And We're Off!

Well, not actually. We'll be off tomorrow just after lunch. My hubby is in Australia (or will be tomorrow, he's in the air just now), so my mom and I are taking the kids to West Texas. Aw yeah. Nothing like it in the world. Mesquite trees, dust, flat lands and horney toads. :-)

My mom's sister and brother-in-law (Aunt Glenda and Uncle Cooter) live in Winters. It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive from here. We're going to visit them for the weekend. My Uncle Cooter is a farmer. He's harvested cotton his whole life; well, except for the time he earned his degree from Texas A&M. Whoop! My Aunt Glenda works at a factory. She used to work on the line like my Grandmother and my mom, but now she's a secretary.

Winters is a very small town, I think maybe one stop light. No sonic that I'm aware of. Huge issues there. :-) But it's my heritage, my family, my history. I want my kids to know it well. My dad grew up there, picking cotton and playing football. That's where he met my mom. That's where my Great Uncle Rob used to write Southern Gospel songs on his little Peter Pan piano. When I was very little, he would bounce me on his knee and sing "Hey Diddle Diddle." And my sweet Great Aunt Sister taught English and Bible studies. She used to correct the grammar on my letters to her. :-) And she even once told a boyfriend of mine who was not saved that he was an infidel! Oh my! It's also the place we gather just about every Thanksgiving, at the Lions Club building near the cotton gin. The kids play in the cotton and the grownups reminisce.

We will eat great country home cooking, attend a Church of Christ service, visit with cousins and second cousins, breathe fresh country air, probably play with some farm animals, and definitely check out some junk stores on the way to Winters. Memories will be made and good times will certainly be had.