long ride home

This past weekend, I made a long over-due trip back to Buna to catch up with my family, etc. It was weird going back this time around...especially since it was just me (no Mitch or Taylor tagging along for this trip). Heading back to the piney woods always brings back a surge of memories and emotions...some good, some not-so-good. In my mind, Buna exists in a space that has been frozen in time...in other words, I essentially expect everything to be the same as when I left it...even though I know the town (and the people) are changing just like everything else.

This weekend made me question why I've chosen to stay away for so long...it was a lot like having a hearty helping of comfort food for the soul. Nothing exceptionally great happened (in fact it was more of a sobering time), but I was just reminded of the community of people that have loved, raised and supported me...it made me realize how much I've taken that kind of environment for granted. 

Highlights of the weekend include:

*Visiting both sets of grandparents

*Hanging out with my parents/aunts/uncles/family friends at their Sunday School social

*Nabbing a picture of the cow that is my mom's namesake (b/c it was born on her b-day)

*Eating at Fausto's with my parents (along with the entire Buna coaching staff) 

*My mom's beef tips and rice...mmm...good stuff

*Gumbo courtesy of Tammy Gatlin :)

*Digging through old photographs for a Christmas gift project that I've started

*Watching the UT football game with my dad

*Getting a FryDaddy and 2lbs of fish (apparently my papa feels like it's time for me to learn how to fry my own fish...I was told if I didn't screw up this batch, then he would give me more fish to cook the next time I come home)

This past weekend was also incredibly sad...a good family friend, Mr. Bill Lee, passed away on Saturday evening. Growing up, he and his wife (Essie) were pretty much like an additional set of grandparents to me. They've been a part of my life ever since I was a toddler...some of my first memories are from back when my parents would go square-dancing with Lee's (and yes, I do have some glorious pics of their dancing exploits). I think everyone else was a lot more prepared for his passing than I was; his health had been declining for quite some time. I just was unaware of how truly serious his condition was. My mom called as I was driving in on Friday to tell me that she and my dad were headed to the hospital...they had gotten a call that Bill was not expected to make it through the night. It was then that reality really began to set in. 

I was at home by myself when the calls started coming in on Saturday evening to let us know that he had passed....and being the coward that I am, I refused to answer the phone because a.) I was operating on a "if I ignore it, then nothing bad happened" mentality (lame, I know), because answering the phone meant that it was real, not just speculation... b.) I didn't want to be the person responsible for giving the news to my parents, etc. As bad as the "not answering the phone" episode, I am more frustrated with myself for not staying in town to go the funeral yesterday, because I should have been there...especially for Essie.