so T gave us a tour.

This is the auditorium where T had his white coat ceremony, which I missed because of that vicious, life-saving chemo.  I had to give myself a mental shake, and tell myself to smile...to let go of what I missed and be thankful for what I have.  It was a victory, after all.

After mass, we dined in Historic Germantown...

...where this was hanging in the bathroom.  My first colonoscopy really did save my life.  And even though my body is now imperfectly missing some important parts, my Mother's Day was pretty darn perfect.  Thank You God.  Amen. 

Riders Up!

When I was going through treatment, Big T suggested I make a bucket list.  It was one of the many ways he tried to motivate me to keep fighting.  The derby was on the list.

We sat in the most perfect box...right at the finish line.  Friday at the Oaks was the day to wear pink.  The weather was beautiful, the fashions were so fun to watch and man, can those horses run.  They look so much faster in real life.

Saturday was another perfect day....with more of the same....

A little bit of this...

A little bit of that....

Too much of this....

Not enough of these :)...

Gorgeous horses and beautiful hats....

Love the peonies...

Cherry disco balls?

A teapot full of flowers....my favorite!

And now a treasured memory.

Derby Bound

Big T and I are headed up north to move B out of her freshman dorm room.  Friends, I am happy to report that she...and I....have survived her freshman year. Time flies, right?

After collecting B and C, we are headed to Louisville, to cross the Derby off my bucket list.  

Thank you, T and J, for letting us sit in your box!

Wish me luck...I am betting on number 4...I will tell you all about it when I return...

Bear Witness

I had tea this morning with a young woman living with cancer.  She is palliative.  I tried to say the right things, but there is not a lot of common ground....she wishes she was me, and I am afraid of being her.  It is such a difficult thing she is going through and I cannot fix it.  Nothing I can say will make it better.

As my dear friend, B, (a fellow survivor) says, "All we can do is be brave enough to just be with her in her suffering, tolerating our own layers of discomfort, and bear witness." 

Home

Our boys were home this weekend.  Friends, is there anything better than when your chicks come back to the nest?  I really like hanging with these two.  

And I cannot even tell you how much I love my daughter-in-law.  How did T I get so lucky?

The only problem with them coming home is that of course they cannot stay....and I miss them even more when they go....Please tell me this part  gets easier eventually.