New Car, New Nephew, Old Photos
Back in January, I accidentally rolled down the car window. It had stopped working several years before but I hit the wrong button and of course it went down 3 inches. We never did get it back up again and I spent the winter and early spring driving around with layers of sweaters, coats, hats, scarves, and gloves on as well as a blanket over my lap. In April we gave in and got a new car. It's a little red Nissan Sentra and both of us love it. It doesn't sit on the ground like the Saturn - no more crawling out of the car! The radio and cd player work, the windows work, the heat and A/C work, and it gets excellent gas mileage. Of course, we no longer have any discretionary income to play with, but so far it's been worth it. (No pictures yet.)
On May 22, I got a brand new nephew, Daniel Evan Jack, called Evan. I haven't seen him yet, since he lives in Georgia. My niece that got married last September is not the mother - my youngest sister, that niece's mother, is! After 26 years, Ashley is no longer an only child and my youngest sister is a new mother all over again at age 42. !! Yes, he was definitely a surprise - a very welcome one. He's a redhead!
Also, some of you might remember that after dad's funeral, my stepmom wouldn't let us take anything from the house and then later told us we could come and get what we wanted. My then-brother-in-law went with a friend to get it (from Indiana to Texas) and was told at the door, by her, that it wasn't a good time. She never had any intention of letting us come and get anything. However, after she remodeled the house (and, presumably, put everything of dad's in the dumpster) she did send four boxes to my middle sister about a year later. We think these were things dad had stored away and when stepmom found them, she just sent them on. Well, sister put those boxes away and the three of us never got around to going through them together. Youngest sister moved to Georgia and middle sister is currently cleaning out her house, so last week, she brought the boxes to me. They're full of old photos - I'll have to get my printer/scanner hooked up so I can scan them - and lots of my dad's poetry, old journal, articles he'd had published in the local rag, and sermon notes. Also, genealogical materials and my Uncle Lee's poetry and writing.
Those four boxes are a gold mine! Much better than anything - mostly books - that we might have wanted five years ago and weren't allowed to take. I regret that we didn't find his mother's Bible - I'd have liked to give that to my oldest cousin, who has also been a preacher - and would've liked his diploma from Wayne State University, but those are gone and I don't dwell on them. All these writings are things I thought we'd lost forever and here they are, in my living room. It's so exciting! I can't wait to transcribe the poetry and articles and scan the photos to share with my cousins (many are of their parents and of our grandparents).
On May 22, I got a brand new nephew, Daniel Evan Jack, called Evan. I haven't seen him yet, since he lives in Georgia. My niece that got married last September is not the mother - my youngest sister, that niece's mother, is! After 26 years, Ashley is no longer an only child and my youngest sister is a new mother all over again at age 42. !! Yes, he was definitely a surprise - a very welcome one. He's a redhead!
Also, some of you might remember that after dad's funeral, my stepmom wouldn't let us take anything from the house and then later told us we could come and get what we wanted. My then-brother-in-law went with a friend to get it (from Indiana to Texas) and was told at the door, by her, that it wasn't a good time. She never had any intention of letting us come and get anything. However, after she remodeled the house (and, presumably, put everything of dad's in the dumpster) she did send four boxes to my middle sister about a year later. We think these were things dad had stored away and when stepmom found them, she just sent them on. Well, sister put those boxes away and the three of us never got around to going through them together. Youngest sister moved to Georgia and middle sister is currently cleaning out her house, so last week, she brought the boxes to me. They're full of old photos - I'll have to get my printer/scanner hooked up so I can scan them - and lots of my dad's poetry, old journal, articles he'd had published in the local rag, and sermon notes. Also, genealogical materials and my Uncle Lee's poetry and writing.
Those four boxes are a gold mine! Much better than anything - mostly books - that we might have wanted five years ago and weren't allowed to take. I regret that we didn't find his mother's Bible - I'd have liked to give that to my oldest cousin, who has also been a preacher - and would've liked his diploma from Wayne State University, but those are gone and I don't dwell on them. All these writings are things I thought we'd lost forever and here they are, in my living room. It's so exciting! I can't wait to transcribe the poetry and articles and scan the photos to share with my cousins (many are of their parents and of our grandparents).