grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

I’m Home!

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I eagerly anticipated Tate’s college Christmas break. 
I envisioned family meals spread on the dining room table night after night.  Piles of beef tenderloin with roasted potatoes, pot roast and carrots, his favorite cream of mushroom soup… (Tate is my carnivore.)
Tate had visions of Burger House and late nights with friends. 
I had grown accustomed to my tidy third floor. Tate had grown accustomed to apartment living. 
3rd floor

There comes a time when Christmas decorations need to be taken down and put away. The tree, fresh and fragrant, filled with bright twinkle lights, became instantly frazzled and tired by January 1. Garland and tinsel and cherished vintage ornaments need to be returned to attic storage to rejuvenate and regain holiday magic for next year. 
There comes a time when college kids need to return to college, bittersweet though it may be.
Sunday, Tate drove back to college to begin the spring semester of his sophomore year. As I watched the Redskins lose to the Seahawks, Tate sent me a text saying, “I’m home.”
What? Home?
I wanted to respond… NO, you are back in Fayetteville. Home is here in Dallas. With me!
But I knew what he meant.
We all have more than one home. Home is the place where memories are strung together like pearls on a necklace. The place where all our yesterdays live. 
I’m home as soon as I cross State Line Avenue into Texarkana. I’m home as soon as I cross the Red River back into Texas.
I am home any time I’m with my family. I miss Tate already.

talya

Musical Pairing:

There’s No Place Like Home, Elvis Presley

p.s. I miss Kelsey too!

Tate, Kelsey, Zach, Taylor
Christmas 2012

Cat’s in the Cradle

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2:00 p.m.
Last Wednesday
November 14, 2012
Fayetteville, Ar

I just had my first semi-Cat’s in the Cradle moment—phone conversation with my son, Tate, a college student…

Tate: Mom, did you call me? (he sounded rushed)
Me: Yes, have you decided about Thanksgiving? Are you going back to Dallas or staying in Fayetteville?
Tate:  Honestly I haven’t even thought about it. I’m so busy it hasn’t crossed my mind.
Me:   Well, you know if you stay in Fayetteville, you can eat dinner with us. We are going to Paula’s house. (my sister-in-law)
Tate:  When is it?
Me: Next week.
Tate: What day?
Me:  Tate, Thanksgiving is always on Thursday.
Tate: Yeah, yeah, I know. (I hear talking/laughing in the background…) Okay so I think I will stay in Fayetteville for Thanksgiving and go to Dallas for the weekend. I just haven’t had time to think about it.
Me: I’ll let you know what time we are eating when I find out.
Tate: Ok I’ll be there. But, I gotta run to another meeting now.
Me: Ok.
Tate: Bye mom.

Musical Pairing:

P.S. The next day he asked me to go to lunch:)

THE lost art of filing

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I once knew a lady whose sole purpose at the bank was filing. She was short, loud and knew nothing of the alphabet. A trip into her lair to root out a particular customer’s file became an often repeated game of hide and seek. She was known as Ms. Betty. (not really but similar)


When the bank moved into the twentieth century and converted to an imaging system, Ms. Betty became the point person in charge of scanning every single customer’s file into the computer system to be preserved for all eternity. And in what order.

At this point a file search became virtual. Much time was wasted trying to envision how Ms. Betty would scan a document. Could it be found according to the guarantor’s name, and if so his first name, last name, middle name, nickname? Or maybe it was located under the company name according to the largest word in the company title… If the company name began with “A” or “The” or “In” it was sure to be filed under the first word. Unless it wasn’t.

What would Ms. Betty do?

Last week a friend and I discussed this over dinner. He once had an assistant with the same confusing filing talents. Half of the filing cabinets in his office were devoted to the “T’s” for companies beginning with The. The United Way, The Dallas Morning News, The Whatever. 

Is filing a lost art?

 I remember learning how to alphabetize in elementary school. Do kids have too much to learn now to be bothered with filing? We had consumed just enough wine to call up my son at the University of Arkansas to quiz him.

Question to Son: If you were to file “The United Way” how would you file it? Under what letter?
Response: Mom, under “U”. Everyone knows you don’t file anything according to the article!
Wow. Proud Mom Moment. My friend and I were duly impressed that my son knew not only how to file, but he knew what an article was, and he used it in a sentence. I’m not sure I remembered that…

His private school education is soooo paying off.

Then he added…They don’t alphabetize according to articles on iTunes. 

Well, of course they don’t.

talya

Musical Pairing:

ABCs, Elmo Rap

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!