Final Memories of South Carolina

It is the morning of the day that we leave. I sit here on the bed I've called mine for the past two and a half weeks, and think of the days gone by. Oh, they have just gone so fast. I cannot even remember everything, and it seems to have gone by in a whir. Everything seems jumbled together in an exciting mix of movies, hogs, work, play, swimming, games, laughter, smiles, spinning in the dark, basketball, volleyball... So much swirled together, making up the essence of this trip. Oh, laughter... Lots of laughter. I love laughing, and use every chance I get to laugh or smile. Unfortunately I have thrice choked on water and spit it across the room. Believe me, I'm not proud of that, and I don't think its funny. I am quite embarressed by that fact, and wish it never happened. For real.

All the little memories make up a good deal of what happened, and I am sorry we must come home. The memories brush across my thoughts quickly, and pass again. Cupcakes, apple crisp, cookies... In the dark, watching movies... Playing volleyball, basket ball, Catch Phrase... Watching two hogs get castrated, catching a hog, walking it over to another pen... Cooking dinner, eating it, going out to eat... Riding in old rickety minivans and falling backwards in my seat, my skirt flying up to my undergarments, because the seat is not fastened into the floor... Sleep, late nights, late dinners... Cooking okra for the first time, and feeling happy because the man of the house says no one makes it better except for his mom and Tai, his great niece... Watching the guys lift weights and wrestle, the bantering back and forth, the washing dishes late at night... Staying up so late we welcome Aunt Penny home from work on the night shift, and greeting the man of the house before he goes out to his truck (he's a trucker) at three in the morning... Gathering apples in the early morning with special people, throwing the worm-eaten and slightly imperfect apples in a bucket, nibbling any one that looks tasty, and putting the bigger ones in another bucket for Zach's mom; the bad ones for the hogs... Riding home from church in the back of a pickup truck, truly a glorious thing... Driving the truck... Playing with the sweet children... Swings... Swimming... Laughing... Laughing... Laughing...

Isn't there more to tell than that? Oh, there should be. A lot has happened, it seemed. I feel like I have learned much, and grown up much. And... Oh, it has been a good time. It has given me joy and strength to go on... Things that have happened, lessons that have been taught, Sundays, have worked their way deep into my heart... The singing... Oh, the singing...

There is much. Much to say and much to convey. But I do not have time. Today we must go to the farmer's market, get some stuff to finish the animal shelter, finish the animal shelter, wash Zach's truck, load it up, make and eat dinner, then... Nap, and leave. As Zach said last night, its gonna be a short day. Very short.

A Continued Monologue

The past week and a half has passed so quickly that I can hardly believe it is gone. The time I've been here in South Carolina is now set in stone and unchangeable... Strange thought, that.

I have been thriving here. Thus far I have not gotten a single (bad) headache. It has been hot, though, and today it got up to 99 degrees, I believe. Where did I leave off...? Well, last week Zach took Michelle, me, his nephew Kevin, and his cousin Tim fishing. Although not much was caught, (besides one keepable fish by Michelle that got eaten by the snapping turtles while we kept fishing, several small ones by the guys, and two snapping turtles by Kevin) I had so much fun. I just love fishing... I don't quite know why. Casting... Reeling... I haven't yet reeled in a fish yet, tho. Not a real one, anyway. I've only caught a tiny one before. The place we went was so nice, and I felt so utterly peaceful. I wish I could've caught something, though. That would've been very satisfying and pleasing. Later in the afternoon we went to Hardees, and brought our burgers, fries and drinks to the lake again. We sat on the back of the truck quietly and ate. It was pleasant... Quiet and pleasant.

That was Thursday. That evening we went to Bible study. Ah, the events and actions we have done are all jumbled in my mind... :P Well, many nights we have played Catch Phrase, which is such a fun game. When I played with Elena on her team, I won, and when I played with Zach on his team, I lost. We shall have to play again. And this time Zach and I will /win/.

On the fourth, which was Friday, there were many people around. I didn't realize just how many Ellerbes and Harrises there are... Still, I guess that's how it is for anyone who meets my extended family... There are so many of them. :P I was able to meet two of Zach's sisters, two more of his brothers, and several Ellerbe men and women. I do not remember them all!

One evening that weekend, we played a wonderful game of volleyball. It was totally superb. I don't think I have ever so enjoyed a volleyball game. My team won but it was a very close and good game. It was such fun. Oh, good memories. :)

Every morning I rise and go help Zach with his hogs. Not that I do anything, because I don't do much, but we gather apples from the ground under the Apple tree, and either make up slop from scraps and a tea mixture and old moldy bread (Their medicine for the day, Zach says; a good dose of penicillin. ;) or throw them weeds. There is water to be pumped as well, and carried into the pen to be dumped into the water bucket. It is so happy... it is so good. I so love it. There's nothing so fulfilling and full of good feeling as farming. Though I do not mean to make it sound perfectly wonderful... There are the times when Squeelette dumps over the fuller of the two slop buckets when Zach sets them down to throw over some weeds to the inner pen (where all the other pigs are. Squeelette is by herself cause she's kinda mean), and when overnight the wheelbarrow Zach just put two screws in lost three more, and when the pigs dump over their water immediately after it is filled up again, and... Not much work has gotten done... It can be so depressing. Yet I think it is good and I love it. The troubles in farming bring out what is actually inside a man.

Yesterday we loaded up the giant hog, Sire Zali Zaxif (and I totally don't know if I'm spelling it right) in a trailer. Zach then took Michelle, Colin and I to the butcher's where good old Sire will be butchered and made into sausage. It was the most fun thing to load up Sire. It wasn't too hard, actually. Zach backed up his truck and the trailer (and he did /such/ a wonderfully good job) to the fence gate, and threw some apples and weeds and such into the trailer, making a trail from Sire's pen to the back of the trailer. We all stood with pallets blocking any escape ways, and he opened up Sire's pen. Sire went kinda slowly, but as soon as he was fully inside, Zach slammed the door shut! And we were on our way. Zach backed his truck and trailer at the butchering place up to the shute perfectly and Sire was led to his new pen.

Today Aunt Penny took Nathan, the twins, Michelle and me to the swimming pool. I've never been to a public swimming pool before, and that was really nice. It was so fun being able to go so deep! I went into the 12' section just to make a memory, but it was kinda terrible... :/ I choked and breathed water. I was... terrified, if I would've thought about it, that is. I wasn't gonna drown, and I was /able/ to swim for that distance without touching the bottom - I've done farther distances without touching the bottom or the sides... But it's just different. I'm not sure how. Maybe its just knowing that there's no ground within reach below you... I don't really want to go back again. :P To the twelve foot section, I mean. The five foot section came up to my chin when I was on my tippiest toes and bouncing upwards on my toes. The twins picked me up and dunked me quite a lot, and that was fun. :) We also all carried eachother across the pool several times. We swam for several hours, and had pizza... That was a memory! And on the way home we had McDonald's ice cream cones and argued with the twins about being gentlemanly and not hitting girls.

Ah... So many memories... So much good. :)

I hope you enjoy my stories...

Random Photos at Grandmama's

More Travels....

There is something very special about being alive... Something so very special. Life recently has grabbed ahold of me and spun me around with the beauty of just being alive! I lay under the stars, friends all around me, just flat on my back, just laying spread eagle... Simple meals eaten with my grandmother, who now is so sick... Sunburn in the garden with my lovely cousin... Fancy and wonderful-tasting supper with that same cousin and her wonderful husband... Music playing loudly in earbuds, just once, even tho its so bad for ears... Cuddling little children, who smile so big and laugh so long... Swinging, swinging, swinging... Oh I'm so happy! Driving in the rain... Driving with friends in terrible rainstorms... Jumping over a hitching rail for horses and buggies... Beautiful bridges woven through and over highways, not unlike the shoelaces on a child's shoe... Big smiles on beloved faces... Seeing sad faces break into joy... Sharing candy with crying little ones... Warm, warm weather, creating a lazy feeling in the whole of me... Rumble strips on the way around the mountain to my uncle's... Beautiful, beautiful photographs taken by such talented people... Good, good cousins... Cookie dough, enjoyed by all the children and myself before they're baked... A special straw hat... Late night trips in which we raise one voice in song, both from the hymn book and from the radio... Being up so, so, so late and not getting any rest at all during the trip... Oh, its all so special and so much fun... I'm so happy... Picnics where we eat good food together, and smile, and hug, and laugh, and swing... Four wheeler rides through the mountain, fast, on an Uncle's four wheeler... Fishing, peacefully, calmly, happily... Sitting cramped in the backseat of the truck where music is playing loudly and everyone is peaceful and part quiet, right now that is... Late night conversations with different folk over the internet... Sitting with sisters, and holding hands... Laughing and laughing and laughing, deep and long laughs, until our stomaches ache so badly we can barely smile more... Laughing and laughing and laughing some more... Because its so good for recovery and healing.

Saturday was a good day. Despite some family difficulties, we went to a church picnic, and had good fun... We sang, we ate, we swung... All things that are so good to do together with others. That evening, late, I did what I never imagined I'd be allowed to do. I began one of the most free trips in my life. Schel and I traveled down along with Zach to South Carolina. The ride down was the absolute best that I've ever had in my life. I stayed up the whole trip, from about eleven pm to seven am. It was so special and fun and everything I imagined. Oh, actually, I didn't imagine how squished and uncomfortable it would be, but that was ok, and we didn't mind it so much. For three hours we drove, singing and talking and Schel resting quietly in the back, then we picked up Zach's niece and nephew in Virginia. With them in the car, we sang some more, and laughed, and talked, and were just silent together. It was a very good ride. I felt very tired around three and four, but as soon as it began go get light out, I didn't feel tired again until we neared the last hour of the trip. When we arrived, I slept for an hour and a half, then we went to church. As this was the fifth Sunday, the church down here has two services. Their regular one at ten, at which I successfully stayed awake through and was able to listen to the sermon, but the second one, which was held at another church building with another church, I had the hardest time keeping my eyes open during the sermon. It was a good sermon... Only, even if I would keep my eyes open, I would suddenly find that they were closed, and I would find that I couldn't even listen to the sermon. My mind was totally blank. No daydreaming, no nothing. It was like nothing I've ever felt before. Between the two services, I and my sister went out with one of our friend families to a Chinese restaurant. That was very nice and special. That evening we stayed up rather late, and played a game together.

Monday, my friend and I took a walk, we went to the stores where two other friends worked (Zach tormenting them mercilessly, of course), and Schel, Elena, Aunt Rhonda and I went to Walmart in the late evening. Now that was fun; we played in the toy section, and bounced those really bouncy balls as high as we could, in the meantime hitting a girl with one ball and bouncing several over the top of the aisle. We also went to a fast food place and sat inside and ate. Some officers were at our one side, and a group of couples were at the other. We, between the two, prayed, laughed and ate together. Aunt Rhonda is so fun to be with. After we got home, we played several rounds of a game, then went on to bed. It was close to two o'clock when I crashed.

So that's the accounting of my past two days. I will continue to update periodically.

A Week of Contented Busyness

The past week was spent in a calm sort of way at my grandmother's home. I did not do much more than work some in the garden, sweep the floor once, and read, so it was almost somewhat of a vacation. I took a walk in the woods and gathered a few things...

And More Adventuhs...

It is with great happiness that I say that I am part of a very large family, and I'm always welcome at any of my family's homes. This past week I spent seven lovely days at my aunt and uncle's home in King of Prussia. Although unfortunately I wasn't feeling well the one day, and had to lie abed for much of that day, the week was full of new and interesting experiences.

I am so glad for so many things... So many little things that happen and make such of a difference in my life. This past week was one of those weeks... Where I learned so much of life and felt like I grew up several years. In a good way... (I don't plan to let myself grow up in a bad way.) But that week I spent so much time calling out to God. My aunt took me to a lovely park, and we walked for several hours through the beautiful woods. I walked silently for a long time, praying, thanking God, and begging Him for grace... I have learned so much. I have so much to be grateful for!

The little things that overwhelm me... The heartshaped walnut shell half; the perfect acorn cap; the late-night conversations with loved ones; the phone calls in my bedroom, and in the park, and in the rain; the sun shining through the leaves in the cool of the day; a baseball-shaped stone; giant crayfish darting through the creek; cool water rushing around my feet; honest and beautiful words spoken to me; hands to hold; sisters to sit and be silent with; heaping plates of food that are placed before me by loving hands, though I know I will not be able to eat even half of it; the generosity of strangers; the desperate searching the lonely and Godless have; a song at the right moment; air blowing in through an open window; the unique slanted design of table legs; tea; late nights; someone who its so fun to be scared with (Oh Hana, you're so much fun to hold hands with in the dark...); a kiss in the darkest of nights; a sister as a best and closest friend; walks with that very special sister through a creek where we sat together on a stone silently, then wildly tried to catch crayfish; long hugs by close friends; a mother who cares; a pretty hat; swings - oh wonderful swings!; tears in the dead of night; love shown and proven; a God who cares and loves so deeply... more than anyone can ever care and love; Oh, its so, so beautiful. I am in love with life and with God.

In so many simple ways the week was a good one. I went alone to the park down the street once, and waded in the creek. It was beautiful to just sit on a rock and meditate, and I didn't want to leave. The park was one of the must beautiful and yet lonely ones I've ever been to. The swingset had a ghostly look to it. I could easily imagine perhaps several ghost children swinging on the overgrown and rusty swings. And the wooden steps leading up to it were simply lovely. The mosquitoes were not, unfortunately. I have bites on my legs. The walk in the park (Valley Forge Park, that is) with my aunt was special, too. Not only did I get much-wanted time in prayer, but the simple beauty of nature just awed me, as it always does. And seeing General Washington's headquarters was neat too. The kitchen immediately caught my interest, and I began dreaming of my own home. Ah I know... Silly me. Then the log cabins and the old train station too caught my eye... What a day for exploring. Other times, such as the day with my married cousin where we just sat around and talked like I needed to so badly, were just as special and worthwhile. When it rained we danced around outside, hoping to see a rainbow. We did not, but I'm sure there was a big and beautiful raimbow somewhere. Her husband came home and they kissed sweetly. It's so beautiful to see a couple still so much in love with eachother as at the first. Ah, I do believe that her life is very close to the one I have wanted for so long. Just a simple life as a married woman, in love with her husband and doing all sorts of homey things... Decorating the house in such a womanly and pretty way, gardening, cooking, baking, cleaning, canning... Ah God knows my desires and if He so wills He will provide me with something just as beautiful.

My aunt took me to visit her Indian friends, who are Sikhs. They have a gas station, a store, and a restaurant, and so they invited us to come that week to their restaurant for free. They wished for Aunt Rosie to pray for their newly opening store, and they wanted to treat us to a meal at their restaurant at the same location. The food was so good, though hotter than I imagined. I so enjoyed it, and I really enjoyed trying yet another culture's foods. The cilantro they use did not appeal to me, as my siblings and I share a distinct hatred for the stinkbug-tasting herb, but I ate it anyway, quite bravely!
Before I went home on Sunday, Hana and I trekked down to the park and hunted crayfish, swung on the swings, and just sat and talked. It is such a blessing and so special to have wonderful sisters. I'm so pleased and so blessed.

On Monday, then I discovered that my father planned to take my siblings who were home and I camping nearby. Goodness... It was quite an experience. Now there are people I do want to go camping with. But this was slightly trying on my patience. Still, I enjoyed it, for some reason. Perhaps it was the lovely campsite, with wild-looking trails winding around, and green trees, and a brightly burning fire... Perhaps it was the adventure of being responsible as 'mother' for all my siblings, and of roughing it through the thunderstorm and cold and wet, and of trying to see how much I could keep the children happy through slightly damp clothes and bedding and hungriness and restlessness. Or maybe I was just happy, so nothing could get me down. Because I was (and of course still am!) extremely happy. God is good. And I shouldn't (and won't!) let soggy shoes, the children's white, muddy socks, damp pillows, hugry children, rainy days and so much more get me down.

Today, as I finish up this rather short post, I'm sitting on the porch swing in the cool of the evening, at my grandmother's house. We have just finished sitting around the bonfire for several hours watching the old junk burn itself away and polluting the earth. (Ah yes, Uncle Paul, I do believe that burning that plastic and Styrofoam and such was pollution. :P) We ate some elderly marshmallows, toasting them with care. My uncle has just finished mowing the upper yard, and he is now with his sister, my aunt, inspecting the springhouse door that is falling apart. Hana is resting in the hammock, and Grandmama is inside. It's peaceful here. I should be totally content...

This brings to a close my past week and a half. Hopefully there will be more adventures to report on in the near future... Loved ones and family, I hope you enjoy my strange writings as much as I find enjoyment writing them. Take care...

Rainstorm

It rained a LOT the other day, and I took a bunch of pictures from ny car window. I guess that's dangerous and I should stop. Right? But as it is... The results were sort of interesting, so....