I was going to be a big sister!!!
From the first time I met Jay (he is exactly three years and two months younger than I am) I was completely enthralled with him. I had a new playmate, a new person to boss around, and a friend for life.
Our earliest times together (we have many VHS home videos for proof) consist of me banging on his crib and yelling in a most country voice, "JAAAAAYYYY! LOOK AT MEEEE, JAAAAAY!' Some angst followed when he didn't always pay attention to my antics.
"DAAADDDDDYYYYYY, TELL JAAAAY TO LOOK AT MEEEE!!!"
And the rest is history. I've spent my entire life seeking his approval, cherishing his friendship, and loving him with all my heart.
Aside from getting on each others' nerves on rare occasions...
Example A: JAY, you're SO SLOW! Hurry up so that we can leave!
Example B: KATHARINE, PLEASE don't go so crazy when the computer/TV/remote/car doesn't work. It can be FIXED!
We really have never fought. Really.
Since college, when we were no longer living one bedroom door away from one another, I have made many plans around Jay's schedule.
In 2008 I drove to Wofford to surprise him for his Birthday.
We also had an awesome time with the Lewises during many Wofford Family Weekend events.
In 2009 I threw him a surprise "welcome home" party from Scotland, complete with a scrapbook made by yours truly.
We also took a family trip to Wofford that August to listen to a philosophy presentation that Jay was chosen to present.
Our family was shaking our row of seats laughing, because hardly anything we heard made sense. Example: the professor before Jay referenced "AI" throughout her entire presentation, and at the end of it I said, "Now what did she say about American Idol?"
"American Idol?!?? AI stood for Artificial Intelligence, Katharine!!!"
HAHAHAHA!!!
"Who me??? I won the philosophy award???"
In 2010 our family was with him when he graduated from Wofford.
Forget a monogrammed office pen; my college graduation gift to him was a skydiving trip!
In 2011 he stood beside me on one of the most important days of my life.
In May 2013 we made a family trip of his master's graduation and took over Houston for a few days.
In October 2013 he was there practically every step of the way as we prepared to welcome precious Emerson into the world. He helped paint the nursery and set up the crib and furniture.
He was the unofficial photographer at the hospital.
And from the first moment that he held his precious niece he proved to me that his heart is even bigger than I ever imagined. If that was possible.
He changes diapers like a pro, he feeds her, changes her, walks her and rocks her to sleep, plays with her, has conversations with her, takes SELFIES with her. The list is continuous. He is an absolutely phenomenal uncle, and having him home during the first few months of her life is something I wouldn't have traded for the world.
Of course this whole time he has been applying to doctorate programs and teaching positions. I knew he was willing to go anywhere that he'd get an offer, and I selfishly hoped it would be near me. That's always been my prayer. But a couple of months ago he was thrilled to find out that he had been accepted to a doctorate program with a TA position in Chicago. He was stoked, I was sad, but ultimately I know that the Lord works for our good and for some reason He wants Jay in Chicago.
In true sisterly fashion I coordinated a "farwell" party for Jay before he left. What is that, exactly? Well, it's the phrase the grocery store cake decorator wrote on the form when I said I wanted the cake to say, "farewell, Jay." So as politely as I could I said, "Ma'am? I believe there's an 'e' in there."
"My bad, honey. That's not a word I spell every day."
You heard it here, folks! In hindsight I almost wished that I hadn't said anything. After all, remember this cake that went viral?
Why was Emerson given the honor of having her picture on Jay's cake? Because let's not fool ourselves; she's the one he's going to miss the most!
That weekend we also took a trip to Conway for April's baby shower. She is having a little girl, too! Aside from narrowly escaping a run-in with a hitchhiker, having to stop at a less than safe gas station to changer Emerson's diaper, torrential rain, and getting lost looking for the house our day turned around 100% once we finally arrived. And wouldn't you know that someone was an angel during the shower and barely made a peep?
It was so great to see April and Annie. Annie used to be my backdoor neighbor when we were kids, and we were great friends all throughout middle school. I miss having her around but thoroughly enjoyed our visit!
Last Sunday afternoon we said goodbye to Jay until late this fall. I will miss him every day and practically have a countdown going until I see him again. Really! I wouldn't trade ANYTHING for having him as a brother. It's been one of life's greatest blessings. It is empty at home now without him. Every time we'd have a problem or the slightest issue he was our voice of reason, and when something broke the solution was always, "Oh, Jay can fix it! Ask him!" He's now safely away from our demands and requests, but he'll be missed TERRIBLY. And as I wrote in his "farwell" poem, "Unless you're studying or sleeping head down in the floor, when we Facetime, you better hit 'accept' and not 'ignore!'
Jay: my BFF (BROTHER friend forever) since 1987.
Last Tuesday contained about 50 extra scoops of crazy, if that's a possibility. I was jam packed with meetings from 8:00-7:00 that day. Yes, that's right- SEVEN!!! Included in that time slot was an off site seminar that our office was hosting. I was nominated to bring drinks and name tags. I forgot the name tags. I was also told that I forgot to bring cups, but I have no recollection of being asked to bring cups. Besides, the caterer had some anyway, so that was one crisis averted.
As I'm walking out of the door to buy all this stuff I get a phone call from Emerson's daycare. She had some blister-like places on her legs, which can be a contagious virus, and they asked me to have her picked up right away as a precautionary measure for the other children. Daddy Ryan had to go to the rescue, as I was busier than the average insurance guy after our recent hail storm. As it turns out, they were just bug bites...but that was then. More on that in a moment. The rest of the week brought more chaos, and I certainly didn't appreciate the $240 I had to spend on getting the rotors fixed in my car. The guy was sitting there explaining things to me about rotors, and all I could picture was a chicken. Rotors, roosters....I don't know, they kind of sound alike, right??
"Ma'am, your rotor is warped."
YA THNK?!??!
People usually rest on Friday-Sunday, but I was so busy this past weekend that I barely had a free minute, and my frame of mind and thought process remain questionable. Need proof? I called First Baptist on Saturday night to order a pizza.
"This is Jamie. Will that be hand tossed or thin crust?"
In May 2013 we made a family trip of his master's graduation and took over Houston for a few days.
In October 2013 he was there practically every step of the way as we prepared to welcome precious Emerson into the world. He helped paint the nursery and set up the crib and furniture.
He was the unofficial photographer at the hospital.
And from the first moment that he held his precious niece he proved to me that his heart is even bigger than I ever imagined. If that was possible.
He changes diapers like a pro, he feeds her, changes her, walks her and rocks her to sleep, plays with her, has conversations with her, takes SELFIES with her. The list is continuous. He is an absolutely phenomenal uncle, and having him home during the first few months of her life is something I wouldn't have traded for the world.
Of course this whole time he has been applying to doctorate programs and teaching positions. I knew he was willing to go anywhere that he'd get an offer, and I selfishly hoped it would be near me. That's always been my prayer. But a couple of months ago he was thrilled to find out that he had been accepted to a doctorate program with a TA position in Chicago. He was stoked, I was sad, but ultimately I know that the Lord works for our good and for some reason He wants Jay in Chicago.
"Jay, your spaceship has arrived to transport you to SC for Thanksgiving." What in Heaven's name IS that ghastly thing?!? Did someone from Heaven spit out their silver tooth?!?? Regardless, I'm sure I'll get the story on it during our next chat.
In true sisterly fashion I coordinated a "farwell" party for Jay before he left. What is that, exactly? Well, it's the phrase the grocery store cake decorator wrote on the form when I said I wanted the cake to say, "farewell, Jay." So as politely as I could I said, "Ma'am? I believe there's an 'e' in there."
"My bad, honey. That's not a word I spell every day."
You heard it here, folks! In hindsight I almost wished that I hadn't said anything. After all, remember this cake that went viral?
Why was Emerson given the honor of having her picture on Jay's cake? Because let's not fool ourselves; she's the one he's going to miss the most!
Someone loves her new safari tunnel! Taking after her mother, she provided much of the party entertainment.
With schedules, sickness, travel, you name it- it's hard for the nine of us to get together all at once. Aside from a little rain and thunder we had a perfectly wonderful evening together to say goodbye to Jay, complete with a little Carlson crazy.
*Note Ryan looking away. He did this in EVERY single picture, and I didn't notice until it was too late. He did the same thing in his group Key Club picture in our 2001 yearbook. I also have a mysteriously wet sleeve??? Who knows.
That weekend we also took a trip to Conway for April's baby shower. She is having a little girl, too! Aside from narrowly escaping a run-in with a hitchhiker, having to stop at a less than safe gas station to changer Emerson's diaper, torrential rain, and getting lost looking for the house our day turned around 100% once we finally arrived. And wouldn't you know that someone was an angel during the shower and barely made a peep?
It was so great to see April and Annie. Annie used to be my backdoor neighbor when we were kids, and we were great friends all throughout middle school. I miss having her around but thoroughly enjoyed our visit!
Last Sunday afternoon we said goodbye to Jay until late this fall. I will miss him every day and practically have a countdown going until I see him again. Really! I wouldn't trade ANYTHING for having him as a brother. It's been one of life's greatest blessings. It is empty at home now without him. Every time we'd have a problem or the slightest issue he was our voice of reason, and when something broke the solution was always, "Oh, Jay can fix it! Ask him!" He's now safely away from our demands and requests, but he'll be missed TERRIBLY. And as I wrote in his "farwell" poem, "Unless you're studying or sleeping head down in the floor, when we Facetime, you better hit 'accept' and not 'ignore!'
Jay: my BFF (BROTHER friend forever) since 1987.
Last Tuesday contained about 50 extra scoops of crazy, if that's a possibility. I was jam packed with meetings from 8:00-7:00 that day. Yes, that's right- SEVEN!!! Included in that time slot was an off site seminar that our office was hosting. I was nominated to bring drinks and name tags. I forgot the name tags. I was also told that I forgot to bring cups, but I have no recollection of being asked to bring cups. Besides, the caterer had some anyway, so that was one crisis averted.
As I'm walking out of the door to buy all this stuff I get a phone call from Emerson's daycare. She had some blister-like places on her legs, which can be a contagious virus, and they asked me to have her picked up right away as a precautionary measure for the other children. Daddy Ryan had to go to the rescue, as I was busier than the average insurance guy after our recent hail storm. As it turns out, they were just bug bites...but that was then. More on that in a moment. The rest of the week brought more chaos, and I certainly didn't appreciate the $240 I had to spend on getting the rotors fixed in my car. The guy was sitting there explaining things to me about rotors, and all I could picture was a chicken. Rotors, roosters....I don't know, they kind of sound alike, right??
"Ma'am, your rotor is warped."
YA THNK?!??!
THEN the next evening there were over 200 ANTS in our master bathroom that came out of nowhere, resulting in an emergency pest control call.
"We ain't scurreedddd of yo' RAID!!!"
"Miss, we've received word of your ant problem. We're here to fix it."
At least some of our recent running around was due to FUN! We had a GREAT time at Isaac's first Birthday, and let me just say that his Mom, Megan, took the "construction" theme VERY seriously!!!
It. was. awesome. Here is just a BRIEF look at some of her decor without my stealing her thunder. My personal favorite were probably the "wrecking ball" cheese balls. That couldn't be further from the truth, because they sure wreck my waist line! And Emerson was little Miss Congeniality throughout the event, going happily into the arms of anyone who passed by. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to precious Isaac!
"This is Jamie. Will that be hand tossed or thin crust?"
I got a really good laugh out of that one.
I also printed all the invitations for a baby shower I'm throwing on the 19th, had about five people proof read them, and then found out that I printed JUNE on the invitation instead of July.
I also printed all the invitations for a baby shower I'm throwing on the 19th, had about five people proof read them, and then found out that I printed JUNE on the invitation instead of July.
Had I not gotten to see Joy and watch the Miss SC pageant on Saturday night I probably would have lost my mind! Nothing says state spirit like eating pizza during the swimsuit competition.
Work it, honey!!! And one, and two! Bites, that is...
So then yesterday, after a battle with rashes and blisters, we found out that Emerson has the Hand, Foot, & Mouth virus. Say what??? Don't we all stick our feet in our mouths from time to time? Well, apparently that's not what it is. It's a virus. And the poor baby wouldn't even drink her BOTTLE. Say what?!? Please note that during some of the party pictures she insisted on having it in hand...and mouth. Thank GOD my parents came to the rescue, since I can't take her to daycare, but now I'M experiencing body aches, chills, and a throat that feels like someone is driving around with these tires on an army tank:
Stay tuned to see how this series of unfortunate events will affect our 4th of July plans!!!
"I came in like a wrecking ball..."
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