Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

When the dog bites. When the bee stings. When I'm feeling sad. I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel....so bad.

Since Julie Andrews figures everything out, I figured I'd make a list of some of my favorite memories. It can't hurt, and may even be a little fun.

*Riding with Neeny and Grandaddy down to their farm. We'd stop at Guntown Mountain and ride the Tilt-a-Whirl, then go to the old country store there for country ham. Sometimes we'd eat at Stuckeys, but only if the boys weren't with us. They liked to spend all their money on video game machines. Grandaddy hated video game machines.

*Swimming at the Blue Head with my brothers and sister. Double the fun was when we made a mud slide about 15 feet long.

*Hanging out with my good friend Caycee in college when everyone else we knew started using drugs. We'd watch the Dancing Outlaw, figure out life's problems, and just laugh. He has the best laugh.

*Going to Dairy Queen with Tammy after we had checked ourselves out of school for some random religious holiday. We got blueberry cheesecake blizzards, then laid out in the sun on the hood of her car. We thought we were so crazy.

*The time we teased James so much that he turned his car onto the runway of the Hardinsburg airport and drove 90 mph down it, just to make us shut up. THAT got our attention!

*Singles' Bible study at Jeff & Sid's and Ivan's apt. (continued to Jeff & Renee's house)

*Bringing in hay and working in the peppers with my family

*Listening to Neeny on tape as she read bedtime stories for us to use at home

*Couch Potato pizza

*The old house Clayton inherited from his grandfather

*The time Grandaddy brought us an old slingshot from the Army Surplus store, and I launched a small pebble in Mike's direction toward the barn. It whizzed passed his ear and hit the barn with such a terrifying plunk, I'm sure I nearly killed him. Those army slingshots are for REAL!

*Singing with my brothers while Mom played the piano

*Being snowed in in 1994 with no heat except for the kerosene heater, and no electricity. We all balled up on the living room floor to sleep, and everyone but me seemed to enjoy having to use the potty in the snow

*Watching the North and the South in 8th grade Social Studies, and playing paper-triangle football the entire 8 hours of the film

*Vacation Bible School at Hudson UMC

*Playing basketball with Cortney, Neal, and the Keesees at Troy's house

*The time Mike sassed Neeny, and Grandaddy chased him like a maniac to wear his booty out. I never saw anything so funny, I think.

*When Neeny fell down in the parking lot at Winn-Dixie, and Andrea and I thought she had hurt herself, but she just got up, shook out her arms and gave the loudest grunt.... Her hair stood straight up on end all over her head. She was a woman to be reckoned with, and we all laughed so hard about that one.

*Downing reunions

*When Eric sat with Grandaddy one afternoon, and recounted all his great times playing checkers, and Grandaddy responded that Eric had treated him "like a dog." Eric was so crestfallen...

*Our wedding, and spending that precious time with the people closest to us

*The days our children were born

*Going out in the boat with Papaw and Mama Ann, but only after we had scrubbed the boat all over with a toothbrush and Mama Ann made us wear 2 lifejackets each, just in case

*Playing Twister with my family every New Year's Eve since middle school

*Papaw's hot pickles (and providing the labor for them), and bologna sandwiches

*Receiving letters from Rose in the mail in college

*Wearing Neeny's long nightgowns and curling up with her on the trundle bed, while she told us about how she and Aunt Ruth used to sleep on that very bed in the kitchen of their house in Scottsville