Thirty Years

I realized recently that I have spent nearly the whole of last year saying I was almost thirty.  (What happened to twenty-nine?  Crazy, crazy.)  While it sounds fun to make my goal to be thirty and flirty, I would like to focus on being aware of who God is and who I am and seeing how this perspective impacts life.

I've decided I want to remember my family today.  After all, they have put up with me these thirty years and helped shape me.  I have been struck again with the blessing I have of being supported by them, something I've come to understand at a new level these past few months.  So, mi familia, whether you remember me as the alter-ego, double-ponytail, ornery Elizabeth, the specimen to be studied at the dinner table, the over-achieving student, the kabosher on racial and immigration jokes, the indecisive daughter, the tough cookie, the crazy food eater, the baker, or whomever, I love you, guys! :)

Easter time...only missing the Hammbone

 

Me and the 'rents

 

Mama Mia and Me

 

  New nephew and my big sis 'Tina

 With Ricky Doodle in Charleston

 'Ra and me at Pizza Hut

Davey boy and me in Triangle Park

The Davises

 Joey and Me

 The Three Brothers: Tom, Joe, and Tim

 Cousins: Jenny, Christina, Me, Sarah

 Renea, Cousin Joe, and Joey

 Piper, Julia, Little Gabriel, Darrell, and Cousin Lisa

My family with Brent, Doneda, and Jonathan Downs

Twenty-Seven? You're Halfway to Heaven

So said my grandpa to me the last time I saw him.  Probably twenty times.  Every time he asked me how old I was (he forgot quickly, given his dementia), he reminded me promptly of my proximity to death.  At first it was surprising and funny, and then it started to bother my growing consciousness of my age.  However, when my mom pointed out that Grandpa was probably saying this because it rhymed, I felt much more at ease.

Grandpa was always one to have a witty saying on the tip of his tongue.  Whether we visited the OK Café for breakfast and he bantered with the waitress or he greeted one of us kids, he was always ready with an expression that made us smile.  He loved to tell us a tall tale or exaggerate some truth just enough to make us wonder about the veracity of it, until he let us in on his secret that he was pulling our legs.

Some of his tales were true, though they sound more like they sprang from the novels of western writers.  My personal favorites were the buffalo stories.  As a boy, his father owned a buffalo who had a penchant for running away to find himself some lovely cows.  Many a time the neighbor farmers called his father to tell him of his delinquent buffalo, and they had to work hard to trick the buffalo into coming home.  Finally, the fellow was laid to rest and placed in the Hastings museum, where we visited him from time to time on our vacations out west.

The other fantastic Grandpa story was of the Hastings hold-up.  As the son of the mayor, Grandpa was perhaps privy to a bit of the investigation of the now-famous bank robbery where the robbers left with $27,000.  The police couldn't find any of the money; but Grandpa, at eleven years old, and after receiving permission from his father, searched the robbers' getaway car and found $10,000 of the missing money.  A month before he passed, the local news aired an interview with an author who has used this robbery story for fodder, including an interview with Grandpa.  He looked good.

Last week I travelled with my family to remember Grandpa and his adventuresome life.  He was a man of many accomplishments and great intelligence, but above all, I will remember him for his love for us and how he, along with my grandma, always made us feel special when we visited them.

Bank Heist Author, Grandpa Interview

Happy Mother's Day

What a lucky girl I am to have such a wonderful mother!  We're two peas in a pod in so many ways.  Love you, Mom!  Since the fam was in town, I was able to be with them for Mother's Day lunch at Saul Good.  Great meal, great restaurant, better company.

My awesome parents

Siblings!  So glad Tina and Davey were in town

Backseat beauties (always a hoot to ride with three full-sized adults in the back seat)

Sailing the Seven Seas

The wind report is in, and it feels like a southerly wind is blowing in a time of change for my family. Considering my talk with Christina tonight, knowing Eric & Sarah are trying to discern where to go next, looking forward to Sarah and Justin's wedding in the fall, watching to see what David will decide to do for his career, wondering what my new life goals will be after this summer, I find it interesting timing that all of us Davis kids are about to embark on a new, unknown ocean in our lives. Maybe it'll be a brand new sea. Maybe it'll just be deeper waters, a little farther from the shore. Regardless, the times are bittersweet, and ironically, I think most of us are in that place where we can't see beyond the foggy veil covering our future--for some, the veil has fallen one month out, some three, some of us an unknown quantity of time away. I wonder where God is pushing us as we navigate through the third decade of our lives. At least southerly wind is warm.