Three Girls Out On The Town went back to Carrabba's Italian Grille in August.
We all think Carrabba's food is excellent, and we like to re-visit this restaurant often. That evening was wonderful! Everything had a cheerful, relaxed, stress-free feeling about it. We sat outside on the patio after our delicious meal and enjoyed more of the evening without being rushed. Everyone seemed to be well, and we did finally have some extra time for a lot of catching up on each other's busy lives without any new tragedies and trials to face. It was great just to be thankful and enjoy the moment.
My little part of the world had some happy news to proclaim!
I got to announce to my friends that: I'M GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER IN MARCH!!!!!!
I know people up and down the highway heard me when I made the announcement. I've been holding this exciting news back for some time now because my daughter and son-in-law thought it would be more appropriate to wait a bit before they made everything public. It almost killed me to remain silent! I did wait patiently until they were ready to tell people; but it was hard!
TC and Bucket were the first of my friends to hear. The way the kids broke the news to us was interesting; they just appeared on our front porch one afternoon bringing us Steel City Popsicles in little freezer bags. We all sat casually around our kitchen island enjoying our treats and suddenly, out of the blue, they changed the subject and announced the news! They already knew what my reaction would be; I had been after them to start a family for the last four years. I've wanted to be a grandmother forever!
This will be the first grandchild we are blessed to have from the four children we have raised. The other three are not married yet - so we will just work on weddings for them first, or even steady dates! LOL. (I know I'm going to get smirks from everyone for saying that!) I've never seen anyone enjoy their singleness more than our three other children. They have traveled and played and learned a lot about life. They have all had a lot of fun setting up their own places, studying, working on their careers and making their space in the world. They are all just as excited about the baby as we are. This is going to be one spoiled child.
TC and Bucket were the first of my friends to hear. The way the kids broke the news to us was interesting; they just appeared on our front porch one afternoon bringing us Steel City Popsicles in little freezer bags. We all sat casually around our kitchen island enjoying our treats and suddenly, out of the blue, they changed the subject and announced the news! They already knew what my reaction would be; I had been after them to start a family for the last four years. I've wanted to be a grandmother forever!
This will be the first grandchild we are blessed to have from the four children we have raised. The other three are not married yet - so we will just work on weddings for them first, or even steady dates! LOL. (I know I'm going to get smirks from everyone for saying that!) I've never seen anyone enjoy their singleness more than our three other children. They have traveled and played and learned a lot about life. They have all had a lot of fun setting up their own places, studying, working on their careers and making their space in the world. They are all just as excited about the baby as we are. This is going to be one spoiled child.
TC and Bucket were elated to hear my news, and we celebrated with a toast to "the special one." I don't yet know whether the child is a boy or girl, and I refuse to say "it." We should find out by early November!
Another fun part of August was that Bucket brought some old photos of all three of us when we were in our early 20's. These were from a time when we all had a little gathering at her house after Christmas one year. Two other close friends were with us in these photos. This provoked a lot of good memories and comments from each of us! I loved getting these old pictures. Since I was celebrating a birthday this month, it made me feel like we had turned back the clock a bit and played a trick on time! I have to say my friends were very thoughtful for my birthday too. I don't know how they know just what to do to make me feel special, but they have got it down like an art.
SEPTEMBER 2013
We all decided to meet at Longhorn Steakhouse in September. None of us had eaten there before. TC and Bucket arrived earlier than me and saved me a seat at the table. About the time I sat down, my cell phone rang. It was my husband calling to tell me to come home right away. Seems our hot water heater decided to go out and a pipe had burst and was leaking all over all the cardboard storage boxes I had stacked in our garage. Very bad timing indeed! I had to leave before I even got a meal! Bucket took over the pomegranate margarita that I had already ordered. I can always count on her in an emergency!
At least I did get to have a quick peek at some photos TC had of her grandson playing football. They were so adorable! When those little guys are only five or six and are running around the field in pads and helmets (just like the big guys) it can get hilarious. They take their sports very seriously though, and I know TC's grandson will be the star player of his team in no time!
The girls hated I had to leave and I hated it too. They offered to help, but I saw no need to ruin every one's dinner! I left them chattering away at the table and I rushed home to move boxes and mop floors while my husband practiced his home improvement skills and installed a new hot water heater and fixed the leaking pipe. I think I salvaged all of the Christmas decorations. Neither of us had time for dinner that night, and we went to bed exhausted. Not exactly what I had planned! Oh well......that is life. If that is all we have to complain about we are blessed.
Bucket did a good job of cheering me up by sending me even more old high school photos. I loved getting them! Also I got a sweet note from TC. These girls are really thoughtful. How did I become so blessed as to be their friend? The photos had me laughing and smiling in no time and the note from TC really cheered me up.
One photo was of the three of us being silly in a photo booth. I'm sure every high school kid has a few of these. It was just the thing to do back in "the day." I think we were seniors in high school at the time.
One photo was of all three of us and some of the neighborhood guys playing tag football in Bucket's parents front yard. What fun those old community football games used to be.
Another pic was of Bucket and me when we were girl scouts together! We were such babies, probably about 4th or 5th grade. I think TC skipped scouts that year. I'm not sure how we let her get by with that. Bucket and I were girl scouts for years and we always attended camp every summer. We went to Camp Coleman and slept in little cabins with screened in walls and lines of bunk beds that were inspected for neatness every morning after breakfast. I remember some-mores over the campfires, singing old camp songs into the night and floating candle-lit barges made out of pine bark down the Cahaba River. I remember hiking to suicide slide and watching the sun rise while we drank hot chocolate around a fire on the bluff. We recalled all of the jokes that were played on the counselors at the mess hall and at the flag ceremony every morning. You never knew what might happen next. We actually had real taps for an alarm clock, and there wasn't much sleeping done while we were there. Great times. I also have wonderful memories of riding the bus to our girl scout leader's home and attending the weekly meetings.
Well, it worked; the photos and their memories and all the kind words cheered me up and before I knew it another month had passed and we were meeting at Longhorn Steakhouse again.
OCTOBER 2013
TC and Bucket loved the prime rib they served at Longhorn Steak House and decided to re-order. I opted for a steak salad, since I'm on a nutritarian diet these days.
The steak salad at Longhorn was quite tasty, and TC and Bucket loved their prime rib.
TC had more photos of her grandson at the ball park. They were so cute! She also had some really cute photos of the baby. He is growing so fast!
That night Bucket was very concerned about a close friend's young teenaged daughter who had been in the hospital with a very serious illness. We all agreed to pray for Bailey every day. It seemed that Bailey had already made good progress in beating the odds. Her parents had learned that 75% of children struggling with the type of problem she encountered did not survive. They were thanking God for the miracle of keeping their beloved child. The doctors say her chances for recovery now are good, but she has a lot of rehab and healing to do. This is not easy for a young teenager, so if you are reading this article, stop for a second and lift up a prayer for Bailey Crowe and her family.
Bucket is so caring toward her friends. It seems that she has several good friends in the hospital this month, and she has been right there with each of them, just like Florance Nightingale with everything they needed. TC has been just as caring in a different sort of way. She has been very busy helping her husband with his business, and helping her son and daughter-in-law with childcare while they moved to their new home. I don't think the word "no" is in TC's vocabulary, but the world is a better place because of it.
We chatted away and before we knew it our time was up. As we headed toward our cars to go home Bucket gave TC and I two hand-painted wine glasses that a friend of her daughter had made. Mine was an Alabama wine glass and TC's was an Auburn wine glass. Yes folks, we are still good friends in spite of this fact. We both thought it was nice for Bucket to bring us these beautiful glasses! I drank a glass of wine in my new wine glass last Saturday and Alabama won by lots of points. Now I know this glass works! I'm sure this will become a tradition, with a toast to Bama before every game.
Bucket also brought me a copy of Andy Andrews "The Heart Mender." I was so excited to get a copy of this book and can't wait to dive into it. It wasn't until a few days later that I had a moment to myself and curled up with the book when I realized IT WAS SIGNED BY ANDY ANDREWS!!!!! I called Bucket right away to express my excitement to have his autograph in my book. Seems Bucket had bumped into him at WalMart (of all places) at the beach! I love how God puts people in the right places at the right times. Now I'm even more excited about reading the book.
TC also updated us on the new Rachel Hauck books that are now being published. We can't wait to read the rest of the Royal Wedding Series! Bucket is fortunate that she has a Kindle. TC told her she can get a copy of all three books on Kindle already. I'll bet she has them all read even before TC and I get our hands on the hardback copies. She better not tell us about it! We want to have the thrill of reading them ourselves. Bucket's kindle could accidentally disappear while she isn't looking. She better not leave it laying around on the table when visiting with friends at restaurants......
So; October was a good visit and I'm sure November will be here in the blink of an eye.
Keep looking for us next month, three girls will be out on the town again soon!
