Today is a very, very special day. I have been waiting on it all month. Not only because its Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday), but it is also my Bestest Friend in the Whole Wide World’s BIRTHDAY. It is no coincidence, she is the biggest turkey I know 😉 I wanted to wait till today to be thankful for her & it was difficult because I’m grateful for Lisa every single day. She has been the one I call for advice, a laugh, or just when I need someone to agree with me when no one else does for many, many years. We grew up together, which meant getting in trouble together, spent late nights together telling secrets (those actually increased the older we got), & laughed so hard together I was actually sore the next day. I always shake my head when people say they married their best friend. I didn’t. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Shug & we are super tight, but Lisa is the one I have The Pact with. You know, the person I call to help me drag a body across the floor at two in the morning. This is a good person to have. I’m so thankful to have Lisa. I hope all of you have a best friend. I hope they are as awesome as mine.
I’m gonna be somewhat superficial in my thankfulness today.
I am thankful for my wedding. July 21st was a wonderful day. It was pretty much perfect. This was due to a lot of people working their hind ends off. Every woman should get the flawless wedding of her dreams. I was fortunate enough to have it all: from the horse drawn carriage & elaborate dress, to the sweetest cake & beautiful venue. Not to forget the best maid of honor in the history of the world~anybody that can keep me calm for seven months solid deserves a trophy. And the groom was sooo handsome and accomodating 😉 AND it didn’t rain. That was monumental. I spent a lot of knee time in the weeks prior praying for that specific thing. It paid off, it rained all around us but not at the Ramsey House. So I’m just thankful for everyone who took part in my special day & helped make it the most awesome day ever. It laid the foundation to a great marriage. I am blessed.
Thankful for our military & emergency services, including the doctors & nurses in our land. There’s plenty of talk about retailers being open on Thanksgiving & the mess that’s known far & wide as Black Friday…but think about all the people that have absolutely no choice but to work, whether it be trooping across the desert hauling a weapon, hunting evil, or patroling for drunk drivers in their police car (or perhaps just rousting them from their family’s living room), or the EMS & fire that respond to someone who had just too much everything & stroke out over the pumpkin pie. And not to forget the dispatchers that send them, your front line of help. Thank you to the civil servants of America. What would we do without you? You don’t think about these people until you need them, then they are worth more than all the riches of England. I’m thankful there are people who love to heal & protect others. I can barely put a bandaid on Shug.
You wanna know what its like at the last home game of the season? Its a roar. Its the stadium shaking so hard from the pounding from almost two hundred thousand feet that it makes your liver quiver. Its Vandy, whom as a rule aren’t even worth the energy it takes to scream yourself hoarse & then take a coughing fit because the air is so cold you can watch it float away from your mouth. Its being so chilled from the slight breeze out of the north that you can’t feel your fingers or nose but you’re vaguely aware that its dripping. Its fans not leaving in the fourth quarter because we’re only ahead by three. Its Rocky Top. Again & again. Its UT football. And I love it.
I reckon since its my mommas birthday I better be thankful for her, lest face her wrath, which is wide & encompassing. So I will be thankful that she brought me into this world (because many, many times she has threatened to take me out), thankful that she hasn’t killed me by now (because I know she has wanted to lots of times. She probably won’t admit it on here, much preferring to be seen as angelic but let me get her riled, you’ll see), thankful she’s always been a hard-working woman (she has held a full time job since I started school but also volunteered at the school all the time, &never missed a play/ special performance/etc. And she works on her yard like Jose or Hose-B). Thankful that between her & my grandmother, they tried their best to bring me up a well-rounded lady (well, they got half of it right, haha) by enrolling me in every lesson coming & going (baton, clogging, guitar, swimming, modeling). But she let me be a little redneck girl at the same time, tromping through the woods & riding horses bareback when I thought nobody was lookin’. Thankful that she catered-and still does to my book obsession. Thankful that she married a good man, my stepdad Scott, instead of someone who would have treated me like last month’s garbage. I’ve picked up that it ain’t easy marrying somebody that’s got baggage {me as a teenager} just because they’re your old high school sweetheart. And I’ll have to add that I hope when I’m my momma’s age, I look as good as she does. Because Lord knows, I won’t be half as sassy.
😉 Happy Birthday mom, & Go Vols!!!
I stole someone elses thankfulness today. I couldn’t help it, its so good. Brandi is the wife of a co-worker, & they have a special needs daughter. (Also a little mischievious son & another one in officially three more days!) Anyway, Kenzie is blonde & FABULOUS. She loves some leopard print & over-the-top bows. In a message to Brandi a few minutes ago, I was making sure she didn’t mind me telling y’all that she’s handicapped. Brandi said, “No problem, she doesn’t know she’s different, she thinks everyone else is.”
Perfect.
This little girl is so bursting with love & is a wonderful example of what we all need to be. And I think that’s a direct reflection of how she was raised. Love ya Brandi & Scotty, y’all are too cool.
Thankful for my job. Actually, to be more honest, I am thankful for the friendships it has forged. I feel like I have a long lost sister in Jill Wilson after spending just a few short days together in Vegas 🙂 some of my customers are pretty awesome. They have taught me more about the world than college ever did. I have made some amazing contacts & I almost feel famous when I go to horse shows or tractor pulls. I also have Co-op to thank for my marriage. Shug used to come in every Friday afternoon to buy TWO 50# bags of dog food. I would anticipate his arrival, counting down the minutes, pacing in the showroom with one eye on the door. The rest is history lol! My whole life has been shaped by that store. But its more than that…it is a way of life. I have memories from as early as I can remember about riding there with my pap (Great-grandfather) to get garden seed & fertilizer, to picking out an easter bunny with my mom, horse feed & lead ropes later on, & an extra car key cut when I was seventeen & could drive myself.
Not that I don’t have bad moments…terrible days…& weeks that feel like they are never gonna end, but after ten plus years, what would I rather be doing? I hang out all day, talking to my friends. If nothing else, the job has given me plenty of writing material. You might as well laugh as cry. And thats how I want to spend my life.
Thankful I have never went hungry a day in my life. (yes, I know, it shows) I have been ravenous, but only until I could get something fixed, or drive to acquire nourishment.
I did something today I have never once done before.
I rarely give to charity. I know that sounds awful, but hang on. You know how it is, especially this time of year. Every store will dollar you to death. Salvation Army camped out at the front door, making you feel guilty when you walk past, arms full of shopping bags stuffed to the gills. I can’t keep up with which organizations give the most back, then to add to that, which ones support other causes that may not be the most legitimate. Also, I see MYSELF as poor. I know, please don’t lecture me on how America has the richest people overall, & how if I’ve got a roof over my head & people that love me, I’m blessed beyond measure. I know this. I’ve never had to draw unemployment. I’m extremely fortunate. However, I live in a dated house, drive an older truck, & don’t live extravagantly by any standards. So I typically don’t donate. Then you see these people at gas stations, begging for money to go see their Grandmother who lives in Nashville because she’s had a heart attack & their car’s broke down, could you spare a dollar for gas? And you know full well they ain’t goin’ to see their Grandmother. I’m terrible. I judge. I know we’re not supposed to, we’re supposed to love everyone equal, but I fail. A lot.
Alright. So I’ve had subway on the brain since last night. Home of the $5 footlong. I had prepared by bringing my own mountain dew & chips because that’s where they gouge you. I head out promptly at eleven, drink in hand. I’m passing Sevier County Bank & there at the corner is a guy, pacing & holding a white sign written with black marker “Hungry & Stranded.”
We didn’t lock eyes or anything, & normally these people are out of my mind as soon as they’re out of my sight. But not today.
God: “You should take him to Subway.”
Me: “Too late, already passed him.”
God: “Go back.”
Me: “No. He is not riding in my truck. He might cut my throat. And its too cold for him to get in the back.”
God: “Well, you could take him back a sandwich.”
Me: “I guess. But I’m limited on time.”
God: “Doesn’t seem to affect you when you eat with someone.”
Me: “True…well, we’ll see.”
I pull up to Subway, still trying to talk myself out of it. I get out, & there lays a crumpled dollar bill. I pick it up & stick it in my pocket.
God: “Helped you out a little.”
Me: “Mm-hmm. But they’re FIVE dollars.”
No answer.
I walk in. There is a long line, especially for this time of day. But I had my heart set on Subway.
Me: “He’s not gonna want a sandwich. He’s gonna want something hot.”
God: “Meatball subs are hot.”
Me: “Dang. You got me there.”
God: “Get the meatball.”
Me: “The bank has probably ran him off by now.”
God: “Well, then you can eat it tomorrow.” (ok, that may have been me)
A lady walks in behind me. I’d been there several minutes by now, so I ask her if she had came through town. She hadn’t, & I explained why I asked. She said I would be doing the right thing. Okay, O-KAY. I order my sandwich, then the meatball.
Subway employee: “What do you want on it?”
Me: “I have no idea.” I blink, listening for God. He’s went silent. “What do most people get?”
She offered peppers, onions, etc. I got onions, men like onions. I pay~including the crumpled dollar~ (no drinks, I’ll give him my can of mountain dew, I have another in reserve back at the store). I jump in Patsy, hurrying now that I’m committed, hoping he’s still there, then thinking, is that wrong to hope he’s still there? That he’s still stranded? And hungry? I see him. He’s ditched the sign, it looks like he’s leaving. But no, he turns. He’s pacing in front of a clean, newer model white car. Not anything nice, but an economy type. I miss the light to turn, so I pull into the bank & park, take my sandwich out, & grab the bag. My heart is pounding. What could happen? We’re at a main intersection & its broad daylight. I have a knife. I approach him, but his back is to me. He turns & looks at me, crossing the grass. He looks cautiously hopeful.
“Did you have a sign a minute ago?”
He nods. “Yes.”
I hold out the bag. “I brought you a sandwich.” I start to cry & cover my mouth. “I wish I could do more.” I looked into his eyes then. I still don’t know if he was a drug addict or legitimately down on his luck, but he said “Bless you,” at least twice before I turned on my heel & beat it back. I fed someone today, whether it be a rat, his girlfriend hiding in the bushes, or him, but God laid it on my heart to help him, so I did. I would like to say I’m not still warring about it but I am. I didn’t do that lightly. And I didn’t tell y’all about it to get praise, or I would have spun it way different, making me into a modern day Mother Teresa, but that’s how my singular experience went helping someone out. And, I forgot to give him my mountain dew, so I spent the rest of the day wondering if he had to edit his sign to say: “Thisty & Stranded”. I know, I’m not funny. Sorry it was so long.
Because I got another number, & because I’m bored…and because its kinda fun, y’all have to endure five more 🙂
1) My name isn’t really Amy. I have no idea how I ended up with it because my initials spell AMI. Well, they used to, anyway. And if you want to hear a funny story, ask me about Maynard.
2) I have three tattoos. I would like about five more lol
3) I am TERRIFIED-like, pee my pants scared-of snakes. And I’m not keen on squirrels.
4) I have not owned a horse in six years, & I don’t miss them. I have not ridden in almost two years, but I dream about showing often.
5) I shed tears for every strong emotion. This happens far too frequently, & makes it very difficult to express myself when I actually need to get words out. Hence, my preference for writing.
(If you like or comment on this one, I won’t hold you to sharing yours 🙂 unless you want to. But I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone’s)
Thankful for my hairdresser, Christy Finchum. She goes above & beyond the call of duty. Like, she came to my wedding & did my mom’s hair because mom didn’t have time to go. While she was there, she fixed the flowergirls’ hair. She would have did all my bridesmaids too, if she’d known ahead of time. Then she came to the house the next day to repin any strays before my bridal portraits. Hair is important! And I wouldn’t do her job. I was in her chair today & this lady blew in with the announcement: “I have an emergency.” I swiveled my foil-covered head her direction, looking for blood, guts, & gore. She turned her head & there it was in the form of a bad dye job & straight cut. I admire hairdressers. They deal with hysterical women, & women on the verge of hysteria all day. While standing in one spot. And perhaps while children run rampant around the salon. (I was ready to kill one with my bare hands today. Usually its quiet there….but not today). But that’s ok. Wish she would come over every morning to style it 🙂
11-14-13 6:23pm
