Friday, May 23, 2008

Another Try

I'm listening to my newest CD - Josh Turner's Everything is Fine. I've been listening to it a lot lately - I like it more than I thought I would. My favorite songs:
Another Try with Trisha Yearwood
Nowhere Fast - duet with Anthony Hamilton
The Longer the Waiting [the Sweeter the Kiss]
I think I like the last one for the name. I think I can emphasize. And it's got a kind of Scottish/old timey feel. Nowhere Fast is a little different. I had not heard of Anthony Hamilton so I googled him. He wrote the song with Kelvin Wooten.

So, I've written about Dad and a little about Mom. Can't talk much about the family without mentioning my big sis though. I always looked up to Laura, even when she steered me wrong, got me in trouble, or made me look bad. But most of the time, she was always looking out for me, and helping me out. When I fell off the monkey bars at the playground across the street, I went straight to Laura first. When she saw all the blood, she said, "We better go see Mom." She's always been talented. I loved listening to her play the piano - Moonlight Sonata was one of my all-time favorites, along with Exodus (loved since I never hear her play anymore - hint hint!!!!). I didn't enjoy listening to the trumpet quite as much, but she was good - and she could even play harmony to my clarinet melody. She also has quite the talent for impersonations - I guess she probably peaked when she was in CD Franks Intermediate School though. Those are the ones I remember best. Laura made a good Don Juan, an excellent teacher, a "scary" make-up artist, and she can be devious although few people believe it. I love looking at Emily & Ethan and seeing little snatches of Laura (and definitely John too). Laura has a "one-track mind" and hands like Dad, but she's better known for her similarities to Mom. I call them both social butterflies and Emily is made in that same vein. But if you're around Mom & Laura for very long - you will start seeing it. I've never thought Laura looked like anyone in particular (people usually say how much I look like my Dad) but I always thought she was much prettier than me. She WAS blond of course, and in case you hadn't noticed, the blond dolls are all prettier than the brunette ones (or so I thought anyway). When she left for college, I really, really missed her. Yes, I missed the chauffeur too (I couldn't drive yet) but I missed my friend more. She's always been my best friend.
Various Memories:


  • Her white high heels - I grew into them for a few months, then my feet grew more.

  • The way she held her hands out when showing her engagement ring (she's double jointed and could make her hands do weird things).

  • Those long eyelashes

  • Fuzzy Wuzzy............as Dad said

  • Our neighbors told Mom that I never ran home to Mom - I just ran to Laura.

  • Summer fun - riding bikes all over the neighborhood, down to the 7-11 for icees, and to the Castle to rent movies. Her picks? John Wayne in True Grit or The Journey of Natty Gann.

  • Dad bringing Laura to see me in the hospital. She brought me a yellow comb with my name on it in blue (hers was blue with her name in white). I also have some cards she sent me.

  • When she came home for spring break her freshman year at Harding wearing John's class ring. She finally got the nerve to put it on in front of Mom & Dad while eating out.

  • She had to look "just right" - fluffy 80's bangs and all - which required hair dryer, hot rollers, and such all over the bathroom.

  • Her love for all of our pets - Tippy, Sam, Midnight, Tigger, Charlie, Tootsie, and various gerbils. Oh yeah, remember the tail coming off one of those gerbils?!?!?

  • Celebrating Mom's birthday last year in Hot Springs

Thanks for being my sister and friend. Love ya!


Here's another of Ethan's early masterpieces- taken at Emily's backwards birthday party (which is the reason Laura's sweater is on backwards).

3 comments:

LET said...

Corrections/comments:
-You always made ME look bad (you were a better obeyer, at least when you were little)
-I don't have the music for Exodus
-I don't think I'm a social butterfly, but I do like to talk with people
-Why didn't I STAY blond?? :-) Oh well, I'll be getting gray in the coming years, so it won't matter!
-I wasn't that good on my trumpet-I should've practiced more, especially my senior year. Being in region 2nd band wasn't as much fun as 1st band.

Some of this stuff I had forgotten-like giving you that comb and fuzzy wuzzy. I'm so behind on blog posts, I still haven't done Mom's yet.
Hey, I'm going mountain biking with two other women this morning after John gets back.

corncobb said...

HA. I meant you made me look bad literally - the make up thing, remember? Plus, you were always skinny. Remember the days of complaining that you couldn't find clothes to fit without being altered, but I could?

Exodus - Mom had the music and I remember you playing it growing up - didn't you?

Well, I kind of equate "liking to talk to people" alot with social butterfly. I don't mean that as a bad thing either!! You & Mom are just so comfy talking to everyone.

Yeah, at least my hair has been the same color my whole life! :-) Well, it will until it grays I guess. Hope mine grays as pretty as Mom's.

You were good enough to get that nice trumpet - and weren't you sick right before the all-region tryouts that year?

It took me a little while to be able to sing Fuzzy Wuzzy. Ahhh, the memories.

Have fun biking.

Amy said...

I remember the gerbil with no tail. The whole event was quite traumatic for me and of course hilarious now that I think back. I was never good with animals. I guess I am still not very good. I don't remember his name. But I thought grabbing his tail when he tried to get away would be fine. I learned otherwise!
I enjoyed reading all your childhood memories that you shared. I remember many of those things as well. You and Laura are so lucky to have each other.
I love my brothers and now can't imagine growing up any other way. But when I was younger I always wanted a sister. I have told them that I am the reason we all have little girls now. Because I wished so hard for a sister growing up. Here they are-8 little sweeties now.