Simpler Times

By: Samantha S. Daviss

As I sit here surrounded by my plethora of anti-aging wrinkle creams, my year books, and tons of memories. I am preparing myself and my old classmates for our high school reunion…dare I say…our 20^th! It’s not really my age that is bothering me, because I don’t feel near as old as the number says I am on my driver’s license; I think what is bothering me is it doesn’t feel like it has been two decades since I walked the halls of the old Blue and Gold—filled with Tiger Pride.

At the ripe old age of 18, I couldn’t even fathom where my life would take me. I couldn’t imagine not walking the halls of Corsicana High School, not seeing the faces I saw every single day, smiling, laughing, and stressing over exams and projects that we had forgotten about.

The days when that cute boy walking down the hall would throw that simple cool smile your way, and your stomach would flip and your cheeks would emulate the color of a tomato. Or the pressure of keeping your grades up to remain in the top 10%, or even top 5%, of your class to ensure that all the avenues you might want to pursue after graduation, were open to you.

Or the times when you thought your world was ending, when that boy you thought was the ideal boy, completely shattered your world by talking to another girl in the hallway before 3^rd period; or losing the hard fight you fought running for student council to an upper classman.

Oh how those trials and tribulations changed our lives forever and molded us into the adults we are today. Whether or not we knew it then, we were learning  about life as we walked those hallways, threw our books into our lockers, and faced the daunting world of being a teenager with all of our insecurities and flaws…but we did it with gumption and pride. Unfortunately we weren’t bright enough, or our brains weren’t developed enough to always make the “best” decisions, but thankfully we all pretty much came out unscathed.

If we had known then what we know now, we would all be such different people. So maybe the course we were set out to follow is in fact the one we were intended to conquer. Because I know that the insecure, tall, gangly teenager that I once was…was not strong enough to overcome some of the horrific obstacles that have been thrown in my path of life. But those hurdles made me the resilient, independent woman I am today. If my high school self had known what was “to come” along my path of life, I am pretty sure I would have curled up in a ball and never climbed out of my locker.

But that is the beauty of the unknown…you must face life one step at a time and overcome any glitches that may come your way with strength, persistence, and poise. The stresses and pressures we thought we endured in high school were nothing compared to life’s issues and problems today; but I don’t belittle the problems we all encountered in high school, just because they happened during a simpler time in our lives, doesn’t make them any less imperative. Because they, too, were learning experiences that we all overcame and struggled through, making us better, stronger, more empathetic people.

So as I reflect on who we all were in high school together, I remember the fun days of all piling into each other’s cars and heading out to the lake on a hot summer day; or meeting up with one another at the “Shell station” for our typical Friday night fun. And of course who can forget Texas’ 5^th season…that being football season.

You knew everyone, who lived within the county lines, would be sitting in the stadium hoping their Tigers would bring home another victory. The crowd was filled with mothers hoping their babies wouldn’t get hurt out on the field, some were cheer moms there to encourage their daughters on the sidelines, some were other students (like myself) that played other sports rooting for my friends and classmates, and some were just there for the Friday Night Lights.

So as we all get older and carry heavier burdens and navigate through the complications of life, we have to remember, that in every stage of life things get more complicated and unfortunately more stressful; but it’s always good to reflect and remember the simpler times of our lives, no matter the age we were. Those problems are no less significant than the once we have as aging adults, they just procure a different perspective through our eyes as we travel through life.

Sometimes it’s nice to sit back and remember the simpler times; its endearing to remember that all those people you grew up with, those that know you better than anyone, those that knew you in mother’s morning out all the way to graduation, through all the good hair styles and the bad ones…will be your friends for life, no matter how many years it has been since you all last spoke or saw one another…they are your high school classmates.

Good Bye Old Friend

By: Samantha S Daviss

 

There are very few things we can count on in our lives.

1)      You will always pay taxes;

2)      The sun will always rise in the east and set in the west;

3)      And your pet will love you unconditionally, no matter what…

The love of a devoted pet is like no other. No matter what mood you are in, how bad of a day you had at the office, how far behind on bills you may be, or how stressed you are about not meeting your deadlines…none of that matters to your pet. When you walk in the back door, they are sitting there patiently waiting for your smiling face, warm hand to graze the top of their head, and just a little love and attention from you to let them know you still love them.

I have never been a cat person, mainly because I am highly allergic to them; but my heart runs deep for the good love of a puppy or a dog. There is just something about their innocent faces and wagging tails that melts my heart. Now if you have never had the connection to a pet or really cared for animals that much, then this will make absolutely no sense to you, and may seem a little odd.

But this past weekend our family lost one of its members. We had to make one of the toughest decisions we will ever have to make as a family together, and that was to let our oldest dog go to a better place, away from pain and exhaustion, to rest in peace.

Floyd was our 13 year old Golden Retriever. He was a great dog, but a dog that definitely beat to his own drum. He was one of those dogs that would go on an adventure, wander around, and come home when he was darn good and ready. He knew how to watch for cars when he crossed the road; he would return to houses that he had once lived in before, due to a move or a life change; and he was my husband’s co-pilot on numerous occasions (literally, his co-pilot).

Floyd was my husband’s dog that he brought in to our relationship and marriage, so Floyd has essentially been in my life for over seven years now, and was of course my dog too, and our boys’ dog. He brought a lot of love, laughter, and kisses to our household, and completed our furry trio of dogs that would ride around town in the back of our big black truck.

He loved to feel the wind in his face, no matter if it was at 30 mile per hour or 70 miles per hour. He would shoot his head around the cab of our truck and the wind would blow his eyeballs back into his head, but he loved the wind in his face.

Floyd would do what I called his “walk abouts”…we would all go somewhere as a family, and old Floyd would just take off in his own direction. The only person that he would respond to or come back to the sound of his voice would be my husband’s. But that is to be expected. They were bachelors together for years, they were golfing buddies, Floyd even went into some places of business around town…he was a local celebrity and everyone knew who Floyd was. He was probably the largest Golden Retriever I had ever seen in my life, standing almost an entire shoulder higher than our other Golden, and at one point weighing in at 137 pounds.

But regardless of who knew Floyd, where he went, or how many adventures he went on…at the end of the day, he was still our Floyd. The big furry mass our boys would lay against in the sunshine in our front yard, the slobbering pooch that hung his head in the wind, and the  big pile of love that would have done anything for his family.

He will never be forgotten…and his wagging tail, happy spirit, and sense of adventure will live on in all of our hearts forever. We’ll miss you big guy…tell Memom “Hi” for us.

20 Things you were never told before you Became a Parent

 

By: Samantha S. Daviss

 

As you grow up you instinctually know you want to become a parent, and you were born to do it; or the thought kind of grows on you as you grown older, and become more mature. Then there are those out there that have become parents that have absolutely no right to be a parent.

But when you do finally make that decision, you get lots of words of advice from people like “Sleep when the baby sleeps”, or “Don’t worry about the laundry, enjoy your kids while they are young”; but we are never told some of the deeper (and funnier things) about parenthood, until it is sitting in your lap, or vomiting on your cocktail dress as you are walking out the door.

So from my experience as a mother, who would walk through fire for her boys; I have compiled an emotional, yet lighthearted list of things you never hear uttered before entering parenthood:

 

1)      You will never ever go potty or bathe without an interruption ever again;

2)      Never wear nice clothes, because it is inevitable that dirty fingers, spit up, or poo will find that silk blouse you’ve worked so hard to keep clean until you can run to the garage, jump in your car and leave;

3)      Your favorite TV show…forget about it…it will never be seen or heard again, uninterrupted (thank you DVR);

4)      If you are feeling sick or under the weather…suck it up, there is no chance you get to rest, nap, or go to bed early to gain your strength back…put your big girl pants on and keep moving;

5)      You would never imagine that you could love anything or anyone more than you love yourself, your spouse (or your luggage)…but those little creatures grab a hold of your heartstrings and tug for the rest of your life;

6)      You could never imagine that that sweet adorable baby you held in the hospital for the first time, could absolutely bring you to your knees from pure exhaustion;

7)      That you would never care about material possessions again, the way you once did. You could total your car, leaving your vehicle on the side of the road without a care; as long as your baby got to the ER in time to fix their broken arm;

8)      You wouldn’t care that you stubbed your toe or punctured your foot in the middle of the night walking over the field of Hot Wheel cars; because you were headed back to make sure everyone was sound asleep in their own beds, safe and secure;

9)      That you had to trade in your perfectly made-up face, your adorable hair style, and pressed clothes for a chance to shower at least once a day, if you’re lucky; and in return you got to throw your hair up in a ponytail, slap on some under eye concealer to hide your lack of sleep bags, and a T-shirt and jeans you found on the floor (that…yea, smell okay);

10)   You will never, ever sleep soundly again; as long as they are in your house;

11)   Your gut will never be untied, for fear they have broken something on their bodies, had a car wreck, made a poor decision, or made you a grandparent (entirely too soon);

12)   Your purse no longer will obtain the items you need like lip-gloss or a brush, but instead replaced by a diaper pouch, hand sanitizer, airplanes and cars, and lots and lots of Band-Aids;

13)   All your pretty stuff that you worked so hard to collect to make your house beautiful, will never see the light of day until they graduate from high school and leave the house;

14)   Your driving habits will completely change…your geriatric driving style will kick in;

15)   No matter how hard you try, or what kind of music you listen to, you will never look cool in your SUV or minivan filled with multiple car seats and the family “stick figure” stickers on the back of your car…the days of being young and hip are over;

16)   You completely lose your self-identity, you are no longer known by your given or married name, you are now “Billy’s Mom” or “Suzy’s Dad”;

17)   You hope to heaven that they learn who they are before it’s too late, and don’t fall idle to peer pressure;

18)   That one day they will have children of their own and then they will understand all the lectures and arguments that went on;

19)   That your mistakes don’t become their mistakes;

20)   And the one thing that you are never told before becoming a parent…that those little people will never ever have any idea how much you love them, until they hold their baby in their arms for the first time.

Like I’ve always said, parenthood it the best thing that I have ever been blessed with. What other event in your life can take you from laughter to tears in milliseconds, other than being a parent. Enjoy them while you have them, they are gone in a blink, and cherish every hug, kiss, or snuggle you can get your hands on.