I am...
a daughter, the oldest of 3, raised on small town sports, a life in the country and the desire to be a good girl.
a sister, the first to do most things, lucky enough to have been born with 2 built-in best friends.
a granddaughter, missing the days spent in the country with my Nanny and Papaw and my 9 cousins, riding horses bareback, picking vegetables from the garden, sitting around the old dining room table for meals and domino games, going shopping in a Ford Crown Victoria piloted by my lead-footed grandmother and keeping in touch through letters with my family far away.
a Drury girl, where I learned about Alice Walker, the secrets of Pi Beta Phi, how to live with roommates, and that the world is much bigger than Cassville, Mo.
a wife to Ryan, my friend and partner since I was 19, a man who knows I don't like to talk when I first wake up, who loves me even though I don't like to cook, and who every day makes me feel like the smartest, prettiest, funniest girl he's ever known.
a mother to Macauley, a sophomore with a learner's permit and lots of questions, my sunshine when skies are grey.
I am...
sweet tea and chocolate milk, chips and guacamole.
puffy, comfy white couches, ironstone pitchers and platters, chippy white furniture, burlap and linen, mismatched silverware and old photos, flea market finds and treasures that make me smile.
a tattered teddy bear bought with my birthday money in Eureka Springs when I was 8.
tightly folded notes passed between teenage boys and girls in class and church.
photos and scrapbooks and a project always in the works.
big, thick books and glossy magazines.
sleeping late on weekends, especially when it rains, in a soft bed with lots of covers and feather pillows.
dark blue eyes and my dad's olive skin, black-framed glasses when I read or watch TV.
leggings and Pikos, lots of black, jeans and flipflops, blonde hair in a messy ponytail, Toms and a cardigan.
closer to 50 than I am to 20 now, whether I feel like it or not.
not 16 anymore.
older and wiser, more experienced.
I am...
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." (John Watson)
"Everyone you ever meet knows something you don't." (Bill Nye the Science Guy)
"Let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be...There will be an answer. Let it be." (Beatles)
"Every little thing is gonna be alright." (Bob Marley)
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ReplyDeleteI am also the eldest daughter of three and try my best to be the 'good girl' my family expects of me.
ReplyDeleteI am the eldest in my family too, so I have high expectations to meet.
ReplyDeletesweet tea is the best:)))))
ReplyDeleteI love sweet tea and chocolate milk. After every practice for swim they pass out cups of chocolate milk. It's cold going down but helps rebuild my strength after a long night of working out.
ReplyDeleteI love the line about "not sixteen anymore"
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am the oldest in my family, so I can definitely relate to that.
The way you describe your son is very sweet
ReplyDeleteI especially like your poem with the quotes and song lyrics. Also, I can relate with the line about your teddy bear. I have quite a few stuffed animals that have seen better days.
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ReplyDeleteOne thing I relate to this is I like sweet tea and chocolate milk
ReplyDeleteI'm also a sister to two siblings, so I could relate to that too.
ReplyDeleteI like the cadence of the poem. The desire to sleep in on rainy days is something I love to do on the weekends.
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ReplyDeleteI love sleeping late on weekends even when it rains. I also have blue eyes and pale skin.
ReplyDeleteI am also the oldest in my family to two other siblings. I like how you describe your life experiences and connect them to the rest of the poem.
ReplyDeleteI also like chocolate milk, I'll drink it at any point in the day.
ReplyDeleteI also love leggings, and sweet tea.
ReplyDeleteI relate so much to thick books, chips and guacamole - guacamole is soooo good.
ReplyDeleteI also love chips and quac.
ReplyDeleteChocolate milk is the best!! I also really love thick books. When I was younger I would actually try to steal larger books from the library to read them because they wouldn't allow me to check them out. They thought the books were "above my reading level" but many times I finished the books in only a couple of weeks and found books that I really loved and cared about.
ReplyDeletei loved bill nye as a kid. and chocolate milk.
ReplyDeleteI am also the eldest of three, but I do have a brother, he is my built in best friend. Chocolate milk is a big part of my childhood, the homemade kind, but the store bought kind is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteBill Nye the science guy is my stuff but honestly I do not like chocolate. Im the oldest but I only have one brother.
ReplyDeleteYour poem is full of memories, I can tell,and placing all of them down in a single poem helps me more understand what you have been through, thank you.
ReplyDeleteYour I am poem describes who you are well and clear.
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