Musician's Widow

Make a muscle, make a difference.

Today’s MDA Muscle Walk in Waco, TX, was nothing short of amazing.

I’m a night owl, so I often joke that I’ve forgotten some of those AM hours even exist. So, having to be an hour away before 10 AM was the one and only aspect of the day I did not look forward to experiencing. At least jokingly so. I don’t mind getting up early for things I care a lot about doing, and supporting MDA and my nephew ranks right up there at the top of that list.

When my alarm buzzed at 7 AM, I slapped it a couple times, wishing for “just five more minutes.” But I’m proud to say I was up before my final, “you better get a move on RIGHT NOW” alarm went off. I even had time to grab a couple bowls of Cheerios before a fast shower and out the door.

My parents and I met my brother and family and some friends at his house, before we all headed towards Waco in a little mini-convoy. We made it to the Baylor Indoor Practice Field with plenty of time to spare.

Two years ago, we all participated in the Dallas Stride & Ride event at Cowboy’s Stadium. I honestly expected this to be a lot time that event, and while it was… it wasn’t. Oh, the focus was the same — MDA — and the idea of walking and riding around the field was the same, but the mood was just more personal.

While we had time to visit with others, the event moved quickly and efficiently. MDA provided signs you could personalize with your team name. They took team photos. We had performances from the Baylor Bear Cheerleaders and the LaVega Pirates Cheerleaders. Singer Holly Tucker performed Mariah Carey’s “Hero” — that brought tears to your eyes.

More importantly, we had people speak on how MDA has helped them and why they were walking today — including my brother, nephew and his other aunt. It just brought everything home even more than before.

Before the actual walk, they had us all do the Cha Cha Slide, which… hilarious and fun.

Then as the walk started, and you looked around at all the people there for the same cause, it was moving. I felt tears well up many times, and I swallowed them down behind my camera. It was powerful. It gave such HOPE. It was simply incredible.

As the walk drew to an end, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. My nephew snagged a photo with the whole Baylor softball team. And every student that was there volunteering was helpful and friendly.

I’m an Aggie. But… Baylor really impressed me today.

Today was not about school rivalries (though there was some gentle ribbing by the softball coach that even made me chuckle), it was about MDA. And that was what was SO COOL about it. Race. Religion. School allegiance. What TYPE of Muscular Dystrophy. What is your hometown. None of it mattered. Today we were all together under that roof supporting MDA, and the fight to find a cure.

WOW is all I can say.

I briefly spoke to the woman in charge of the event. She’d left me a wonderful voice-mail the other day thanking me for supporting Cody, and saying she understood that I live so far away and I’d not make it. I wanted to let her know I was there after all, thank her for her call, and then thank her for all she does for MDA. Instead, she thanked ME. I told her that even if I wasn’t here already, this is an event I’d fly back to attend. It was THAT powerful.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to my supporters and donors. Our team came in second place in fundraising, behind the LaVega Pirates, and you actually made me one of the top participants (#7!)!

I seriously can not thank you all enough… from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for your support of MDA.

We made it home to Nashville from Texas yesterday morning. The 13 hour drive seemed longer than usual, and I attribute that partly to our lack of being in any hurry to come back. We just had that fabulous of a time!

Our plans to head to Oregon for Christmas were canceled thanks to budget concerns and the crazy-high prices of flights at the holidays. So we instead headed to Texas to spend the holiday with my family. Amusingly, the weather, for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, was all Oregon. Misty rain and cold. But our visit ended with warmer temps and sunshine.

I have to say… there was just something about this Christmas. It was so relaxed! It was just filled with this wonderful peace and joy. Its impossible to explain, but it was a special trip for sure. And while my husband and I knew we had to make the trip back home to Nashville to work this weekend, we just couldn’t get motivated to actually leave. We put it off as long as we could before making the long drive back.

Now, any time I am back in Texas, I have this little (okay maybe its kind of long) list of places I’d love to visit and things I’d like to do. I usually do good to knock one or two of the items off the list. This trip? I knocked off more than my fair share of things!

I got to see family, of course. Quality time with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew is priceless, and always at the very top of the list. I have cousins I’d really like to get to spend time with as well, but those visits tend to be rare just due to time constraints. I got to see one of my girl friends to do a quick gift exchange. But friends’ visits will have to wait until I am down for an extended period of time for tax season. And that’s okay… we can spend more time than the rushed visits of the holidays.

Food: Whataburger! Freebirds! Mexican food in general! Green’s Sausage House! Czech Stop! Hiway 77 Cafe! Blue Bell and Dr Pepper! (Granted I can get both of those in Nashville, too, but they just taste better when actually IN Texas.) Places: Aggieland! Frenstat, where my husband and I got married, and where my grandparents are all buried. Cavender’s Boot City!

I got to do all of these things! Crazy cool, I gotta admit. Oh, I always leave things left undone. We wanted to go for a drive in my old truck from high school. There are various people we would love to go visit. And there are locations we always want to take time to explore, but we rarely have time to do so.

But you know, that’s a good thing. I would hate to ever leave not wanting more time.

Time visiting Texas is precious to me. Nashville is definitely home, but I’m a Texan at heart for life. And a Texas Christmas? Well… that’s just something super special to me. Now I look ahead to a planned trip to Oregon in the next couple of months. Ready to go experience my husband’s home with him and embrace his list of things to do. Bring it on!

Over a year ago, I got a taste of a flood. My husband and I were spared from losing anything, but we watched as our fellow Nashvillians watched their homes be destroyed by rising waters.

Today, I sit from afar with my heart breaking over the wildfires in Texas. This drought… this horrible, horrible drought that I wrote about just a couple weeks ago left me with a fear… a fear that is being realized today. Already back in July, I looked around and thought, “One, just ONE carelessly tossed cigarette out of a car could destroy so many homes… could take lives.” The grass crinkled under your feet, parched and dry. It would only take a spark… only take a single spark.

This last weekend, a fire broke out in my hometown. It was, thankfully, contained without loss of life, but not without the loss of a home. It started due to a squirrel getting caught in an electrical wire… something that would make a person chuckle, or that would perhaps not be a big deal “normally” set off chaos and destruction.

When I read about the fire, my heart sank. The area of town being one I know well — one I could envision as vividly as if I was there — made the news so hard to take. I called immediately to find out what I could, to make sure others were okay. My greatest fears with this drought we being realized…

…then right on the heels of that came news of the Bastrop fire. I worried suddenly about anyone and everyone I know or knew who lived there. Were they okay?  I’ve watched the footage on TV. I’ve read many articles on-line. I’ve looked at countless images. They all tug hard at my heart. Reports of fires in California each year strike up an emotional response as well. I try to imagine being in the victims of the fires shoes. But the fear I’ve felt the last few days, as I watch Texas burn, just took that same emotional response and cranked it up to about a 15.

In an almost cruel irony, Nashville has had rain the past two/three days. Our temperatures setting new record low highs. I wished I could send the rain to Texas. I wished I could somehow capture it, and send it down in tanker trucks. I wished they’d just get a break already.

I feel so helpless… so lost on what I can do. I did at least (after several various Google searches) find this list of organizations working to help the victims of these fires. Many of these are for local assistance, but others have addresses where donations can be sent to help. I plan to do what I can to help from here. Perhaps I can hatch a plan of my own, but until then… I am grateful there are organizations out there with the means to help.

Let’s just look at that map for awhile.

I said awhile back with the extreme heat in Texas, “What? Is Texas the new Arizona?” I was joking, but as I stare at that map, I can’t help but wonder. It’s so hard to comprehend from here in Tennessee, where we’ve been blessed with rain through the summer. My yard is a lush, thick green carpet. The lake is nice a full. I’ve fallen asleep to a thunderstorm recently.

However, down in Texas, its a whole different story. The last time I was down, it was definitely already staggering how dry it was… and that was about a month ago, now. National news has been covering the drought here and there, but I know the news reports are nothing like being there in person. Temperatures have been 100+ for days on end, setting records. And the lakes… they’re hardly lakes.

I may be a Nashvillian now, but I am forever in my heart a Texan. And that same heart aches to see the footage of the drought. It aches for the many farmers who have lost their crops and who are losing their cattle due to lack of feed and water.  I don’t think much of the nation realizes what kind of economic impact this drought will have for a long, long time.

Water… its a natural resource we seem to take for granted. But right now, the people of Texas are crying out for it. They are desperate for rain. They are desperate for a break in the high temperatures. Cities that usually have plenty of water in reserve are having to tap into their back-up sources, further draining lakes. As I witness many watering their lawns here, I can’t help be think about those who are just hoping they’ll have water to drink in days and weeks to come down in Texas.

I ask, please, if you’re a believer in God… take this moment to say a short prayer for a break for the people of Texas (and for all those affected by the drought.) Pray for rain.

If you need help with that, beliefnet posted this prayer in July:

“God, you send rains in season. It is a season of need in Texas. Send more rain to that parched land and more again across all the thirsty southern states. Find a small and willing cloud sitting bored over some vacant part of the Caribbean, and give it a push toward Houston. Make a Hurricane, perhaps, not strong enough to destroy, but filled with warmed moisture and send it North. We ask you for rain. Let the drought unite many millions to ask you for help. We trust in you. You made the world to need the waters of heaven. You made the world to need the waters of life. You are the source of rain. We ask you. Let it rain. In Jesus name.”

If you are curious for more details about the drought, check out these articles:

• More Western towns adopt ‘toilet to tap’ strategy to conserve water
• Drought reminds us that water controls destiny
• Texas Farm Losses Reach Record $5.2 Billion After Drought, University Says
• The Long-Term Consequences of Texas’ Worst Ever Drought
• No relief in sight for deadly Texas drought conditions
• Texas Drought Will Harm Ecosystem for a Long Time [PHOTOS]

Weekly Winners is a fun little thing bloggers do to showcase some of their favorite photos from the previous week. It is brought to you, me and everyone by the lovely Lotus, aka Sarcastic Mom. Visit her site and find all the participants. See some amazing photos brought to you by bloggers around the world. Leave a little love when you do — its like food for the soul!

Photos taken using my Droid Incredible or a Sony DSLR A230.
View all of my photos on my Flickr stream.

♥♥♥

My entire focus this week has been my cousin’s wedding in Texas.  Therefore, all photos come from events surrounding the big day.

Sunset over the Brazos River, in Waco, Tx

Looking down the Waco Suspension Bridge

Looking up the Waco Suspension Bridge

This is a Longhorn-free zone!

Sanctuary

Personalized napkins

Wedding decor

Generations (Bride and her grandmother)

MOH on break

Thanks for viewing! Now go visit Lotus and find all the WW participants.
Leave a little love when you do — its like food for the soul!

Today was my last day in a quick trip to Texas to my family. It’s been a whirlwind trip, and I can’t believe its almost over!

My first day was relatively quiet. I worked in the office at the family business for awhile, followed by a trip to the store and late night sewing of hot pads to give to my cousin as a bridal shower gift.

Leopard print because the wedding is jungle themed, and leopard print is the most common “design” throughout the plans. I think they’re cool looking! Go Mom and me getting those done!

My next day here (Saturday) was spent at the bridal shower, and then spending time with Mom, some of my aunts and my cousin. After most of the day spent that way, we went to church, had dinner out and did a little shopping.

I spent over 12 hours in high heels. My feet and legs were NOT happy with me. But my soul and heart? Smiles all around from the day.

Sunday, since I was here, we celebrated Father’s Day early. My brother and his family came over for the afternoon, and we had a nice big barbecue lunch. I was overfed. And it was a good thing.

Later, I went to my brother’s house to see their new project car. I got to ride and drive my first convertible! WOO HOO!

I had another great day that day… priceless family memories.

But I was exhausted after two days running non-stop. So today? Today I slept. A lot. And it was wonderful.

Then I went to my niece’s softball game. When it was 103 degrees outside. And the wind was whipping.

And their team lost. In overtime. Sadness.

But once again. Priceless memories, followed by a really nice supper with my parents.

Tomorrow, I head back to Nashville with a suitcase full of good times and memories I wouldn’t trade for the world. It was a fast trip, but I successfully crammed a lot into it.

Soooo thankful for these days. So very thankful.