Posts Tagged charleston

texts from Sue

January 29, 2009 at 5:28 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

Sue’s first three weeks at College of Charleston in text-speak:

The first day of classes:

And so it begins… aaaah!!!

Omg, so far there isn’t one guy waiting on my math class… wow.

Ok, nm i was waiting on wrong class… ugh the building where most of my classes is so EFFING confusing. the person that designed it was smoking crack.

Week one, & a touch of homesickness sets in:

Blah. So i pretty much can’t wait to come home this weekend…

I liked my HIST class but evrybody knw ppl & i was the only persn who raisd their hand when she askd who was new.

Susanna does academics:

My txt bk for 210 civil rights was either written by an angry blck man or a white hippie woman. ha.

Oh my hist prof pissed me off today by telling the class that Art wasnt an element defining a civilization. i almost died & raised my hand only to be ignored

I think i may do a double major in history and sociology, if i can work it out, w/a minor in psych. watcha think?

Inauguration Day with Sue:

Obamaaaa!!!! : )

I know Im watching and totally teared

Im watching it on cnn live. This is amazing.

Starbucks WOULD sponsor live coverage of obamas inauguration lol

Week two, & Sue makes a friend (or two):

I just had a kate hudson movie moment with THE most beautiful boy Ive ever seen.I may become a stalker…omg. Only jking a little.

Contact has been made! I think I have a potential frienddd lol

She’s really cute YAY i like having pretty friends

So i actually had a lot of fun with my roomies tonight. Silly fun, but still fun. lol

I think all of my roomies are gone for the weekend. damn it.

Week three, & Sue’s feeling a little more comfy in her new home:

Im kinda amazed at how much better i feel this wk. Just a little self analyzation i felt like sharing this morning lol hope u have a good day!

Its rainy today :( but i thnk im gonna throw on my boots and take my book to a cute coffee place :)

Btw i have to go to the student govmt mtgs every tuesday now… which wrks out well for now. Oh i met a guy who said gap was hiring & he wrks there & likes me.

Yays me and kim and ppl are going to see a fab band at the music farm nxt monday yessss

Wow i passed my eng professor and she said “hey susanna” as in said hello and then my name. Welcome to a smaller school… im seriously a little stunned…

And Sue’s text collection wouldn’t be complete without a few random snippets:

Did u know that trent reznor was a “musical consultant” for the movie man on fire and there are four nine inch nails songs in the film? Well now you do.

Im straightening my hair

Awww did you kno some military boys still wear peacoats?

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Daddy Rant

January 21, 2009 at 2:48 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , ,

I have an appt with Dr Jerry today at 5pm for first time since mid-December, and I’m dreading it. I’ve NEVER dreaded meeting with Dr Jerry… ever. But I am today. I’ve been kinda mentally checked out for a while, and I know that he’s going to make me think and I don’t want to. But we can’t just sit there and stare at each other, so I’m gonna have to say something.

So what should I talk about?

Maybe I should talk about Daddy. He’s been a pure 100% assmunch since Sue moved to Charleston… I think maybe he doesn’t want her to move away, so he’s being really mean? Kinda the adult version of a little boy punching the girl he likes. He helped me move her in, but handed out attitude the entire time… got pissy when she listed me as her emergency contact because HE’S her parent. Oh, I’m sorry, I must have just IMAGINED the part where I signed for her student loans because he wouldn’t. He gave her $400 before she moved, and now considers himself absolved of all monetary responsibility for the next 4 years. $100 per year to support your kid… pretty decent, huh? Hmph. Whatever. Mama would kick his ass and chew his ears off if she were here.

And this past weekend, we brought her home for the first time. She doesn’t have a car down there this semester, so we’re sharing the pickup/dropoff responsibilities. Jen & Tom made the trip down and back on Friday to pick her up, and then I did the drop off on Monday. 3.5 hrs one way, for a grand total of 7 hrs in the car. Whew. Daddy hasn’t even mentioned the possibility of him taking a turn. Surprise.

We (Jen, Tom, Sue, Mag, Daddy, and I) had lunch together on Monday before we left, and he showed up 15 minutes late. Muttered about our choice of restaurant. Asked why the waitress hadn’t brought HIS chips (they only bring one basket per table) and complained until we asked the poor server if she could please bring a basket just for him. When our food came, he heaved a big sigh and said “I don’t have a fork.” And then just sat there looking at us. Jennifer said “Sorry, Daddy, looks like Maggie threw it in the floor… you’ll have to ask for another one.” He then rolls his eyes and heaves another long-suffering sigh and just sits there. So Tom, in order to curb the drama, gets up and asks for another fork for Daddy because apparently he’s helpless? Argh.

It finally seemed that he was just going to eat his lunch, when Sue asked when he and Aunt Gin (his sister visiting from CA) were planning to come to Charleston. Keep in mind that Charleston is only about 45 min from Bowman, where Aunt Gin will be staying, and Sue’s been dealing with her bouts of homesickness by scheduling and looking forward to home weekends and family visits. So she’s pretty freakin’ excited about Aunt Gin & Daddy visiting her. Then Daddy nonchalantly says “I’ve decided not to come to Charleston.” Silence descends on the table.

Sue: Um. Why? Why aren’t you coming?
Daddy: Gin’s coming to visit me in Townville, so there’s really no point in us coming to Charleston.
Sue: Weeeell, I’m in Charleston and I would like to see ya’ll. I’ve been really looking forward to your visit.
Daddy: Susanna, it’s just not gonna work out.
Sue: But I don’t understand why.
Daddy: Because Bobby’s grandpa is in the hospital.
[Jen and I exchange looks... Um, WHAT?! What does Bobby's grandfather have to do with Daddy? They barely know each other.]
Sue: Daddy, I don’t understand what Bobby’s grandpa has to do with you visiting me in Charleston.
Daddy: [Voice raised, tone mean as hell, pulls the "Authority Figure" card that we're all-too-familiar with] Susanna, don’t question me!
Sue: [Head down, mutters into her salad] Whatever.
Daddy: What was that, Susanna? What did you say?
Jennifer and I try to intervene and smooth it over… “Sue, just email Aunt Gin directly and ask her to come down by herself. I’ll bet she would. She loves you, and she would love to see you. And ya’ll would have so much fun. Yeah, it would be SO much fun! Blahblahblahblah….”
Daddy: Susanna, do you have something to say to me?

And then we all sit in silence and Sue cries. Yeah, good times. Asshole.

But really, why even talk about it? Doesn’t accomplish anything. Maybe I’ll just print this post out and give it to Dr Jerry and save my breath.

Oh, and Daddy has asked Jennifer to book another trip to Oklahoma during the next month. Wonder if this will be the one where he brings back a new wife? It’s coming… I could be completely mistaken, but I think my father will be remarried by this time next year. Hmph. Maybe I should let her read this post too. Of course, they’ll probably already be married by the time I meet her. Poor sucker.

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Childless & childish, that’s me

January 9, 2009 at 6:31 pm · Filed under blogging, charleston, conflict, family, sisters ·Tagged , , , , ,

So the fury has (mostly) passed. Thank you all for your comments… you’re right, my name is my name and I need to proceed as previously planned despite the name-stealing twit. I’m pretty much to the place where I’ll be able to control my mouth when I talk to Grandma about it, as opposed to the uncontrollable rant that was spewing earlier.

And thank ya’ll too for not telling me that I’m being stupid and childish… I know I don’t even have a daughter yet, but there’s just an unspoken honor system with family names that should be acknowledged. My name is Sarah Frances, both my maternal and paternal grandmothers’ names are Frances, and I’ve always thought I would name my first little girl Frances… it’s an old-fashioned classic with family roots in both my mom & dad’s sides of the family. I’m taking comfort in the fact that she’s not calling the baby Frances… at least I don’t think she is.

I still hate her though. Just saying.

And thank you all for your comments about Sue’s room & the moving process. She’s doing well — registered for classes & met her adviser today, and is firmly convinced thus far that CofC is going to be a much better fit for her than Clemson. I hope that continues to be the case. She’s been very impressed with the personalized attention that she’s received for the last two days from the History dept and her advisor, and the class sizes are 20-25 people, as opposed to Clemson’s 125-member classes. The smaller school environment is going to be a welcome change for her — I think that going into Clemson, she didn’t think she needed personalized attention, but Mama’s rediagnosis changed her needs and Clemson couldn’t adjust accordingly.

She’s only met one roomie so far — the other two are arriving sometime this weekend before classes begin on Monday. Keeping my fingers crossed that there’s no weird roommate drama. She’s called me about 14 times today, and we have a webcam appt this evening so she can talk to Maggie. Ahhh, technology… what would we do without it?

Thank ya’ll again. It’s so… well, gratifying, I guess, to read your words and know that my bloggy peeps are with me on the offensiveness of the name-stealing issue, regardless of my current childless state. Childless & childish…. has a ring, no?  Hmph.

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It’s officially official

January 8, 2009 at 2:08 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

Yep, Sue is now an official resident of Charleston, SC. It’s a truly gorgeous city – brick/cobblestone streets, street lamps, amazing historical architecture — and Sue’s a history major, which is just pretty freakin’ perfect. The “campus” is completely integrated into the city, making it very different from Clemson or Lander (my alma maters). Her dorm/apt building is in the same building as CVS pharmacy, next to a cafe called “Caviar & Bananas” and one block back from Pottery Barn & Lucky Brand Jeans. I think it’s going to be perfect for her.

We drove down Wed morning — arrived around 4ish. Took about 15 trips to get all her crap up to the apt (gotta love moving) which was a project in itself… her apt building has a keycard lockbox on the outside door and another one on the elevator, so Sue, Daddy and I had to move in a pack, along with all of the box, laundry baskets, rugs, crates, etc that we were hauling. It was a little bit ridulous — Tom’s circus tune would have very appropriate.

Daddy took us to dinner and left a little while later, and Sue and I proceeded to arrange and rearrange and re-rearrange her room. It’s tiny, but it’s all hers… until she moves, at least.

Here’s BEFORE:

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And here’s AFTER… it still has a bit of a “dormish” look (yeah, I’d love to attack with a gallon of paint :) ), but it’s personalized and she loves it and that makes me happy:

moving-day-006moving-day-0111

Check out the black iron candelabra in the second “After” pic… how’s that for a fun jewelry hanger?!

This morning, she left for orientation and I headed home. 4+ hour drive, approximately 500 miles… quite a haul! Jen & Tom are driving down to get her for her next visit home, scheduled for next weekend, and then I’ll probably do the drop-off trip. The interstate between Anderson & Charleston is going to be worn out by the end of this semester.

Feel so much better now that the move is over and Sue is firmly settled. I could tell that she was nervous this morning before orientation, but I really, truly think that this is a good thing. I’m keeping my cell close-by so that she doesn’t feel alone… she’s called (only) 4 times since I left. Fine with me – I’m happy to be a “filler” until she creates a new social life down there. I’ve been feeling so close to Mama for the last few days. I’ve been playing her role (as much as I can, at least), doing what she would have done if she were here. I felt her there in the room with us, as we laughed and chattered and I was wiping out Sue’s drawers with Clorox wipes before filling them with clothes. And again while I was driving back this morning — knowing, on some very minuscule level, how she must have felt when she moved me into Lander and drove away. I feel sad because I do and will miss Sue’s companionship. But I can hardly wait for the day when she calls me and blasts me with an excited stream of words about her new classes/friends/life, or maybe even the day when she doesn’t call me at all, because that means that she’s busy and happy.

Yay for good change.

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Moving Day

January 7, 2009 at 12:27 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

Tomorrow (well, Wed — so I guess it’s actually today) is Moving Day… Daddy & I are moving Sue to Charleston. Jennifer and I gave her presents tonight – a collage of family pics, and a huge picture of the Charleston rainbow. Sue’s handling everything pretty well… no tears, but she’s been like, as my Grandma would say, a hen on a hot rock. Jittering, antsy, nervous as hell. I keep reminding her that this is GOOD THING. Moving to Charleston, restarting college, getting her life back on track — all things that she’s wanted for the past year, and now, they’re finally happening. I’m sure there’s a more interesting, eloquent way of saying this, but the bottom line? Change, even good change, is tough. Ugh — I prefer easy, k? Thanks.

We’re leaving tomorrow morning, and Daddy’s heading back tomorrow night. I’m spending tomorrow night with Sue in her dorm room – we’ll be able to take our time decorating and making it feel like her space. All her crap is ready to roll… it’s currently stacked around the perimeter of the dining room until we load it into the cars tomorrow. She’s bought some really cute decorative stuff — I’ll take BEFORE and AFTER pictures of her dorm room before I leave Thursday.

I haven’t thought about college life in years — like really, really thought about it. Dorms, new roommates, picking up your key and your student ID and your parking pass (or in this case, your bicycle permit). Hoping you get a decent schedule, hoping you find a part-time job that’s willing to work around your classes, hoping your roommates don’t hate you, hoping that you meet at least a few nice people so you don’t have to eat in the dining hall by yourself. Argh. Makes me twitch. I even had a weird college-related dream last night — it was in a giant, mall-type building, and I was late for class and got lost and then the professor was mean to me when I finally came puffing through the door. Whew. College was great, I really enjoyed (most) of it, but I can’t say that I’d go back and do it again.

Sue’s room looks so empty. I’ve been thinking about how it’s going to be Thursday night — just Bobby and me. We’re actually going to have to adjust to living together again… we haven’t lived together, just the two of us, in over a year. I don’t think I even realize how much Bobby works from home — he’s on the laptop for hours nearly every evening. I’ve had Sue to chat with, watch tv with, and I honestly haven’t noticed that much when Bobby disappears every evening into the dining room/makeshift office. It’s going to be quite an adjustment for both of us — yes, he may have to cut back his at-home hours, but I also have to become less co-dependent. Yeah, this should definitely be interesting.

So I think I’m going to sleep now.

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catching up

January 4, 2009 at 11:38 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

For the past few weeks, I’ve been on autopilot… just been doing without thinking. It’s been kinda nice, actually — random thoughts go skittering across like bugs, and I just let the suckers go without trying to catch them and figure them out. Liberating.

How was my Christmas? Fine. How was my birthday? Fine. How was my New Years? Fine. Christmas Eve, we did dinner with Bobby’s family, then a drop-in at our house with his & my immediate family. It was nice. I had it all worked up in my head and it didn’t meet expectations, but Bobby and I talked through it, and he assured me that every year would be a little better… that you can’t always get it exactly perfect the first time.

dec30-091Christmas morning, we got up and hauled Maggie’s gifts to Jen & Tom’s where we opened presents with her… this was pretty much the highlight of the entire process. She was perfect and beautiful and excited and in love with her giant pink pony that I bought on impulse. I love her to bits, I do. So much it hurts sometimes, because she’s perfect, yet I’m not her mother, and I’m terrified that I’ll never be able to have such a perfect little human of my own. But the joy of being Aunt “Seezah” should not be overlooked… I helped her open her gifts, and she was all into it. Bobby and I got her a pink pony, pink squeaker shoes (for those of you who aren’t familiar, these shoes squeak every damn time the wearer takes a step. Completely annoying if you’re not in love with the little human wearing them), Dr Seuss books, and a pink castle tent. Lots o’ pink, eh? Princess Margaret was pleased.

Jennifer made a scrumptious Christmas breakfast, then we all gathered our things and set out for the mountains of Ellijay, GA. Then the car broke down, because that’s what happens when our family attempts to go on a trip. The saga of the Green Bean (our pet name for the minivan that Mama loved dearly) is long and painful. It’s a Chrysler Town & Country with well over 200k miles on it. Yes, a Chrysler with 200+k miles on it. Enough said. The stupid thing is totally not trust-worthy, and has a reserved place at the local auto shop. Yet my father continues to pour money into it because… well, just because that’s what he does. He wanted us to drive it so we could all be together — one daddy, three sisters, two husbands, one baby, two dogs, and a partridge in a pear tree. It broke down in Clemson, only about 20ish miles into the trip. So we sit on the side of the road. Bobby and Daddy are getting all belligerent at each other and the van. Tom’s sighing with resignation. Jennifer is *loudly* voicing her opinion. Sue is stomping around with her arms crossed and spewing general pissiness into the air. Maggie is sitting in her carseat, kicking her feet in their pink squeaker shoes, and fixedly studying the two dogs, who are wildly leaping from seat to seat and trying to scratch their way into the Christmas goodies that we’ve stowed away. And me? Well, at first I’m worrying because my husband and my father are using harsh tones with each other. And then I think “screw it” and start singing raucously and stroking the van. “I believe the van is our future. Fix it well and let it lead the way. Show it all the beauty is possesses inside [wave at Maggie inside the van], give it a sense of pride….”

Think “Little Miss Sunshine” meets “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Brad and David, if you’re reading this, count your blessings, count them one by one. Narrow escape there, boys.

We finally reorganize ourselves into three vehicles and resume our trip… arrive at our mountain cabin after dark after only 2 or 3 u-turns. The next day, the 26th, was my 31st birthday. Holy hell, that’s depressing. How, HOW did Idec30-416 become 31? The family was very sweet and considerate, making it as special as possible — efforts that I appreciated greatly. It was a difficult day… I went to bed early and put it firmly in the past.

After we got the birthday thing out of the way, things were much better. The boys watched obscene amounts of football, the sisters did puzzles, and we all read books, ate junk food, took the occasional hike up the mountain, and took at least one nap per day. On our last night, the thought of packing up was so sad that we added a 5th night… didn’t leave until Dec 30th. Ahhhhh, was lovely.

And then on the 31st, Bobby had Gary the Gallbladder removed and things took a bit of a downturn. People, I’m here to tell you that although your gallbladder is optional, having the sucker removed IS A BIG DEAL. When people tell you that it’s not a big deal, do NOT believe their filthy lies. He’s had a fairly ok time — no infection, no vomiting, no reactions to the anesthesia or medication. But he’s sore as hell… we’re now 5 days out, and he’s still hibernating in bed and can’t bend over, drive, or pretty much do anything that involves abdominal muscles. And they shaved his stomach and the hair is growing back in and he’s scratching like he has fleas. I’m sure that he’ll appreciate me sharing that little tidbit. He’s back to work tomorrow — am hoping that it goes well.

Have been helping Sue get ready for the big move… it kinda snuck up on me. Only two more days of hearing the little hobo rustling around in that side of the house — we’re moving her down to Charleston on Wed. Daddy and I are taking her down and getting her set up… she can’t have a car on campus this first semester, so it looks like we’ll be taking more trips to the low-country during the next few months than ever before. She and I went shopping on Friday and wiped out nearly the entire list of stuff she needs. Heading to Townville tomorrow to collect the rest of her crap. I’m hoping that act of cleaning out her childhood room isn’t too emotional tomorrow — I don’t intend to let myself feel anything and I hope to keep her distracted as well. Just get in and get out… that’s the goal.

So yeah, lots going on. 2009 is gonna be better, folks. It is. I thought about making resolutions or doing a 2008 highlight post, but I’m not going to. Just don’t wanna – 2008 was better than 2007, and 2009 will be better than 2008. There you have it.

And to end on a thoroughly shallow note, I’m having a hot, steamy, and sordid affair with my new Keurig single-serve coffee maker. The perfect cup of coffee every freakin’ time in 2.5 seconds. I think I’m in love.

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Eve of Christmas Eve

December 23, 2008 at 10:13 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

Is it just me, or does it really not seem like the eve of Christmas Eve? Things change so much when you get older — I can’t wait to have a little one running around to reinfuse the excitement. At the grocery store today, there were hordes of chattering children, chirping uncontrollably about Santa and gifts and all things Christmas. It was a nice sound… ok, maybe a little bit annoying too, but still nice :)

I’ve been a new woman this past week or so. I don’t particularly know why – I think maybe my “suck it up & make the best of it” holiday idea finally kicked in? During the last week, I have, for the very first time, been crazy-busy making Christmas goodies. Last week, it was huge quantities of party mix and peanut butter balls. Also attempted pralines, but they were a miserable failure. Yesterday was fudge day — milk chocolate, chocolate with walnuts, and white chocolate with walnuts (my favorite). And today was a parmesan/artichoke dip and sweet & sour meatballs… all for our Christmas Eve drop-in tomorrow night. Tomorrow’s project is shrimp creole (I know it seems like an odd choice, but we’ve been eating shrimp creole on Christmas Eve for years – good stuff).

Well, now that I type it out, it doesn’t seem like that much. But trust me, this is MILES beyond anything I’ve ever attempted before.

The Virginia trip went really well – we so enjoyed visiting with Grandma & Grandpa. Maggie’s sleeping schedule was all jacked up, and Grandpa ended up sitting up with her from 4am on… but he loved it. They were attached at the hip the entire weekend – she called him “Papa”, which made him beam. I think he can see his own spunky little girl in Maggie Denise.

Pregnant cousin showed up first thing Saturday morning (yes, PLEASE be there the entire weekend so I don’t have any time to just enjoy my grandparents without your big pregnant belly around). Ugh. I detest her. Really, really detest her. Her little girl is due in 3 weeks, and she continues to refer to her as an “it.” Is it just me, or is there a serious detachment issue afoot? They haven’t even started to clear her husband’s vast gun collection out of the nursery-to-be… they both seem annoyed and inconvenienced when talking about setting up the nursery furniture. And there was once again a reference to “this thing” – she told this long, drawn-out story about how she told her obgyn that “I’m just ready to get this thing out of me.” Seriously?!!? I’m SO effing glad that people like her have perfect, healthy children… Ugh. I retreated to the back room and had a talk with myself about whether or not I should ask her to stop referring to her unborn child as “that thing” in front of me, but then I started crying, so I decided to just hide instead. And about Jennifer’s naming premonition – sure enough, she’s talking about using my grandmother’s name, which just happens to be MY middle name that I was planning on passing on to my eventual daughter. What the hell? Grandma surprised us all by telling her that she didn’t support that decision, that she feels like I should have “first dibs” on my own name… novel idea, huh? Yay, Grandma. Boo, pregnant name-thief.

And now for some great news – Sue got her first-choice dorm at CofC!! It’s only one block back from Charleston’s shopping, so hopefully she’ll be able to get a part-time retail job fairly easily, right next to the dining hall, and a super-short walk from her classes. And CVS is on the first floor of her apt building. Her apt has it’s own washer & dryer. And the best part?…. she has HER OWN ROOM!! Yep, she has her own bedroom with a double bed. CofC’s dorms have Lander and Clemson beat all to hell.

What else? Sue’s got a virus and as been yakking her guts up all day. I’ve been nursing her back to health from a distance – she shared a wretched cold with all of us last week, and I would prefer that she not share this little gem as well. And my super-fabulous Keurig coffeemaker came yesterday… it’s a great and wonderful thing. I’m becoming a single-serve junkie. I’m all about those nifty little k-cups — they come in all flavors of coffee, hot chocolate & hot tea, and there are even online Coffee Clubs where you can have selected flavors sent every 1, 2, or however many months. Craziness.

Sorry I’ve been a bit reticent lately. Just not feeling chatty… so ready for the holidays to be over, and meanwhile, just trying to enjoy it as much as possible. We leave for the cabin on Thursday — WOOHOO for being off the map for a few days!

Ok, that’s all. Happy Christmas Eve Eve, everyone!

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To Charleston and Back

December 15, 2008 at 11:20 pm · Filed under charleston ·Tagged , , , , ,

It’s been five days since my last post… that’s the longest gap I’ve had in a while, I think. Sue and I have been all over SC and back since last Thursday… well, let me just start at the beginning.

Thursday morning, Sue & I were up, packing & moving toward the door when I got a call from Jennifer, who was sobbing hysterically. Someone had cut the screen on their porch during the night while they slept and stolen Tom’s tools. The tools aren’t what upset her… it was just the fear of knowing that someone was ransacking their porch while they slept just a few feet away. And all the what ifs – what if they had forgotten to lock the door? What if one of them had gotten up to get a glass of water and surprised the burglar? What if the burglar had wanted more than just tools? And the biggest one – what if they had hurt Maggie? Terrifying… I know that it’s relatively minor in the big scheme of things, but it felt like such a violation. Sue & I headed over there & distracted Maggie while Jennifer talked to the police. So yeah, needless to say, we had a later-than-planned departure for Charleston.

Left a while later, and the sky literally opened up. Nasty, scary rain – the kind where people are pulling over to wait it out and brave ones who are still driving all have their emergency flashers on. By the time we arrived at the CofC campus, it was drizzling and soggy, but no longer pouring. We walked a bit, took a few pictures, and just generally acquainted ourselves with the campus (which is absolutely gorgeous, by the way). Sue gets her housing assignment next week… we’re both keeping our fingers crossed for one particular dorm that’s very centrally located and has a CVS on the ground floor – it would be like having the ultimate vending machine! :)

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Before heading out, we drove down to the Battery – can’t go to Charleston and not see the Battery – and were greeted by the hugest, most beautiful, most perfect rainbow I’ve ever seen. It literally stretched from the Cooper River bridge to Fort Sumter, and was brilliant and visible all the way across. Our mother was so obviously there… I watched Sue taking pictures of it and whispered “thank you, Mama.” I know she had something to do with it.

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Friday, we headed to Bowman/Elloree to stay the rest of the weekend with cousin Merrill. Spent Saturday afternoon at our grandmother’s for an early Christmas family dinner, then headed back to Merrill’s. Merrill and I, between the two of us, had 2.5 bottles of wine and great conversation ensued (well, WE thought it was great at least).

Jen, Mag & I left Sunday morning and started the 4-hr drive back to Anderson. Were just past Columbia when Jennifer (who was driving) said “Does your car always jerk and not accelerate?” Um, no, just when it’s out of gas. Yes, folks, I once again ran out of gas. I swear I’m learning-disabled when it comes to the gas gauge… I know it sounds very elementary, but I just forget to look. We turned on the emergency flashers and rolled to the shoulder of the interstate – however, the car was still running. Only 25 mph, but we’re still moving…. so we just keep driving on the shoulder of the road. We creep along the emergency lane, running over all the random pieces of tire debris and such, putting the car in neutral when rolling down hills because we thought that might conserve gas. And we were crying with laughter of course… I kept having visions of “Little Miss Sunshine” and the van, when the family has to run along beside it and hop in because it only starts when rolling downhill.

We actually made it 2 miles or so, rolling in the emergency lane at 15-25 mph, before the car gave up the ghost and puttered to a complete stop. We tried to crank it a few times, but nope, wasn’t happening. So there we were for the next hour or so, waiting on the Highway Patrol to rescue us. The SCDOT (Dept of Transportation) finally arrived and put just enough gas to get us to the next exit. The little SCDOT helper-man followed us to the exit, but not before giving us a (mostly) good-natured lecture on how the car doesn’t know to go to the gas station by itself, so it’s our job to HELP it by taking it there regularly. Ok, ok, the sarcasm was thoroughly deserved.

Arrived home and crashed. Whew.

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