Celebration Time

Family truly is something to be celebrated.

I am extremely fortunate to have a close knit family. As a child, my parents found it important to build frequent "family outings" into our schedule. I have wonderful memories of those Saturday Family Outings when we would take turns getting to decide on the outing. I remember one time we walked the railroad tracks (I think that was my idea) and picked up those big nail things that are sometimes loose on the tracks. Other fun outings were camping, wading in the creek, playing baseball in the street with a stick and pine cones for the balls, building the world's largest see-saw out of fallen trees...

Now that Craig and I are grown and have families of our own, it seems more special when we are all able to squeeze in time together for another "family outing." I'm especially aware that we are not guaranteed another day together in this present life. Each day is a gift from God, and we must treat it as such. Perhaps in my business of burying people and working with grieving families I'm more sensitive to that fact.

Craig recently celebrated a momentous occasion in his life, and our family converged again for another family outing. Yes, folks... my brother is officially over the hill! Goodness, I remember when 40 seemed ancient. You start falling apart at 40, right? Well. Cough. A-hem. I'm 36 now, and all of a sudden, 40 doesn't seem to be that old at all!

Back to the family outing... Rick chauffeured me and the parentals to Dallas last Friday night to celebrate Craig's generational advance. We met at his new apartment in Republic Tower, in downtown Dallas. The grand tour was indeed impressive - their new home is absolutely beautiful! It felt so grown up! Standing in their elegant living room, overlooking the bright & bustling city below, I self-conciously compared it to our little Athens farm house, unsophisticated and country as it is. Yes, I love my little farm house (crickets and all.) But I REALLY LOVE Craig and Carolyn's place. It makes me want to hold my pinkie out as I sip a cup of tea and say, "This is soooo faaaabulous, daaahhling!"

So in the celebratory spirit of the occassion, allow me to post some of my favorite pictures from the evening!

First up.... Craig, next to his obligatory sign announcing the occasion.

This is the rooftop of their apartment building, The Republic Tower. We were fortunate to be the only ones up there for most of the evening. The pool became ground zero for most of our antics.

As I said... antics. C'mon everybody, let's do the limbo!!!

I'm not sure what was happening here. Rick must have gotten too close to CW's territory. But in all truth, if it weren't for Rick, that crazy grill wouldn't have gotten lit. Silly buttons on the wall masquarading as light switches couldn't fool Rick for too long. It did have us wondering for a while if we'd be eating hamburgers "a la sushi" style!

And whatever they're laughing about sure must have been funny. I think Rick is so adorable in this picture! He LOVES to laugh!

This is our favorite picture! Dad's trying to count to 40, Mom and Carolyn are holding up "4-0" and Rick and I are aging Craig up to   "5-0!"

Uh-oh. Mom's had too much to drink. She's going in for a swim!  Lay off that Diet Coke, will you mom?

Goodness gracious.   I'm telling you, we can't take her anywhere!!!

See what I mean? She's trying to knock me backwards into the water. It just might have happened until she realized her phone was still in her pocket. She seemed to straighten up then.

So we started acting a little bit more sane... Carolyn is a good influence on us! We were showing off our white legs.

Meanwhile, back over at the grill station, Craig is having a down moment. It's hard knowing that half your life is already lived....  cheer up, Craig. We're here to support you all the way into the nursing home!

Dad focuses back on the task at hand. He grilled angus burgers and chicken... I think it was the best hamburger I've ever had! We ate overlooking 35 stories of downtown and laughing together about past memories and future dreams. London 2012, right guys?

After dinner, we pulled our chairs up to the west window to see the sun set, big and fat, over the city.

And back inside, we took a nice family portrait of Craig, Carolyn and Regalo next to the birthday banner. When we were kids, mom sewed each of us a banner. I remember getting to pick out the iron-on decals from Discount City in Jacksonville. Craig was aiming for his Eagle Scout award, so that's probably where his Eagle came from. I, on the other hand, chose a decal with a couple of squirrels building a giant ice cream cone. Mom was always faithful to break out the banners during the week of our birthdays. It always made us feel special as kids. And still does as adults! 

And then we had birthday cake. Always the best part of any party!

So now you have it. The Bess Family Capers. I hope there are many more to come.

Trip to St Louis....

Last Friday, I drove mom and dad to St Louis for a surprise birthday party for dad's sister Jean. We  had a great drive up there, stopping for the night in Arkansas, and having fun at a rest stop along the way. Yes, the Bobbsey Twins are back!

The party was at my cousin Cheryl's house.

She has a great backyard that was setup with picnic tables and games. Aunt Jean arrived, thinking it was just going to be 4th of July BBQ with some friends. She had no idea that all of her siblings would be there! The only one missing was Uncle Richard - we missed having him there.

Aunt Jean was very surprised when she stepped into the backyard!

Here is dad with the birthday girl.

Below are my four aunts:

Louise, Carolyn, Doris, and Jean

And here are all of the 8 kids in the Bess family. Left to right:

Ball (Uncle Richard), Carolyn, CW, Louise, Lyndell, Jean, Darrell, Doris

And then the obligatory funny picture!

This is Aunt Jean with my two cousins, Valerie and Cheryl. Because of the modern wonders of Facebook, I've had the chance to get to know my cousins better. It was great to see them!

One final picture of all the siblings.... This is from 1963. Dad said it was taken just before he left for a mission assignment in Hong Kong. Grandma and Grandpa are in the center at the back with the corsages. Grandpa died before I was born, so I never got to know him. But Grandma was the best, especially with chicken & dumplings, homemade bread & frozen ding-dongs.

Front row, Left to Right: Doris, Louise, Jean, Carolyn

Back Row: Dad (CW), Lyndell, Grandma, Grandpa, Darrell, Richard

The drive back was uneventful, with the exception of one fatal flaw. I ran over a huge snake on this little County Road. And what made it so bad was that I had JUST rolled my window down and put my arm outside. Then the snake happened, and I was really wigged out that I had snake-guts on my arm and my car. Turns out, I didn't, but the heebie-jeebies stayed with me for a while.

Rick asked me if I would have rather run over a bunny rabbit. After thinking that over, I decided that I would! At least that way I would just be sad, but probably wouldn't have the residual aftershocks of the creepy-crawly's.  

I'm quite aware that this blog is quite boring for anyone except my family, so I'll sign off now. But for my family that is reading it, especially the Besses in Missouri, know that I love you and am glad we traveled to St. Louis!  Maybe next time, you can come to Athens. We have lots of room available between mom and dad's house, my house, and a fishing cabin down the road. So consider a visit down our way!

Momma and her kiddos

The picture above was taken at an event with Laura Bush. My fabulous sister-in-law, Carolyn, brought her to Arts & Letters Live (a program of the Dallas Museum of Art.)   We found Craig there, which was a fun surprise since we weren't sure he would be attending. (They don't let just ANYONE into these programs!)

The coolest thing about the evening was that Carolyn had the honor or introducing President Bush! She is always incredibly graceful in word and deed, and we were so proud of her that night!  She greeted the President to the stage, where he was welcomed with a long, rousing standing ovation. He then proceeded to introduce Laura, weaving a bit of humor and wit along with his short, introductory speech.

Laura was the real guest of honor, as her book tour is well under way. I'm just a few chapters into the book, but I'm hooked already. On this evening, Laura spoke of her journey growing up in West Texas, how her early years formed her into the person she is today. She gave a bit of insight into the White House years, but really only as a teaser for us to read her book.

An interesting Q&A followed. The audience had submitted questions on note-cards for her aides to pre-screen. (Who knows... maybe the only ones she answered were carefully placed by her aides to begin with.) She did NOT choose my question... asking if there was an author, past or present, that she would like the opportunity to interview. Nor did she give a shout out to me in the audience, which I informed her about on my note-card, ever so delicately.  HEY LAURA, I'M A BUSH FROM ATHENS TEXAS!  

Soooo, she didn't answer my question. And she didn't recognize me. But that's ok, I had MY mother next to me, another famous author from Texas. And I was proud to be related to her!

And another favorite ornament!

Here is an ornament with a picture of Taylor as a baby. I love this ornament - he's so cute!  Taylor didn't come into my life until a little over 7 years ago, when he was 12.  I cherish this ornament because it's one of the only pieces I have of him as a baby.

Today, we celebrate Dad's birthday. Craig drove down from Dallas and we ate a delicious homemade meal. Uncle Lee even joined us! 

In searching for an appropriate picture of Dad to post, I found the one below. It is a picture of the Bess family from about 10 years ago... In it, we are re-creating the 1974 family portrait that mother holds in her hand. If you click on the picture, it will bring up a larger copy.

And here is the picture of our family today:

Ducks and wrestling?

Another favorite Christmas ornament, compliments of my talented husband! I love it that he cross-stiched this ornament (1991), proving once again that I married someone who can do ANYTHING!

And below is another picture in the continuing saga at the Brown household...For as long as I've been in their life (since 2002) the boys and their dad have arm wrestled, leg wrestled, body slammed, etc.  Rick has always, always been top dog.

I can't divulge who won this round, but maybe you can figure it out!

Rumor has it there is a youtube video out there of this event, but I'm sure I don't know where it is!

We motored up to Dallas today with Collin for some tennis racquet shopping. He's really gotten into tennis this year - and he's very good!

Taylor drove down from Denton and met up with us for the afternoon. He's never been known to miss an opportunity for lunch... smart guy! It was great seeing him.

We went to the PGA Superstore, where there is a full-sized indoor tennis court. Collin demo'd (is that a word?) several racquets, and found one that excelled his game. This was great, because his birthday is coming up on Oct 18th. He'll be 16... I can't believe it! It's always hard finding something for a teenage boy (other than the obvious CAR.) Collin gave the "thumbs up" for this, so I'm happy!














This evening, Rick watched the Cowboys make a bad game turn worse, and I puttered around the house. The week ahead of us will bring mom and dad back on Tuesday. But not before we hold the 4th funeral since they left on vacation. We will be glad to have them back!

I sincerely hope it does not rain tomorrow. My crew doesn't need to dig a grave in the rain, and the family sure doesn't need to deal with the messy rain for the funeral day.

Mother-Daughter

Earlier this week, Mom and I attended Carolyn's program that featured Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor. (Sue wrote The Secret Life of Bees) This mother-daughter team shared their new-release that they wrote collectively, based on their travels together and their personal journey for inspiration.

The following is a piece that Mother & I wrote together. We were asked to share our thoughts from the program and it may be published in the Dallas Morning News!!! Stay tuned!

A Mother-Daughter Perspective My mother and I created a unique and cherished memory at the DMA event featuring Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor. It was easy to be drawn to this event as we both enjoy Sue's writings and were very intrigued by their joint book venture. From the beginning of the program to the very end, Mother and I were inspired, challenged, and slightly in awe of their gutsy bravado in weaving together such an honest and transparent story. They both are gifted with an amazing ability to verbalize deep emotional threads that are woven through a mother to her daughter; these are themes that bind us together and also keep us apart. They are common emotions that I had never taken the time to articulate or even realize were existent. On the drive home that night, we talked constantly of our own observations of the evening. After the obligatory female review of how classy and beautiful Sue and Ann are, and taking the time to assess current fashion trends such as the ever changing hem-line on a skirt, we settled into deeper conversation. I recalled Ann's honest moment when she finally chiseled through the invisible wall that had defined their mother-daughter relationship. She was able to release her deepest emotions, crossing that imaginary boundary line to create a new place of honesty and transparency. This particular passage that Ann read from their book pegged me squarely in the heart. I knew my mother's thoughts were in harmony with mine as we reminisced. And so, it was on this drive home that Mom and I rehashed a moment very similar to Ann and Sue's. Several years ago, I too, had harbored a disappointment in my life and struggled against depression. I too, had tip-toed the boundary line, trying to find my balance of "how much do I tell my mother" and "how much do I tell my best friend?" Were the two mutually exclusive, or was there a new definition of our relationship that could evolve, starting right now, if I poured out my heart to Mom? It was 1999, and I chose the path Ann chose: To fall over that imaginary line (I either fell or jumped, still not sure) and wake up to a new dawning of our relationship. We pushed beyond the past definition of who we were, and inched closer to redefining who we would become. Mother latched onto Sue's pilgrimage of aging. Aging storms in whether invited or not; changes occur, boundaries shift, and relationships are redefined. Sue provoked introspection to embracing oneself as this stage of life emerges. As we explored those themes in Mother's life, I became more aware of her story. Our discussion opened yet another door for us. In acknowledging her present, we are more free to share her journey, even as it begins to reflect part of my future. As we continued to share, Mom and I also laughed about our very own mother-daughter trip to Greece. Just like Sue and Ann, we had embarked on international travels together -- one of our favorites being Greece. We too, had written our memoirs, in the form of a travel journal that alternated between our individual perspectives. I can't honestly compare our attempt at writing to Sue and Ann's work of art, but what I can do is appreciate the inspiration that comes from the Kidd-Taylor duo. They attempted something wildly crazy, threw caution to the wind and lived out loud. Both ladies shared their unique story with gracefulness and appreciation for the other, and it WORKED! My mother and I left the event feeling inspired and energized to continue our story, wherever that may take us. Thank you, Sue and Ann, for being a springboard of creativity and inspiration to many, many Mother-Daughter teams!

Below is a picture from our trip to Greece and Turkey. We are standing in front the ancient Library in Ephesus. Ever the book worms...

Update on the babies

I checked on the birdies this afternoon, and all four eggs have now hatched! If you click on the picture, it will open up larger. They are too cute! We are looking forward to spending the evening celebrating Mom's birthday. Longtime family friends are arriving and Craig is coming down from Dallas. The evening looks very promising with a boat ride to the Marina, followed by an evening cruise around Lake Athens... thanks to Uncle Lee!

Sad stuff and happy stuff

I read a news blurb today that I regret reading. Really shouldn't have clicked on that link... and wish I could take it back. It was about a teenager that put a kitten in the oven and let it burn to death. I simply cannot fathom a person being so cruel and sick to ANY kind of animal. After reading that short, disturbing article, I had to look at a happy picture. Here is one of my doggie, Roxie, with Collin. This was several years ago - Collin has grown quite a bit, while Roxie looks pretty much the same. It troubles me to think about cruelty to animals. I wanted to cry after reading that article. But greater yet, what about the children or the elderly that are abused? You don't have to look very far to find real-life instances of these. Any kind of abuse of those that can't defend themselves really bothers me. Kudo's to those, like my friends Joe and Cathy, who work with CASA as child advocates. And likewise, I admire those people that spend their days caring for the elderly in nursing homes or group homes... providing for them with loving touches and warm smiles. That's all I have to say about that. On another note... Happy Birthday, Craig! I love you so much! Found these pictures... you haven't changed a bit in the last 49 years! (It is 49, right?) Ha!

Of mice and other things

We had an intruder last night. Rick was laying on the floor watching tv and I heard him say (in a calm, yet very imperative voice) "Kristen... please bring me the flyswatter. Now, please." He never addresses me as "Kristen" unless something is going on. So when I delivered it to him, I was preparing for something bad. He wasn't even sure WHAT it was... just that something was behind the tv. How then, I wondered, would a flyswatter help, if we're not sure what it is? And...the flyswatter didn't help. All it did was bolster the courage for us to poke and prod behind the console. Sure enough, a not so little brown mouse dashed out, spun around, and dashed back behind the TV. Great. We have mice. Except at that point, we still weren't real sure it was a mouse because the sneaky fellow was so quick! To make a long story short, the little guy finally reacted to our flyswatter approach and escaped across the room into the coat closet. You know, the closet that is jam packed with stuff that we don't know what to do with. After a strategy session in The Situation Room (aka, living room) we formulated our military attack and executed it in precise formation. We secured the perimeter of the foyer where the closet is and methodically emptied the coat closet. With each piece that was removed, our collective breath sighed out, expecting our intruder to dash out. Finally, we were down to just one last box remaining in the closet. He HAD to be behind that. When it was pulled out of the way (via the hook on our fireplace poker) the little guy blazed a trail out of there. He fell right into our scheme, following the series of levies and retractable walls, corrals and one-way tunnels... right out the front door! My only regret is that I didn't capture any of this on video. The shrieks and shouts would have been funny... in retrospect that is! Other things going on: We had a GREAT 4th of July weekend. Below are a few highlights. Two days at the cabin with relaxation at the top of the list. Boiled some fresh gulf shrimp and treated Dad to a feast on the front deck. Mother was a bit snobby and brought her own sandwich. A full day at Lee & Susan's with the entire family on Saturday... minus Tod and Robyn, Tyler, Lindsey and Kati. We finally get to meet Kati next weekend. That is, of course, if the Dept of Homeland Security comes to their senses and agrees that Kati is not a 4 year old terrorist. Learned a fun new dice game called Farkle Fireworks for our #6 anniversary, back at the scene of the crime! Planned a trip to the Grand Canyon for Mom and Dad, Craig and Carolyn. In the picture below, they are testing out my car for the journey to see if Dad can sit behind Craig. I'm not sure about that... A new week has begun, and I'm already feeling swamped. One thing at a time...

It's hot outside, and other stuff

Here's an update on life at the Brown household: 1. It's hot outside. I came home from work yesterday to see that Rick and Taylor melted, leaving only their clothes behind.

Truth be told...we had a water leak that both Taylor and Rick were involved in working. And I guess I've trained them well enough to leave all dirty clothes outside.

2. Our Cowboy Group (and here) threw Rick a birthday party. (#50 if anyone is counting... but none of us are!) Below is a group picture. We had so much fun! Thanks, everyone, for making it happen!

3. We uncovered another foot of patio that was hiding underneath the overgrowth. Yes!

4. A cute little kitty adopted us. Here is a picture of him on Craig's lap. Craig is on the phone trying to convince Carolyn that they needed another kitty. 18 hours later (and a trip to Dallas and back)... kitty returned. A bit road-weary, but ready to keep searching for his new home. After a bit of work, we found it a purrfect home! I don't have a picture (Allison, need pics!) but little Halle named him "KC" after Kristen/Collin, since Collin and I delivered him to Halle.

5. Father's Day. Collin and Taylor gave their dad a new Craftsman tool set. They did good!

I tried to give Dad a kitty for Father's Day... it didn't work.

6. We're driving to Tulsa (ohhhhh, ahhhhh) Wednesday evening for a business presentation on Thursday. Then, to celebrate Rick's birthday on Thursday, we're returning to the place of his birth. Cowtown - historic Fort Worth - for an overnight celebration! Pictures to follow... maybe.

Celebrating With The Parentals

I'm late in posting this...but better late than never! In May, we treated Mom and Dad to a night at Oak Creek Bed and Breakfast for their Anniversary/Mothers Day/Christmas/Birthday/etc.... (ok, maybe just their Anniversary.) Craig and Carolyn came down from Dallas and we embarked on the "mystery trip" that had Mom going crazy trying to figure out where she was going. She had NO idea that it was going to be so close! Dad played it more cool, even though I knew he was wondering... Oak Creek B&B is in Athens, but you'd think you're on a completely different planet. It's beautiful, remote, and surrounded by woods and hiking trails. The facility houses two quaint cottages, so Rick and I didn't spend the night. Good thing we've moved to Athens - We only had to drive about 10 miles to go home! We joined back with them the next morning for breakfast. Below are some pictures, in no particular order. Rick and Mom in a brawl... looked like someone was going into the water! Good thing Mom has a strong arm! Rick, aka "The Thinker," up high in a Deer Stand during a hike through the woods. Picnic for dinner consisted of chicken salad, deviled eggs, chips, and of course, OREOS. Mom packed it for us. It contributed to her confusion of where we were going... And her kids will never miss an opportunity for her vittles. And now for the series of "just a swinging..."

Relaxing around the campfire. We busted out the smores pretty quickly. Funny business... something about my family and funny faces. Craig and Carolyn - classy! Breakfast the next morning in the main house. It was fabulous... And my favorite picture of relaxing in the hammock!