Daddy

Private 1st Class H. M. Creel, Sr.

Soldiers! I am in awe of their commitment and dedication. I am so grateful that they put their lives on the line for us everyday. They have my utmost respect and admiration.

It seems that I've always been drawn to the military. I even wanted to work (as a civilian) on a military base, but I've never lived close enough. And then there's the time that Whitney and I tried to get on base at Ft. Jackson, but that's a story for another day. Maybe I'm drawn to it because my two times great grandfather was a Confederate Soldier in the Civil War. Maybe it's because my very own daddy served in the Army during the Korean War and Vietnam. Just maybe! I have several uncles and cousins who have served during wars and rumors of wars. And thank God, they all returned safe. Which brings me to.....Memorial Day.

Now, I know Memorial Day is the holiday we observe to remember those men and women who died while serving our country.

Oh wait, did you know that Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War?

Awesome!

And then we have Veteran's Day which is a great day of honor for our Veterans.

But, back to Memorial Day......even though we remember those who died while serving in the military, I just think it's fitting to also remember those who lived and are still serving and putting their lives on the line this very day. So many men in my family have served in the military. Some have served in wars and conflicts and some are still active today. I would like to honor those men for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. It is with much pleasure that I give them a special place of honor in my heart. And the one that holds the highest place of honor in my heart.....My Daddy.

Yep, you know me and Miss Nostalgia. We've been at it again. We've been walking down memory lane. This weekend is a big weekend for my family. Not only is it Memorial Day weekend, but it is also my daddy's birthday and his 'going home to heaven' day. That's him in the picture. Wasn't he handsome? And those ears....well, they're a family trait. Several of those ears are walking this earth, as we speak. I had a friend tell me this week that she thought he looks like Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer. Ha! I had never seen that before she brought it to my attention, but she's right...he does.

Daddy was a private in the Army, drafted in 1959. He was stationed at one time or another in Ft. Jackson, Ft. Ord, Ft. Benning, Ft. Bragg, Ft. Carson, Korea, Germany and volunteered for Vietnam, but they wouldn't take him because by this time he was married with four children. Ft. Carson in Colorado was his last assignment. After serving for seven years, he chose not to re-enlist. After leaving Colorado, we moved back home to SC, where he lived out the remainder of his life.

Today is daddy's birthday. He would have been 76 years old. And tomorrow is daddy's 6th anniversary of his 'going home to heaven' day. He had a good life...not always easy, but he was close to his family and managed to do many things he loved. Daddy was an adventurous soul. He had a heart for those less fortunate than himself, especially children. He loved his Church. He was always pulling pranks....his sister's and brother's, mostly, fell prey to those. Daddy had a great sense of humor and loved to kid around. He loved to travel and he loved to camp. I know I got my sense of adventure and love of travel from him. It didn't matter what he was doing, if I called him up and said, "Daddy, let's go on an adventure", he would be halfway out the door before hanging up the phone.

It goes without saying that I miss my daddy very much. I think about him often. I miss the mornings he dropped by for a cup of coffee. I miss our family get togethers where daddy was, no doubt, the center of attention. I miss how he used to take his hand and brush it down your face in a playful gesture. I miss his laugh and his gimpy walk. I miss his hands, which by the way is the last thing I touched right after his soul left this earth. I just plain miss him! Some people may wish that their loved ones could come back for a day or for one more hug or just one more I love you, but I wouldn't wish for daddy to come back here for anything. He's in Glory! He's not sick anymore and he's spending his birthday, today, with our Lord.

To My Daddy.....a soldier, a husband, a father, a papa, a brother, an uncle, a child of God:

I am so proud of who you were. I am so proud of your service to our country. I am so proud to call you my daddy. I wish you a Happy Birthday, a Happy 'Going Home To Heaven Day' and Happy Memorial Day.

Til we meet again,

Laurie

Nostalgia Has Just Hit Me Like A Ton Of Bricks

A good case of nostalgia hit me this morning. I was sitting in the den drinking coffe and watching the weather channel.....my morning ritual. And my mind began to wander. I started recalling things that happened many years ago, when my children were growing up.

I remembered Whitney practicing her gymnastics moves off the back of the couch.

I remembered the time after Emily got her driver's license that we bought her first car....a pre-owned red Firebird. She was so excited to take the car out for a drive, but in the process backed into the telephone pole and left a swipe of red paint on it that is still visible today. Oh, and then the time she also backed into the garage doorway. And the time she ran up on the curb trying to miss a cat and busted her front tire. She's hard on cars. Ha!

I remembered Whitney and her friend, Sarah, sitting outside in the hammock......just swinging back and forth, laughing and playing and eating watermelon with our black lab, Abbie, sitting there hoping they would drop a piece of it.

Then, I remembered the time Cliff made Emily catch our goat by the horns. His name was Billy and Billy would rear up on his back legs and act like he was going to butt us, when we got near. Cliff was having no part of that goat acting like that, especially to the hands that fed him. So, Emily braved up and caught Billy by the horns and held him like a man. HaHa!

I remembered Whitney's 6th grade birthday/dance party. We pushed back all the furniture in the den so she and her classmates could have a big dance floor. She caught me taking a picture of her and her 6th grade boyfriend dancing and shot me the evil eye. HeHe!

I remember Emily having a friend sleep over and Cliff secretly hiding a walkie talkie under her bed before the girls went to sleep for the night. He waited all night to pull this stunt; I did too, HaHa! The next morning, I snuck up to the top of the stairs so that I could see into Emily's room, but they couldn't see me. Cliff blew a duck call into the walkie talkie. You should have heard that thing. It sounded like something dying. Emily and her friend shot straight up in bed...their arms flew straight out and they started looking wildeyed around the room. The friend finally asked, "Do y'all have cows?" I was trying to be quiet, but you know how you end up spitting all over yourself, when trying to repress a laugh. I busted out laughing so hard I just about wet my pants. We still laugh over that one.

Then, I remember the time Whintey was doing a science project on what held heat more, after bringing it to the boiling point....water or rubbing alcohol. Disclaimer: Do not try this at home! The fumes are awful. Whitney puked going up the stairs trying to make it to the bathroom.

I remember the day that Cliff took one of Whitney's Barbie Doll heads, tied a piece of fishing line around it and hid it behind the linen closet door and then hooked the other side to the baseboard in the hall. When Whitney walked by, she snagged the string and the Barbie Doll head came flying out of the closet and wrapped around her ankle. She screamed bloody murder. HaHa!!

I remember both girls getting ready for their proms, their graduations and their moves to college. I remember their brief moves back home and then they were gone again....in the blink of an eye. I miss them and those times so much!

I remember the first time Whitney brought Jason home. I had this old dirty looking rocker recliner that I was replacing, but still had it in the den when Whitney and Jason got here. I realized it was still there and while Jason was meeting Cliff motioned for Whitney to help me hide it. You should have seen us pushing that chair down the hall to the back of the house. Good thing we had hardwood floors to slide it on. HaHa! I think Jason was so nervous to meet Cliff that he didn't even notice us pushing that ugly thing out of the room.

I remember the many nights I sat up and waited for the girls to return from their dates or from cheering at an "away" ballgame....so sleepy I could barely hold my eyes open and then sometimes I made Cliff do it because I couldn't stay awake a minute longer.

I remember the time we had geese. One of those geese was a mean son of a gun. He would chase us every chance he got. He chased Whitney and she would jump into the back of Cliff's truck to avoid getting pecked by the hateful thing. Cliff's mother would antagonize him every time she came over. He would chase her until she ran up on the porch. One day she happened to have a black umbrella in her hands and when the hateful old devil starting chasing her, she opened the umbrella at him. It scared him so bad that he took off running and never chased her again. Ha!

Then, I remember the time someone gave us a baby deer found in the woods just after it was born. The mother had died somehow. We named her Lilly. Anyway, we would feed this baby deer with a baby bottle. Lilly was the cutest little thing. She would come up to you and nudge you on the leg when she was hungry. She would run and play in the yard with the girls like a dog. One day an older lady friend came over and before the storm door could close, Lilly came in through the front door and into the house. We have hardwood floors so Lilly was having a hard time standing up. Her little legs were sliding all over the place. The lady was so shocked that the deer came in that she picked Lilly up from behind to take her back out the door. When she did, Lilly's feet went in all directions. It was like trying to put a cat in a tub of water. HaHa!! Finally, we managed to calm Lilly down enough to put her back outside.

Then, I remember my grandbabies and the times they slept on my couch or in my bed, the times they sat in their little carryalls on my table while I cooked dinner. I remember the times they crawled around the house and walked these same floors. I remember them playing with magnetized alphabets on the side of the fridge. I remember Lidia pulling a chair up to the sink to help me wash dishes and I remember that sweet Sawyer just hugging my legs anytime he came near.

I remember the time Whitney was lying on the couch holding Lidia above her and Lidia drooled all over Whitney's face. Whitney just about puked over that one.

I rememeber the time Lidia took off for the pasture to lasso one of the horses with the little piece of rope Cliff gave her to play with. I remember Sawyer playing with the new puppies and laying splayed out on his stomach in the dirt watching ants. I also remember the time he came and told us he ate an ant because Bear Grylls did.

I remember all the Christmas mornings and how much my girls love Christmas. And then last year when Whitney flew in from Denver on Christmas Eve and surprised Lidia and Sawyer Christmas morning. They though she caught a ride with Santa.....because that's what we told them. HaHa! You can read that story here.

I remember our famous egg sandwich breakfasts. Everyone that comes for a visit gets one. They're requested, frequently.

And now, my little family is all grown and out on their own. Such memories as these can make me chuckle out loud somedays and then days like today makes me teary-eyed as I walk from room to room and recall what happened there. There's not an inch of this house that doesn't hold special memories for me. Nostalgia brings them home ever so often. Our lives change no less often as the seasons and we make new memories during those times. They may not take place in the same rooms or on the same floors. Children grow up and their walls and floors and rooms become a breeding ground for their own family's memories. And I am happy for that. As for me, I will always have nostalgia. Nostalgia and I remain the best of friends.....and I depend on her to make sure my memories remain the same.

Peace out,
Laurie

There's A Thief On The Loose

 

Old Homestead on LaLa's Lane

 

Nostalgia is my friend. We hang out. We talk. We reminisce. Nostalgia makes me wish I were a pioneer woman, sometimes. But then I remember that pioneers used out houses and I snap out of it. But never-the-less, I love old stuff, old homes, antiques...you get the picture. The photo above is of an old homestead on our property. I don't know the history of this old home, but I'm sure it belonged to the family that owned our property many, many years ago.

 

This old house used to have an old tin roof and beautiful old doors. Nothing special, no artisan craftsmanship, just old and plain and I loved them. She was in a state of disrepair and would eventually just rot and fall down. But I could see potential at every corner. So, last summer we had someone start the task of disassembling her and saving the best wood to build a potting shed for me. It was an arduous task due to it's location and the heat from long summer days. But, we managed to start a pretty good stash. My potting shed project got put on the back burner and the old house still just stands among the trees just as you see her here.

 

I took this photo last week. When I saw it, I nearly went into convulsions. Because as you can see, my beautiful old doors are gone. GONE! Three of them...just GONE! I could not believe it. What happened to them....I just couldn't imagine. I had previously asked for the doors to be saved intact. I wanted to use them, just as they were, on my potting shed. The only thing I could think of was that the guy whose crew was taking her down had come back and removed them for me. I called him and of course, he had not. He asked who would want them...maybe someone who would sell them as antiques? Good question.

 

There's a thief on the loose and he or she or the devil incarnate has stolen my old homestead doors. And I am mad! First of all, the old house is not easily visible from the highway. You have to drive down our lane to be able to see it. So, someone has been casing out our property and came back when no one was home and stole my doors. I just can't think about it for long because I get so angry that I almost wish harm on the thief. I feel violated. I hope whoever has my doors might read this and understand how much I loved them and will return them. It's not likely, but I had to give it a chance.

 

Thank heavens, I had enough forethought to have the doorknobs removed last summer when the disassembling began. (See doorknob below). It's all I have left. For now, we will begin taking her down again to salvage the wood and any old bricks used as pillars. She will make a gorgeous potting shed and I can't wait. I will give her new life and she will shine as in her former glory.

 

 

Doorknob from the old doors.

 

To the thief who has my doors....I hope you seek forgiveness because if you don't, you and Satan are going to be bunk mates one day. And I also hope that stealing my doors causes you so much discomfort that you would gladly return them. Amen!

Laurie

 

P.S. - Cliff doesn't know it yet, but I am offering a reward for the safe return of my beautiful doors.