Melissa's Day

Yesterday was Melissa's day, she got her BSN from SOUTHERN MISS. Melissa worked hard to accomplish this. Working full time as a surgical RN, having one little boy and then being pregnant and having another. Noah, the baby, was in and out of the hospital so many times during the first year of his little life, but some how Melissa kept it all together, family, work, and school. It's this that makes me so proud of her... she never gives up.

I've never seen her without a smile and my best days at work are when I get to sit and have lunch with her. I love hearing her talk about her work.. well maybe not her work but the way she talks about. It's her passion, her love of and for the patients. That's what I hear when she talks to me.



My girls, all 3 of them are very special and dear to me. To say that I'm more proud of one over the other is not true. Each is their own person with special talents and I love them for it. What I'm most proud of with all 3 girls is their love for each other and the willingness to step up and help each other.



Yesterday, Dr. Betty Siegel, was the guest speaker. She talked about her parents being coal miners and how proud her Mom was of her and her sister. Dr. Siegel talked about the last time she saw her Mom and she, her Mom, made the comment, 'we must have done something right'. That's kinda the way I feel this morning, I had nothing to do with what my kids have or will accomplish in this life, but I do feel like we did something right.


Melissa, Lauren, and Mary... You are only limited to what can do ONLY by the limits you put on your dreams. Girls DREAM for the stars... set no limits and always know you are loved. Remember, when you try and do not succeed, do not think of this as failure... this is God telling you to chose another path. Failure is when you fail to try.. I know.


Melissa... you did it baby... you where given the chance and you seized the moment...

Love you Melissa, Lauren, and Mary
Dad

What If

It's an ugly morning out today, but I don't have to go to work so let it be ugly... hahaha I know it was bad going and coming from Hattiesburg late yesterday afternoon. I rode up with Melissa to get her cap and gown for Friday. Melissa will be getting her BSN. To say I'm proud of her would be a very understated statement.

Last night was the first time I had been on the campus of USM in over 33 years. It felt so strange. I could not see any of the old places I remembered. Everything had changed. There were so many more building on campus now. Riding on campus last night I kinda got the feeling of -- what if --- but the what if would have lead me down a different path and even thro my path isn't covered with gold what I have is worth more than gold, but for just one fleeing second I just had to think --- what if.

Back to the real world this morning... the picture for the day was taken Monday morning. The sunrise was so pretty (very different looking), but I wanted to show it in a different way. Our lives aren't always pretty colors sometimes life is more a mixture of grays. Not black and not white, but tones for grays. To me and maybe only to me I like the b/w picture from Monday. For the most part I've always liked B/W pictures and I hope over time my B/W's will become better.

Where Indeed

Where Are You Christmas
Faith Hill

Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play

Mary told me that she did have a good birthday yesterday. She was so supprised by her coat. That just made my day. After we had her little party I just came home and crashed. There wasn't anything I wanted to do and besides it was pretty cool out.

Today is one of those day's that you just remember for a number of reasons. It was on this day, a Sunday, that Pearl Harbor was bombed. "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.", Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

It was also on the date in 1986, also a Sunday, that my Granny Lee passed away. I remember the morning as if it were yesterday. We had gone up for the weekend to see Jasper, who was just 2 weeks old. I remembe Mom calling over to Genes and telling us. Gene was out back cleaning off some old bricks he had gotten and was stacking them. I guess there's just somethings you can't get out of your mind no matter how hard you try.

Oh yeah, I got online this morning and ordered some more camera stuff from B&H. Not much, but a couple of little things I have been wanting. Saturday I'm going to help Debbie shot a wedding so I may take what I make there and order something else.