The Year of Goodbyes

We attended two more funerals last week. That makes six funerals in five months, if you're counting. And trust me, after losing three grandparents, my ex-husband's grandfather, a cousin and a close friend in five months, I'm counting. This has been the Year of Goodbyes for us.

On Monday, September 10th, my Gran passed away. I had spent the night with her on Friday, September 7th, and I knew that her time was short and she was miserable. She was ready to meet Jesus face to face and be with Grandaddy. Her death wasn't a shock like Grandaddy's, but I will miss her dearly, as she was my buddy and we talked often.

On Tuesday, September 11th, Dad's cousin Mickey passed away. He had Alzheimer's and had been having a rough go of it lately. He, too, was ready to go to his heavenly home. Mickey worked for a pharmaceutical company and generously supplied me with baby formula for Leyden when she was a baby. He was a very giving, loving person and will be greatly missed.

It is still hard to let them go, even though we know they are with Jesus in heaven and having a jolly ole time seeing all the family that has gone on before us. Grandaddy was waiting on Gran at the pearly gates, and I'm sure Mickey's wife Angela was waiting there also. Aunt Pat mowed the grass so it would be freshly cut for their arrival. Uncle Ed and Kelly were sitting in a swing, and Uncle Ed was probably getting ready for an "ear sandwich". Uncle B.H. was adjusting somebody's back, and Aunt Virginia was helping Mama Buck prepare a huge meal, because I'm sure they were hungry from their trip. And Paul "Bear" Bryant was waiting on Mickey, because he needed a good Alabama cheerleader in heaven.

Yes, this has been our Year of Goodbyes. But you know what? It has been the Year of Hellos in heaven. And since we know that our loved ones aren't hurting anymore and they with God and we'll see them again someday, what could be better than that?

Middle Name Meme

This seems like a fun meme, and since I've never done one before, I thought this would be a good place to start.

Players, you have to post these rules on your blog. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you do not have a middle name, choose one you would like to have. To play, write your own blog post containing your middle name facts.

My middle name is LaVera. I am the namesake of my father's maternal grandmother, LaVera Jenkins Buckner. I am very proud of my middle name and decided to keep it along with my maiden name when I married, making my legal name very long, just like my daughter's.

L - Love. I love my family and friends!

A - Able to laugh at myself. And boy, am I funny!

V - Vivacious. I am alive and full of energy! (Until 9:00 pm.)

E - Extroverted. This could be the mother of all understatements! I never meet a stranger and I am not afraid to say what I think.

R - Right. I'm always right, but I promise I'm working on being wrong sometimes, too.

A - Adventurous. If you don't believe this, read my posts about Cheaha. You'd have to be adventurous to sleep in a camper with that many people and hike to rocks on the edge of a mountain.

When you post your middle name meme, please leave me a comment so I can check it out!

Cheaha, Continued

The camper was amazing! At one point, there were five adults and a child sleeping in it, and we had plenty of room. I forgot to take pictures of the inside, but above is a picture of the outside with the cute lights clipped on. And guess what I found out when they let out the awning? I put it on upside down! Kevin and Chris fixed it before we left to come home, so next time it will be right. (And I enjoyed camping in it so much that I'm already planning the next trip!)

When we first arrived at Cheaha, there was a burn ban and we couldn't have a campfire. So, Thursday night and Friday night we did without a campfire. (And I must say that camping isn't quite the same without the campfire and marshmallows.) Saturday, we noticed that some other campers had a fire, so when the park employees were riding through the campground on their rounds, I flagged them down and asked them why the other campers could have a fire. They informed me that the ban had been lifted and we could build a fire. It didn't take long for our group of folks to gather enough wood to last a while...

Even the smallest members of our group made an effort to gather firewood. This is a picture of Jackson and Leyden carrying a fallen limb to the firewood pile. (I realize that this picture is dark, but it captures the essence of excitement at the thought of a campfire!)


Once the firewood was gathered, they lit it up, and we all gathered 'round for some wonderful, gooey marshmallows and fun fellowship.

Saturday afternoon, after all the hiking, Kevin drove us (Scott, Sara, me and Leyden) down to the lake to look around. Scott pretended to throw Leyden in, and we all laughed because we knew if he let go of her, the momentum of throwing her would cause him to fall in, too.

If you live anywhere near Cheaha and have never been, GO! It is by far my favorite vacation place. When you can have a lake with a beach, a swimming pool, hiking trails, a campfire, and sleep in a nice camper, why go anywhere else? It's all there!

Why don't you leave me a comment and tell me where your favorite vacation place is?

Cheaha

The first thing we noticed when we arrived at Cheaha was the squirrels. The drought has affected their food supply and they were not nearly as afraid of humans as they normally are. While we were setting up the camper, Leyden sat down and ate some potato chips. She was quickly joined by a few squirrels - including a pregnant one and one with a bad eye - that were happy to take the chips right from her hands. We fed them the whole time we were there, and of course Leyden named them. The one-eyed squirrel is Hammy. Brad was a little upset that I let Leyden feed the squirrels. He said squirrels carry rabies. I promised him that if I saw any squirrels with whipped cream on their mouth, I'd get Leyden away from them. (If you haven't seen Over the Hedge, go rent it. Besides making sense of Hammy and the whipped cream, it's a good movie.) Cheaha has several points that provide amazing views. To get to these points, you have to hike steep, rocky trails. Some folks got together and built the Doug Ghee Accessible Trail, a boardwalk about 1/4 mile long, which leads to Bald Rock.

It's a wonderful trail for families, because little kids can walk without stumbling over rocks, mamas and daddies can push strollers, or people in wheelchairs can roll along smoothly. It provides a way for people to enjoy the view that might not get to see it otherwise. Friday, our whole clan went to Bald Rock - Mom, Dad, my brother Scott, my cousin Sara, me and Leyden. It was fun!

Saturday, our friend Kevin, Scott, Sara, Leyden and I hiked the 1/2 mile trail to Pulpit Rock. From the restaurant and from the lake, you can see Pulpit Rock sticking out from the side of Cheaha Mountain. It was a grueling hike at first for those of us who aren't in shape. (Translate: Scott and KountryMama!) We had hiked from the Bunker Observation Tower to the campground earlier, so my legs were already Jello, and on the way back up from Pulpit Rock, I had to sit several times and let my legs rest. Needless to say, I was applying BioFreeze and Icy Hot for over a week after this trip!

There was a tree trunk shaped like a dolphin on the Pulpit Rock trail. Kevin and Scott put Leyden on the "dolphin's back" and we took this picture.

Mom and Mama Jean really enjoyed each other's company at Cheaha. We missed Papa Charlie so much, and I'm glad Mom was there to be with Mama Jean.

To be continued...