Pericope: Hometown
pericope {puh-rik-uh-pee}- noun. something taken from a whole
It’s a gift for me to get to visit where I grew up. I know everyone doesn’t get to do that-- to spend the weekend in the home that holds childhood memories, to sleep in the bedroom that once burst at the seams with dreams, to go to the church where I grew up, was baptized and married. And to top that-- for my children to get to explore the same woods I did, attend the same hometown events I did, know the adults whose fingerprints are all over me, walk the same dirt roads as I did, and sit in the same pews as I did. Yep, in my book, that’s a gift.
My Alarm Clock
If I had slept with my camera, I would have the first picture for you, but I didn’t, so I don’t. First morning in Soperton, I was awakened by my brother’s face two inches from my face. He had already opened the family drug store and took a break to come just outside the city limits, down the driveway and harass my sleepy family. So as he sat on the other bed in my room, he saw all of my 42 years and talked about the plans for the weekend and together, we anticipated Hunter’s big night on the homecoming court. It made my day, just like it would 30 years ago, when he’d sit on my bed at night to talk.
The Garden
Daddy saved the kids and me four rows of beans to pick for Sunday lunch. Growing things excite children and mine are no exception. We picked a “mess of beans” and they couldn’t resist pulling off a few bell peppers, eggplants and jalepenos. Each had healthy helpings of green beans after church on Sunday. They were better because they had picked them.
The Cousins
On Friday, we found out it was “black out” night at the homecoming game and I had only packed red Treutlen High School shirts. The drugstore prints up t-shirts so the kids picked out new Treutlen shirts. Brighton was very specific in designing his-- most importantly with “DENNARD” {my maiden name, his cousins’ last name} and #13 on the back {RJ’s number when he played TWO years ago}. I think they were both proud. Yes?
Crouched on the sidelines with my camera by my sister in law {Hunter’s mother}, they called out “Hunter Dennard”. I jumped up like an idiot and my battery went dead. I missed the shock and unbelief photos but recovered with a spare and got a few. So I was genuinely thrilled for her and very proud, but at the same time wondered what Julia was absorbing. What did she think as she watched little people and big people line up to have their picture taken with the 2012 THS Homecoming Queen, her cousin? What did Julia make of all this? What should she? We’ll have that conversation soon. Maybe what I loved most about the night is that less than an hour after the game was over, Hunter showed up at Mom and Dad’s house in sweats, salon fixed hair piled up in rubber bands on top of her head to hang out with all of us.
It’s a gift for me to get to visit where I grew up. I know everyone doesn’t get to do that-- to spend the weekend in the home that holds childhood memories, to sleep in the bedroom that once burst at the seams with dreams, to go to the church where I grew up, was baptized and married. And to top that-- for my children to get to explore the same woods I did, attend the same hometown events I did, know the adults whose fingerprints are all over me, walk the same dirt roads as I did, and sit in the same pews as I did. Yep, in my book, that’s a gift.
My Alarm Clock
If I had slept with my camera, I would have the first picture for you, but I didn’t, so I don’t. First morning in Soperton, I was awakened by my brother’s face two inches from my face. He had already opened the family drug store and took a break to come just outside the city limits, down the driveway and harass my sleepy family. So as he sat on the other bed in my room, he saw all of my 42 years and talked about the plans for the weekend and together, we anticipated Hunter’s big night on the homecoming court. It made my day, just like it would 30 years ago, when he’d sit on my bed at night to talk.
The Garden
Daddy saved the kids and me four rows of beans to pick for Sunday lunch. Growing things excite children and mine are no exception. We picked a “mess of beans” and they couldn’t resist pulling off a few bell peppers, eggplants and jalepenos. Each had healthy helpings of green beans after church on Sunday. They were better because they had picked them.
The Cousins
On Friday, we found out it was “black out” night at the homecoming game and I had only packed red Treutlen High School shirts. The drugstore prints up t-shirts so the kids picked out new Treutlen shirts. Brighton was very specific in designing his-- most importantly with “DENNARD” {my maiden name, his cousins’ last name} and #13 on the back {RJ’s number when he played TWO years ago}. I think they were both proud. Yes?
Crouched on the sidelines with my camera by my sister in law {Hunter’s mother}, they called out “Hunter Dennard”. I jumped up like an idiot and my battery went dead. I missed the shock and unbelief photos but recovered with a spare and got a few. So I was genuinely thrilled for her and very proud, but at the same time wondered what Julia was absorbing. What did she think as she watched little people and big people line up to have their picture taken with the 2012 THS Homecoming Queen, her cousin? What did Julia make of all this? What should she? We’ll have that conversation soon. Maybe what I loved most about the night is that less than an hour after the game was over, Hunter showed up at Mom and Dad’s house in sweats, salon fixed hair piled up in rubber bands on top of her head to hang out with all of us.
The Country
There's something about a late Sunday afternoon, a pick up truck and land to drive on. My family has some extra land further out in the county than where we live and they affectionately call it the Ponderosa. I call it their playground. We all had our turn riding on the sacks of corn for the feeders in the bed of the truck. I loved seeing RJ challenging Brighton to "get up under it" {the bags of corn} and work his muscles and Brighton trying his hardest to show his cousin he could really help.
We grow pine trees, not cotton, but we got to stop and let the kids pick some, then seed it. It still amazes me that a majority of my closet grows from a plant. Oh, and as proud as I am of Georgia, I love seeing my boy in his Texas gear in Soperton.
The Celebrations
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| Thanks, Lynn for the crowns and decorations!! |
My parent's turned 70 a month apart and as we have celebrated many milestones over the years, this was no exception. My brother cooked the low country boil, I did what I was told, the best bakers in town brought the desserts and the sweetest friends showed up to with classic stories to tell. It was the best kind of party. Unlike me, Blake is never at a loss for a spoken word and one of the best things about him, he doesn't mind speaking his heart. What dad doesn't want to hear a son say, "I go to work with my best friend every day." and you run a pharmacy with your son?
The Time Capsule on the Second Floor
My room and my brother's rooms are still full of the stuff we left when we left for college. I've filled a few garbage bags of stuff through the years~ and burned a few~ but Julia and Brighton still manage to scour around and find things. The robot 2-XL hadn't been plugged into a socket in thirty years and after getting warmed up on a Lionel Ritchie 8-Track, 2-XL's sports edition 8-track quizzed B just fine. And how about those boots Julia found? They scream 1983, don't they?? That's because they are.
The Fun and Foolishness
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| TOUCHDOWN!! In boots! |
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| TOUCHDOWN!! |
Just when you don't check to see if your camera is on the right setting, you miss some of the best pictures of the weekend. This impromptu game of football was almost as exciting as Hunter's winning homecoming queen. RJ and Hunter vs. Blake and B-- and no one will admit losing. Winning in our family is second only to eating.
I wish you could come and ride through the pine trees with us in the pick up, eat a home cooked feast around my Mom's dining room table or a meal at the pond house prepared by the men or taste a 15 layer chocolate or caramel cake for the first time~ and hear some of the stories you couldn't help but enjoy. You'd like the family pharmacy, too because you'd see some things you'd want to take home and meet some really special people. As for the game of football in Momma and Daddy's yard--- just don't plan on winning unless you are on my team.
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