As i sit here looking at the gray drab sky, trying to get my toes warm, my mind wanders back to days of old. Days of spring and summer fun. And i cant help but remember some of the crazier times i had with family and friends. Call it nostalgia, melancholy or just plain ole cabin fever lol but i cant wait for summer. Yes i know down here in the southern states we didnt get the snow and ice like others did but the weather was still crappy and the flue, runny noses and cranky kids still took hold. So for now all i can do is relive those times gone by and wait like a lil kid the night before a birthday for the sun to come out and i can go play again.

Scorching days of summer are fast approaching and thoughts of sweet cold watermelon and iced down beer on a river bank starts to sound real good...sitting in lawn chairs butt deep in the rushing water as kids splash around us, Bubba's radio blarring some tunes as Fred climbs the tree to take a swing...those are the warm memories i have of summer past with the knowledge that it will be a pleasant repeat this year as well..the sounds of 3-wheeler churning up the mud futher down the river and the echo's of sassy girl and babifeet barking and chasing God knows what through the thickets..thinking DANG now i'll spend all Monday picking ticks off them 2..lol..hearing my Sweet lil G-girl squealing "watch me Mommi!!" as she braves the water and does a belly flop..my lil daredevil through and through...God help the boy that tries to tame her..she's too much like her Momma and more!..my youngest boy buried knee deep in the sands in his own lil world digging to China he says..and i have no doubt he will try his best to..lol....my oldest tussling and wrestling with cousins over the high spot in the water playing King of the Hill, his shrieks of delight as they toss him high in the air out over the water.....these are the days i look forward to the most...the lazy days..no phones no work NO WORRIES...getting ready for the Big fireworks show we always have out there...and Lawd the memories that brings up...like the time im sitting cross legged in a flimsy lawn chair on the bank with my girlfriends teasing Tommy and Hank about who knows what when they get the"BRIGHT IDEA" (OK you realize im digging here right..lol) to shot bottle rockets "AT" us...my legs are folded under me hooked on the sides i have a beer in one hand and a camera in the other trying to capture these idiots in their prime..when 2-3 rockets come flying at us...well their aim was true and 2 landed in my lap going off at the same time..flipping me over, beer going everywhere and bopping my head..can you guess where i have the scars??? now that i think of most of my scars came from our family gathering and cousins being their wonderful idiotic selves...lol...gotta love family!!....like the time we had all the fireworks in the back of Sissies truck on the river bank when the genius Daniel decides to see how close he could get to Becky with a rocket and MISSED...rocket lands in the middle of EVERYTHING and we couldnt grab it quick enough and KABOOM...ok now..this is an old '61 Chevy with the pointed tailpipes..as im scrambling out i jump down right there at the pipes..nice long scar on my shin...bled for ever!....but anyway lets talk about the fireworks ...now my family doesnt do anything small here so you can imagin the turn out for that...the kids snuggled in close on the tailgate as the night sky lights up and the boom echoes in the valley...the OOOOHHH AND AHHHSS of the lil ones as i can feel them tremble and shiver with delight...they smell of fresh air and watermelons and i smile knowing that they will sleep well that night...

lazy summer days...sitting on my back porch swing...the soft breeze caressing my skin....watching the birds flitter here and there..listening to the whipper wills call to each other....looking at the sun setting on the Bayou....life here is slow and easy...just the way i like it..no rushing or getting frazzled over the lil stuff....the smell of magnolia and honeysuckle wafting in the evening air...as the sun goes down you can here the children out chasing the lightening bugs and playing hide and seek in the growing shadows...a good friend of mine says all the time Live Well, Love Much,Laugh Often...and she's right...these are words im trying to live by now!!....Welcome to my lil slice of Heaven...Southern Style