grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter
  • SHOP!
  • Privacy Policy

One Direction

August 2, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 12 Comments

photo courtesy of Heinrich Klaffs, Flickr

In 1970-something when the Osmonds walked onto the stage to a sold out crowd of teenyboppers at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, my sister and I were in the bathroom because Momma had to pee.

Story of our life.
I heard Donny’s introduction over the loudspeaker through the concrete wall behind the toilet stalls. The floor shook.

Hurry Momma!!!!!!!!!!!

Momma and Aunt Lavern endured the concert while my sister, cousin and I stood on our chairs and shrieked, singing the words to every song. On the drive home I plotted how I would marry Donny someday and return to Mississippi County only as a side trip during national concert tours.
Last week, my sister and I channeled Momma and Aunt Lavern at the sold out, estrogen-filled, One Direction concert at American Airlines Center in Dallas. My niece Taylor knew the words to every song while I sang along to the catchy refrains as I could, each song sounding like the one before.

grace grits garden

The noise level was deafening.

The smile on Taylor’s face was worth the permanent hearing loss.

Taylor

Musical Pairing:

One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful

Letter to my Younger Self

March 23, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 19 Comments

Dear younger self,

Hey there. I know you never imagined being half a century old, but it happened. And it happened rather quickly.  Looking back, I offer this bit of advise to you, my younger self…

Why do you worry? You are a kid. Stop taking things so seriously. Stop being afraid of life.

Write in a daily journal. Record everything, record nothing. Random thoughts, crazy feelings, far away dreams, pie-in-the-sky goals, embarrassing failures, family traditions… You’ll thank me later when you decide to write a book.

Keep reading. The answer to life’s questions can always be found between the pages of a good book.

You have wit and insight. Trust yourself and don’t worry about what other people think or say or do. You are in charge of you.

Listen to yourself and hear what you have to say. It’s okay to put yourself first on occasion. Making your own needs and aspirations a priority will allow you to better care for others.

Challenge yourself. The road less traveled is scenic and quiet and provides more time to think.

Take more accounting classes. Debits and credits will be useful.

You.Are.Not.Fat. Not by a long shot. Why do you count calories?

That luscious, good-enough-to-slurp coconut oil may smell heavenly, but it is ruining your skin. You will never be tan like your best friends Becky and Norma, so stop wasting your time. The things that make you different and unique make you special.

Get to know your Daddy. He isn’t what he seems, and you won’t have him very long.

Learn to make Aunt Virgie’s pie crust. If you don’t, by age fifty your pie crusts will still be hit and miss…

You will meet many people throughout your life, but take a look at these childhood classmates, the smelly boys, the giggly girls. These friends you have now will be life-long friends. This is rare.

Someday you will regret that groovy spiral perm. But go ahead and get it. Looking back and laughing at yourself is a good thing. Looking back and laughing at that horrible perm will make age fifty more tolerable.

And one final thing…buy Wal-Mart stock. Trust me on this.

Your older self,
talya
Grace Grits and Gardening


p.s. I will check back with you in a few years to make sure you finished that book…

Musical Pairing:

Time of Your Life, Green Day

written at Hemingway-Pfeiffer Educational Center, Piggott, Arkansas

Hemingway-Pfeiffer

 

Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Click to BUY NOW!

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Receive my not-very-regular Newsletter?

Most Popular Posts…

  • Nana's Strawberry Cake (the real one)
  • Yum Yum Cake - old southern recipe!
  • Ozarkansas Tool Library!
  • Black Apple Crisp
  • Rusted Ford Trucks (a short story waiting to be written)

Most Recent

  • Sunday Letter: 01.15.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.08.23
  • Sunday Letter: 12.18.22
  • Sunday Letter: 12.11.22
  • Sunday Letter: 12.04.22

Prior Posts

Search Categories

Tags

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Eureka Springs Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta moving Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer sunday letter Talya Tate Boerner novel The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday
Follow on Bloglovin

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 · Web Hosting By StrataByte