Where everybody knows your name: Life out of the fast lane

Last week we went for our second annual spring break to Uncertain, Tx.  Lake Caddo is beautiful and charming and kind of spooky all at the same time.   I blame the Spanish Moss for the spooky but it is so amazing, who cares.

What I love about this place is that even though we have only been twice, the people there treated us like regulars.  We were just a little family who lives somewhere else and came to visit.   The guy at the mini-mart told me the whole town (all 50 of them) were talking about my orange Ram pickup because the color is so different.   My favorite little fishing and watering whole was maned or womaned by the same folks as last year and they all remembered our trip last year.   Every person we met vacationing there became instant friends.  Eveyone is your neighbor, buddy, pal.  There are no strangers.  They even learn your name.  Your actual name, first and last.

Uncertain/Karnack is by no way rich.  By Dallas standards the people are scraping by.  What makes it special is that they are happy.   They are happy to see you, happy to help you, and happy you vacationed in their backyard.   They don't make a fuss out of things.   Specialties of the house are chili cheese dogs at the lakeside kitchen/fishing dock at Johnson's Ranch. Karen, the absolute doll behind the counter and Chaz, our fishing guide for both trips last year and this, are the best.   There is a charming little authentic Mexican place not far from the lake called Aseret (Teresa, the owners wife's name backward) where the owner will come and chat with you and sometimes play you a song.  For the big dinner out, you go to River Bend and eat fresh fish.   They were closed Monday and Tuesday so we missed it this year but that is how we found Aseret and it was a win.

So, having been back a couple of days there are some things I have noted about my trips to both East Texas where my husband has land and Lake Caddo.   Small town life is way simpler and way less cluttered.   People in small towns are much friendlier.   For whatever reason, people in small towns seem happier.  Maybe it is because some of them use to live in big cities and they have come to appreciate the simple life.

All of this thinking has me really questioning my life and my desires and how they effect my happiness.   Is it possible that my wanting 'things' actually leads me to be unhappy?   Is it possible that my need to make things perfect has backfired in making everything a mess?   Is it possible that, for me anyway. a less complicated life is what I really need?

I go through stages thinking this way and then I get back in the grind and forget everything I feel when I get back from places where life moves just a little bit more Andy Griffith-like.   (I am pretty sure this drives my other half nuts because he never knows which me he is getting.)

It's funny because I have been so focused on working on recycled furniture lately and a friend of mine just sent me a message telling me how much she would love a little Towel Plaque for her house like the one I did in yesterday's blog.  Maybe I think  dream too big.  Maybe I need to scale it down, in life and in everything else.   I guess we all do that to some extent.   I know one thing for sure, we (my husband and I) have too many cars/truck for two people.  You know how they said when Harry was born Charles and Diana had an heir and a spare? We have a vehicle and a spare each.    Maybe I need to worry less about getting new floors for the house and more about enjoying the house in the country.   Maybe being happy really isn't about what you have but who you have. Maybe it is time to appreciate people more and things less.

I look around and can't believe it is the middle of March, already!   Time goes by so much faster when you get older.   I don't know what happens to the clock but it is just rushing, rushing, rushing. My favorite times are the times alone at my house with my family watching the dog and the kid play and reading a book while my husband does something crazy like chop wood because he can't sit still.

I don't know what this all means.  I don't know anything really.  I guess you can say I am as uncertain as the town in Texas.  Just the muddled ramblings of a woman back at the grind and wishing she were sitting on a boat dock, drinking a beer with a pole in her hand and a fish nibbling.




For Vacation photos check out my blog here

Thankful Thursday: All you need is Love: My Valentines Blog

Because Valentines Day is Saturday I thought I should do a Thankful Thursday Valentines Day edition today and share the love that I am thankful for.   Love comes in many forms and from many people in your life.  I am sure if you look around and really think about it, you will be amazed at just how many people you are truly thankful to give and receive love from.  These are just a few of my loves:

He hates that I flash our wedding photos

I am thankful for my husband who is super supportive and loves me with his whole heart. He is the smile on my face. I love coming home at night to his goofy grin.  It's nice to have someone there to help shoulder the load and who has your back.  He drives me crazy, don't get me wrong but he is worth the nuts.  He puts up with me and encourages me and he lets me have too many irons in the fire and he doesn't mind my own personal brand of crazy too much.  Every once in a while he even surprises me.  I can't express in words how much he means to me.  He gave up his hunting weekend this weekend to let me go to a trade and junk show.  Now that is love! 

My mom walked me down the aisle

I am thankful for my mother who worked her bottom off being a single parent to give her kids everything they needed and most things they wanted.  She is brave and honest and she taught her kids to always be truthful and true to themselves.  She gave us wings and she gave us strenth.  She gave us freedom to make mistakes and the ability to make choices.  She never pushed too hard but never boxed us in either.  She was honest with us when she needed to be and told me flat out "you are never going to be a singer so channel your efforts somewhere else, honey" which I am grateful for after watching some really sad audition episodes of American Idol. 

Blessed with an abundance of kids in my life!

I am thankful for the kids in my life who make me grow and love they give me. They teach me to approach life with a sense of humor and to never take things too seriously. They make me laugh and they bless me in so many ways.  They make me worry for their future, each in a little different and unique way and they give me hope.  They have their own special sweetness, hurt, anger, pain, pesonality, good qualities, bad traits (some that need to be squashed) and they are the lights of my life.

Brother and Sister (in-law)

I am thankful for my brother and sister-in-law who raise six kids and I still don't know how they do it. They manage to fit more in during one 24 hour period than most people do all week.  My sister-in-law, Sandie is the best.  She is an amazing woman of God and I could not ask for a better roll model for my nieces and nephew or a wife for my brother.  She is a nurse, an angel, and she puts up with him which makes her a saint.  :) 

Trish was my maid of honor 

Shanna was my honorary Best Woman

I am thankful for girl friends who are there when I need girl time because as much as I love my husband he just doesn't care about hair, handbags, or shoes. Sometimes you just need your girls and I love spending time with mine. I have been especially lucky this week to spend time with Shanna, Robin, Debbie, Jan, Trish, Sharon and I still have Cinnamon and Michelle coming up Saturday.

I can't forget my fur babies Ries and Sadie!  They are the biggest hams and the goofiest dogs but my life wouldn't be half as fun without them and if push came to shove, Joe would tell you he loves them too...if you really held a gun to his head and made him. 

There is a special group on Twitter who makes my life crazy insane fun and I love them in a only can it happen on Twitter sort of way.  They know who they are. 

There are a whole host of people at work who I adore who make me laugh on a daily basis.  I take them for granted and sometimes, I don't even think about them. Sometimes, I forget about some of them for days and weeks on end.  The mail clerks who get the mail to our office everday.  The office assistant who makes sure to log all our work and send all the annoying emails.  The human resource personel who we never see unless we need them but boy when we need them they better be there.  Don't forget about the janitor who always seems to be cleaning the bathroom right at the moment I have to go really, really bad!  Life would go on without them all but there will be a little bitty whole in my heart where they once stood, even the janitor with the amazing timing.  I am thankful for all of these people too.   

Finally, I am amazingly thankful for you all!  Every single one of you who takes 3 minutes out of your day to read the ramblings of my mind!  You are wonderful!  Happy Valentines day!