My Papa

Sometimes, I need perspective to write. Maybe that means physical distance but in this case, I needed time. Today marks three weeks since my Papa passed away.

On my birthday, which I celebrated a few days ago, I realized I'll never hear him sing Happy Birthday in his beautiful voice. Praise God for home movies. I miss him. I miss him a lot more than I excepted to, considering he had been slipping away from us slowly for the last few years. He knew something was wrong with him and sometimes, that was the hardest part. Alzheimer's, dementia, these conditions aren't something you wake up with one day. It's a slow process that pulls at your mind and takes away the parts that made you, you. The last time I saw Papa, he lit up when my sister and I walked into the room. He was very weak. He didn't want to eat the pureed food offered by the staff. I couldn't blame him. None of us could. But I know the light was in him until the end and a lot of that was because of my grandmother. 

Never have I seen such a bold testament of love than the love my Mammaw showed for Papa throughout these final years. It's a sixty year story for the books and one that makes me proud to be their granddaughter. She never gave up on him. She stood boldly and often stubbornly by her 'Honey'. I know he wouldn't have made it as long as he did without her at his side. 

Papa had three granddaughters but he treated us all like boys, which I didn't realize until later. Mammaw would be in the kitchen but the girls would be off and everywhere. We'd go to the lake to fish, always arguing over the life jackets. He'd take us into his workshop and we'd hammer two pieces of wood together and call it perfection. He was so encouraging and patient; the perfect Papa. 

What I found after my sister died and what I believe now even more with Papa is that family love and love in general never goes away. If anything, I think it gets bigger. What starts as a physical love on Earth isn't ended by death. It's too powerful for death to contain. When I hear an old Baptism hymn, coins jingling in a pocket or see a John Wayne western on TV. I'll think of him and send him love to heaven and I know he'll know. I believe that with everything I have. 

I feel blessed as a writer. I really do. I'm grateful I can put my thoughts on my head to the words on the page (or the keyboard). I wish I could've said something like this at his beautiful memorial service, but that lump was far too big in my throat. Especially at this time of uncertainty after graduation, I'll miss his sweet spirit and kind heart but I'm lucky enough to know it lives on inside me. I can't ask for a bigger blessing. 

Love you Papa. 

"A Little Bit of Everything"

Howdy.

I got back from Austin, Texas several days ago, and I'm still having trouble writing about. So much food, music, inspiration. I just loved it! Right now, I'm writing a big paper due Friday on Barbara Jordan's 1976 Democratic National Convention keynote address. Talk about inspirational. AND she's from Texas!

... and I can't stop listening to Dawes. We saw the lead singer interviewed by Paste Magazine and then a show the next day and the band is rocking my world. The video below sums up how I'm feeling right now pretty nicely. Yeah, I'll take a little bit of everything.

"I think love could be so much easier than you realize. If you can give yourself to someone, then you should."

Hoop Girls: End of An Era

Whole group after the Kentucky game!

I remember walking into my Hoop Girls interview at Stegeman Coliseum in late August of 2009. Some older girls at chapter stood up and talked about it; I figured, "Why not?". Starting college was super overwhelming and the idea of being involved with a basketball team felt comfortable after being the Sports Editor for The Catalyst and Wheeler's 2009 AAAAA State Championship. Good times.

Hoop Girls became one of my favorite parts of college. We were the marketing and support team for Men's Basketball; we sold tickets, handed out programs, worked Hospitality rooms, promoted philanthropy events and shared news from the Athletic Association to the student body. There were a lot of great things happening for the program my freshman year. UGA just hired a new coach, Mark Fox, and expectations were high around campus. 

A 2010 game

Throughout the last four years, I've met some of my best friends, enjoyed some delightful wins and devastating heartbreaks, and a beautiful facility renovation to Stegeman. Every step of the way, our advisor, John Bateman, was there for whatever we needed. It was so assuring to have such a great teacher, mentor and friend during my time at UGA. 

Seniors!

On Thursday, we ended the (regular) season with a win over Kentucky at home. I couldn't think of a better way to end the season and my four years as a Hoop Girl. I'm excited to see what the future holds for Coach Fox's program and the girls in our group, including a Homecoming Queen, future doctors, media rock stars and spectacular leaders. We'll split different ways in a few months, but we'll always be welcomed back to Stegeman. Once a HG, always an HG... Right JB?

Seniors after the UK game with Coach Richt!

Stop & Enjoy the Music, Sweetheart

Hello sweet, sweet blog. 

What's up, you ask?

A lot. 

Taking 14 hours of classes and working 12 hours a week doesn't leave much time for the things I love. Traveling, blogging, concerts, SLEEP, time with friends. Don't even get me started on figuring out post-grad plans.
But it leaves enough time.

I've gone to two great shows in the last week: Moon Taxi and EOTO, both at the Georgia Theatre. 

Moon Taxi's found their the cool old-fashioned way: by putting on a killer show. The sold-out crowd at the Theatre loved it. It's funk meets rock meets send me to the sky, or moon, as would be appropriate. They'll be at some awesome festivals around the country this summer. Do yourself the favor.

EOTO is comprised of two members of The String Cheese Incident. SCI has a cult following. It's insane. You don't just like String Cheese... You LOVE String Cheese. Boyfriend is one of those people. The percussionist for SCI plays drums and sings while the drummer handles the percussion, guitar, loops and electronic madness. These guys are musical geniuses but it was clearly a show designed for people who can sleep past 8AM. Their set started at 12:15 in the morning. I know, I'm 21. I should be up for this kind of thing so after a cup of joe, I was good to go.