I came to a realization the other day as we had some summer thunder storms pass through.
My 9 year old didn't understand what rain was 'til he was 4. Four years in California and it barely rained.
My 20 month old knows what rain is! It rains at least once a week here in Mississippi. We stop to watch, or listen, or play in it!
Both boys love the feel of rain on their faces! Refreshing and cool after long hot summer days!
I was in shock so I didn't think to snap a picture.
Driving down the highway, the flatbed truck in front of me had a huge black plastic garbage bag flapping in the wind. My eyes naturally went to the moving plastic.
My mind wasn't sure what it saw at first. Two hooves hanging out. Two furry legs. A big thigh used for running or jumping.
Something furry. Something dead. I'm thinking a llama or a calf. It wasn't too big. Something juvenile. Something very dead... in a plastic bag... practically hanging off of this guys truck.
Not something I'm used to seeing!
Gas stations smell.
California has a few stations that, when you get in your car, you have that after-taste in your mouth still. It's in the air.
Maybe it's the heat or the humidity. I can't think of a station in Mississippi that does not have that taste. I know that some people don't mind the smell, though it bothers me.
I'm thinking that California has so many laws and additives that the smell is less prevalent. I'm not sure. But this culture shock is not a pleasant one for me.
Gotta love facebook for receiving the latest news. Faster than the tv stations even!
I just found out: I missed an earthquake. I wasn't there. I don't have a story to tell about where I was when it hit, although it seems most people were in bed.
For those not from earthquake territory, it may be hard to comprehend. There is a feeling in your stomach like a roller coaster ride. A feeling you never forget. Each earthquake is different. "You made it through 'this' one," your gut tells you. One more closer to the "big one."
I am so thankful to hear that all my family and friends are fine. A few broken plates but lives still living!
A friend thought I should write a blog post about the music we sang at choir practice.
Although my church growing up would probably not have picked that song to sing, gospel songs and spirituals are not foreign to me!
I've been in a few gospel choirs. I love old spirituals. And I was the token white girl in an all black gospel church choir when I lived in Atlanta.
For some, this music might be new, but I'm an old pro and this music makes my heart sing!
What a wonderful difference in the highways here! Besides the lack of traffic most of the time, the on-ramps are marvelous.
I think it will be so much easier to teach Nick to drive. When my mom was teaching me to get onto the freeway back home, she regrettably chose an on-ramp that was short and consisted of a 270° turn. We actually had to stop on the ramp because of the flow of traffic, my mom being distracted by teaching me, and the degree of the turn. It was horrifying to be stopped on the freeway as cars zoomed past.
The highways in southwest Mississippi are not crowded. They have long on-ramps so you have time to merge. And it is common courtesy for drivers to move over to the left for merging vehicles.
Thank you, Mississippi!
"Oh my gravy!"
That is a new saying for me!
Heard a story about a teacher who doesn't let her kiddos say, "Oh my god." She teaches them to say gravy instead.
Correct me if I'm wrong friends from California! Would a teacher get away with that?! I think a teacher would get reprimanded for telling a student they couldn't say the word god in the classroom, especially in this way.
It was a shock to me to hear this. It is an elementary teacher, but still. It is something that would be approached with caution in California for sure!
A few things have shocked me at the grocery store!
How many refrigerators do you have?
My grandmother in Oregon had an extra freezer in the garage. I could be wrong but I think she used it mostly when all the family was in town.
My parents have had an extra freezer off and on. But I personally never have. We've lived in apartments that don't have room for anything extra.
Here in Mississippi, it is almost a sin NOT TO have an extra freezer! You have to have room for that doe or two, deer or rabbit, room for the pork, or even for those amazing sales from Piggly Wiggly!