Throw Back Thursday--"Man in the hall!!"

I thought about this picture the other day for some reason.  Do you ever just go along, minding your own business and a memory from the past jumps into your thoughts?...... But I digress.  

This picture brought back so many fun memories from my college days back in 1979-81.  Dang, I'm old!  I went to Wayland Baptist College (now University) in Plainview, TX for two years and it was the perfect place for me to transition from a kid into an adult without my parents around.  It was a small college and since it was Baptist, there were rules.  And one of the really great rules was that boys weren't allowed into the girls' dorm and vice-versa.  

But for one night each semester, an exception was made.  In one semester the girls could crash the boys dorm and the next semester it would be the girls turn to host sort of an open house.  And it was an event, believe me!  At least it was for the girls.  We'd clean for days in anticipation and wonder which boys might pick our rooms to check out.  It might sound a little boring by today's standards but I'd like to describe it more as sweet and innocent.

The picture is of me (middle) and two good friends, April and Cindy, on the night the guys dorm was open.  Wayland still has separate dorms for boys and girls, thank goodness.  I wonder if they still practice this fun tradition.      

The Happy List........Pants!

I am thankful for pants!  I know it sounds silly but it's true.  I own a dress but it never gets worn.  I look dumpy in a dress.  There!  I said it! 

I am a huge fan of old movies and I keep the DVR busy recording TMC greats and mostly I enjoy them because of the clothes.  Seriously, women just had it right in the 40's and 50's as far as I'm concerned and I'm happy to see some of those same fashions coming back.  They knew how to look feminine and classy.  I know there were dumpy women back in the day but I have a feeling there were lovely items like girdles to keep the lumps at bay.  I guess I could try one of those...........nah! 

And so I'll be thankful for pants!  Every day I don't have to wear a girdle is a day to be thankful, don't you think?  

My Heart Remembers

A couple of weeks ago, May 13, was the birthday of my mother-in-law, Ruth Virginia Jacobs.   She passed away in 2014 and it left a big hole in our family.  To celebrate her birthday, Bob's dad (Pop) wanted as many of us that could to meet together at her grave site to just remember her together.  And we did.  Somebody told about the time she gave us three newlywed girls sexy lingerie for Christmas.  Only Jinny!  Another told of a time when, on a trip, Jinny slipped in the hotel bathtub but was more concerned with the perceived germs in the tub than she worried about being hurt.  Only Jinny!  Then somebody mentioned the time when the gas meter man asked Jinny to hold on to the dogs while he checked the meter but, as he was walking out of the yard she let them go and they chased him.  Her excuse was that he asked her to hold them "while he was checking the meter".  Only Jinny!!  There are so many more funny stories about Jinny and she would've been the first to tell one on herself.   

But Jinny was so much more!  I had the pleasure of knowing her for 33 years and she became another mom, a spiritual mentor, Nan to her grands, and just a really good friend.  Because of Jinny's example, I wanted to perfect the art of pie making.  She was a really good cook but her pies were so yummy!  Almost every time I bake a pie, I think of Jinny.  And when it came to making a home, there was nobody better!  Her home was not only always beautifully decorated but it was a warm and welcoming place for her immediate family as well as lots of church family and family from Arkansas.  And Jinny was an author.  She could always tell stories better than anybody I know so it just seemed natural when, in her late 70's, she wrote and self published a book based on her life growing up in the hills of Arkansas titled "My Heart Remembers".  What a gift she gave us and now my grand kids!

Happy Birthday, dear Jinny!  Remembering you is easy because it always makes me smile.