I've been waiting for today for two months... two months!
It may well be three months since Dawn sent the invite for her 11th Annual Chicks' Soup Party and I eagerly responded in the affirmative.
Yesterday, I was sure the 28th had, at last, arrived!
I turned on the TV to watch cartoons - and was shocked to find it was only Friday.
No cartoons in sight at the 9 o'clock hour.
Well, drats.
I was thrilled to be greeted by the Warner Bros. bunch!
One of the cartoons even had a cross-over event going on, with the Road Runner on vacation and Bugs Bunny standing in for him against Wile E. Coyote.
Very nice!
Then I got busy after breakfast with clearing out a tin full of decorative pins and brooches.
One item was a flash drive from the 2006 SERMACS in Augusta, the only thing I seem to have as evidence I was there.
It certainly did not leave a mark in my memory.
The items on the flash drive, however, grabbed my attention with all of the memories that bubbled from the depths!
The voices of my Grandpa and Grandma!
The voice of my Great-Uncle Sam!
The voice of my Uncle Bob!
All silenced by death for many years.
I had them transferred from tape cassettes, that had been shipped back and forth in the mail from the Walkers in Tallahassee to the Lees in Waycross and the Smiths in Savannah, back in January of 1974.
Uncle Sam had been diagnosed with colon cancer and had only a few months left to live.
I think that's why Aunt Linda had started this "voices in the mail" campaign, so Grandma would have her youngest brother's voice to cherish.
Mama and Daddy had been divorced the previous month, so it may well be that she simply didn't have the time to put into making recordings and getting them posted.
With four kids and one salary, both money and time were tight.
What I wouldn't give to be able to hear her voice again... but I digress.
I did get to hear my voice, though!
The flash drive had three videos of me from 1995, when I was teaching the CHE201 class at both Armstrong and Brunswick, in the distance learning project that semester.
What an absolute trip!
I always talk about my blonde roots, but I had forgotten just how dark my hair was!
What fun to listen and watch as I taught how to name branched hydrocarbons!
(smile!)
I thought about going to a movie, but stayed in after reading my email.
The genealogy site I use was changing its rules, in that the free membership I have was changing from 250 maximum people in my tree to 180.
I currently have 220, but they assured me, in writing, that I would not lose anyone - I just would never, ever, be able to add anyone else... unless I upgraded.
So, I did, at the 50% off special discount, for the membership with all the bells and whistles, the one that would allow me to respond to all the "smart matches" and "record matches" that I had received over the years since I started this.
That was a very helpful step forward, as it turned out!
I have made great strides in moving through more generations, going all the way back to the eighteenth century!
(smile!)
With a feeling of success and accomplishment, I started getting ready for Dawn's Party.
Hooray!
Yes, it had briefly touched 60F at noon, then slipped on down to the low 50's as the day progressed, as the Weather Song had forecast.
So, I'd put my pink tank top under my sweater, to keep my warm heart from the cold.
Then, I'd bundled up with coat, gloves, mask, heavy shoes... yes, all that stuff before venturing out.
I barely made it to the car before I felt the chill breeze seep through the layers, chilling the skin on its way to my core.
Nope.
I turned right around and went back to my front door, the house seemingly extra warm at 66 compared to the dark air outside.
Then my phone buzzed.
her: You coming for soup?
me: I was trying to, but the cold air started affecting my heart. Just got back into the house.
her: Sorry to hear that.
me: I was even all bundled up and wearing a mask.
me: Really aggravates me.
me: So sorry my heart demands warmth.
her: No worries, better to be safe.
me: Honestly, anything under 60 degrees is a danger now.
her: It's warm here!
me: Car heater takes about thirty minutes to warm up, so that wouldn't be good, either.
me: So ready for warm evenings!
her: We miss you too!
me: Having soup in a mug from a previous soup party with you!
Then she returned to being the hostess with the mostest for the four cheftestants and fifteen or so judges gathered there.
What about me?
Well, besides hoping she'll still bring me a goodie bag when next we meet, I'm going to watch Hyacinth Bucket - pronounced Boo-kay, y'all - as she goes after a Rolls Royce for her very own.
(smile!)
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