I just realized it's been a while since I posted on here and y'all might think I've disappeared. Not so. Just hunkered down, working and knocking things off my To Do list every day.
I realized today that I am a second generation list maker. I grew up watching my mother write grocery lists, shopping lists, lists of foods to serve at parties, lists of people, events, etc. I always credit the influence of my grandmother for being a listmaker but in reality, Mom was very influential too.
She also has always kept important events in a calendar and so the verb "calendar" -- so critical to anyone in the legal profession -- has always been easy for me.
I am going to try and get Michael started in the list habit but so far, he's not there. I hung a calendar right outside his room but I don't think he ever looks at it. He rarely thinks beyond the present day.
I am the opposite. I obsess over deadlines and future plans and I need to live more "in the moment." Then again, on a cold and rainy day like today the moment seems highly over-rated.
IN THE NEWS
As I watch the news accounts of the historic and devastating Gatlinburg fire, I mourn the loss of so many homes and businesses in that beautiful area. I grew up just down the road in Knoxville, and we loved driving over the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge when I was a kid. I have always thought Dollywood was an overly commercial place, not necessarily good for the area, but I have to grudgingly admit Dolly Parton herself has a heart of gold. Her Dollywood Foundation is donating $1,000 a month to Sevier County families who lost their homes. God bless her.
Last February I wrote a blog about my friend Suzy Darrah, who has a specialty bakery business in Myrtle Beach. She has now opened her own ETSY store, Hippienut Bake Shop. If you want quality gluten-free baked goods, check it out. AND - no matter where you are in America, Suzy will ship your purchases to you!
I was never a big football fan but I was delighted to see that my high school alma mater, Farragut, won the state football championship.
I interviewed a man for one of my stories last week and usually my professional interviews are polite, brief, and dry. I am there to get information for my story and working against a deadline. Last week, though, the man I interviewed was delightful and I felt like I was talking to an old friend. It was truly fun to chat with him -- something I rarely say in regard to a business call. I was having a stressful day and I felt like God sent me that little reprieve to help me through it.
RANDOM PHOTO
above, my grandmother and some of her sisters picnicking in Piedmont Park in the early 1950's. my mom is the shadow in the foreground -- looking far taller than in real life...
