The Land of Dixie: 2008-05-25

Friday, May 30, 2008

My German Adventure

My latest real adventure happened rather out of the blue ! Jim and I were in IHOP with my sister when we noticed a family eating near us were speaking German. Jim, who claims he can speak German now feels challenged to talk with them. His German is really limited to ordering stuff in a bakery so I thought , "this will be interesting". He proceeds to ask them what city they are from in Germany. The wife of this group of 5 does speak English fairly well so she tells him they are from Stuttgardt... I think that is the right spelling. Anyway for the next 15 minutes , Jim and Barbara, the wife, try to converse with each other...mostly in English...well all in English. They were a husband and wife, two teen daughters and the wife's sister, Isolde. Bruno, the husband spoke no English but they all were very interested as Barbara translated for them.
We found out that they had just flown into Charleston that Evening.... 30 minutes prior to our meeting them. They got a rental car and checked into the Best Western near the IHOP on 17. They were tired and hungry. As the conversation went on, we learned they were on a tour of several cities in the USA ...planning to spend one day in each of them. They had just come from
Niagara Falls !!! They only had one day in Charleston.
NOW !!!! the next thing that happened is that I am sitting there thinking how much of a hassle it is going to be for them trying to see anything that would truly give them a picture of Charleston, in just one day ! I am thinking of the downtown traffic, the one way streets, the things they will miss... Soooooo I offer to take them on a tour then next day...fully thinking they will say no because who would trust a complete stranger to be in charge of their day ? First the mother and Dad talk it over and they say thank you but we will do okay. We continue on eating and the mom says.... the children like the idea of having you show us the town. So I did.
The next morning I met them at 9 and got into the rental van with them. We took off.... the waterfront park, King Street, Meeting and Broad, Church Street, The Battery, Rainbow Row, The Market,The Visitors Center, The Citadel Campus and gift shop. We did the whole downtown thing for about 3 hours then off to Ravenel Bridge and Shem Creek, over to Isle of Palms , Sullivans Island...where we parked and they walked in the Ocean for a bit. Finally , it was 3 o'clock. We went to Bessingers for lunch...they loved the BBQ and then I got my car and led them out to Middleton Plantation. They wanted to spend time there for the afternoon. I gave them a map to get to 17 as they were already packed and planning to leave for Florida after the plantation.
It was a wonderful day. I loved meeting this lovely family and establishing friends in a far away place. Since then, I have received an email from them. They are back in Germany and considered Charleston the highlight of their travels.
I love living in a city that has so much to see and do. I have no plan to move from here ever again... God willing.
I hope the family spreads the word, that we are friendly and love our home city. Surprised as I was that they took me up on the offer, I am thankful that Jim speaks enough German that he was able to start up the conversation that led me to that fun adventure. Barbara is going to email pictures to me soon. I will post them for you to see.

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Our new cadets, Sutton and Alex

We adopted two freshmen cadets this year. This is a photo from their first visit to our house where they basically ate, slept and did some laundry. Both of them are just wonderful and roommates and are both from Florida. We are looking forward to spending time with them and seeing them succeed at The Citadel. Sutton is on the left, Alex is on the right.Click on the photo to be routed to The Citadel website.UPDATE...The guys became part of our family this year and are about to finish their freshman year ..both with flying colors and wonderful grades. We are so proud of them and love them so much !! What a blessing !..THIS IS FROM FRESHMAN YEAR... NOW THEY ARE SENIORS !!!!!!TIME FLEW BY

UPDATES

Looking over my pages and realize that most of the information in the blogs is old. Here are a few updates.My cadets Alex and Sutton are now seniors. They have been unbelievably successful at The Citadel.Sutton , a business major is a gold star cadet, meaning his grades are 3.8 or higher and he has been given a commission in the Army that will take him into the Army at graduation with an officer rank. Sutton made the Summerall Guards which is an elite group of cadets who perform a silent drill for special occasions. This is not easy to get into...Congratulations Sutton ! Alex has also excelled in academics, deans list as an engineering major is a great accomplishment. Alex also made The President's List which is a list of cadets who are at the top of the game in many categories, personal , academic, military. He also has a Navy contract for a pilot slot at graduation.Both guys have received their rings (october) so they are on the home stretch to graduation now. I am so proud of them in all they have done but I will tell you the best part !!!!!!!!!Both Alex and Sutton have asked Jesus into their lives since coming to The Citadel. They love the Lord and both have been in regular worship and Sutton is involved in campus ministry. What a blessing. Love both of our cadets and will sure miss them when they take off to travel the world.Bo has opened his own law firm. You can view his website at
www.jrobertslawfirm.com If you need a good lawyer, call Bo. He is honest and will work hard for you.The grands are growing. Sophie has been in several plays with The Flowertown Players and excels in her schoolwork.Britton is an avid Scout and is doing well in school. He loves going to horse shows with Peter.Caleb is into karate. He loves to write stories and draw and still loves Superheroes.Olivia is talking up a storm and still loves her Grover. She loves books, babydolls and playing with her cousins.Joshua is a wild man. He is all about running, riding the four wheeler and jumping from the stairs. He is the family comedian.John Grady is cooing up a storm and is such a smiley boy. He is growing so fast and he is sooo cute !Nanny is enjoying her apartment at the Assisted living place. Her short term memory is not good but she remembers things from the past pretty well. She would love a visit from any of you any time.Jim is still teaching in the simulator for the C-17 for L2 communications on the air base. He also does quite a bit of public speaking taking the gospel to men's groups and churches all around the southeast.I am still leading the women's at my church .

Merry Christmas

December sneaked right up on us... What a beautiful fall we had. I was sad to take down all the fall decorations... they are my favorite colors. Thanksgiving was such a blessing as we had all our children here and 3 of our 5 grands. I count my blessings every day and at the top of the list is the fact that all of our children now live within minutes of us !! God knew I did not want to share !
Today is Dec. 1st and I am feeling a little overwhelmed at the task of turning the house into a Christmas backdrop. I always feel that way and it always gets done....so off I go to open the first of many crates and bins ! Merry Christmas Ya'll. Have a blessed one !

Truly an Empty Nest !

With Bo settling into Tampa and Amy moving to the farm and Kelly and her family growing and living a few miles away and now my cadets leaving for summer and my grandson leaving my care to go back to his stay at home mom... I am truly moving into the empty nest stage of life. While I will miss all of them and would bring them all back here if I could.... I do have a million plans for all my free time. I think I am excited about all my projects but I am facing the fact that I cannot use any of my motherhood duties as an excuse for not getting stuff done. Once June hits, I am going to have 24 hours a day to use as I please ...so watch out ... I am going to become painter, writer, interior designer, crafter , traveler , grandmother , extraordinaire... and most of all will have time to dote on a one of a kind husband who has generously and quietly sat on the back burner to all this crazy moving, wedding planning, and full time grandmothering this year.
My summer project begins with a Cadet porch pot that is overdue for a friend who purchased it at an auction a year ago. After that, I am headed to the beach house to start some serious decorating and updating .. hopefully I can use the summer to get the old house rentable. So many friends have asked us if we rent. I hope to get it rentable and get a friends and family rent brochure together by end of summer. While I do not want to rent to strangers, the renting of the house to close friends can help them by allowing a cheaper rent than they could get anywhere else ...thereby sharing our blessing... and can add to my funds to improve the place little by little to make it more enjoyable for everyone.
I do not see an end to that project so while that is going on... I will also be finishing some much needed painting and decor in our Ashebourough house. It is a lot of upkeep but a great place for our family to gather and enjoy life.
This summer, our family will grow as Kelly and Tom welcome Joshua James Reser in August ... I am really looking forward to a newborn. I just love that stage and while it is hard to believe I can love someone as much as I love the others.. I am sure that he will carve out his own little place in this world and be another unique , precious , and wonderful love in my life.
I hope the coming year will give us opportunities to spend time with lots of friends for surely friends and family determine the quality of life that we have... add that to good health and a vital and loving relationship with the Savior and it does not get any better... well maybe if I could lose 50 pounds... that would be the icing on the cake... and since my excuses for "no time to plan meals and exercise" are gone in a few weeks... maybe I will find my way to do just that......