Tuesday, November 24, 2009, Nashville, TN., 6:24 a.m., C.S.T.~
Howdy, y'all!
Tank here. Today finds me in Nashville, Tennessee. No, not to see the world famous Grand Ole Opry (though I wouldn't mind going! :) ), but to visit my "adoptive" family, Steffi's folks and brothers and sisters. We are spending Thanksgiving with them.
Got in yesterday evening; it was a long drive from Texas. Forgot how much colder it is north of Texas! BRRR! Glad we packed some extra sweatshirts and sweaters!
Just woke up not even fifteen minutes ago. (At least I did; Steffi's still snoozing underneath the covers; all I can see of her is the top of her carrot-colored hair sticking out. LOL She looks so cute!) Looks like everyone's asleep; it's awful' quiet here in the Sandusky abode.
In an hour or two, that will change when the troops arise. Then it's every man (or woman) for himself (herself) as we compete to see who gets the bathroom first. (Good thing there's more than one; they need plenty of bathrooms here in THIS zoo!)
Saw my brother Anh and met his wife-to-be, Thu. Thu is so cute; she's not much over 4' tall; she's really tiny, even tinier than mom. She is very nice. Also saw Johnny's brother, Erick, and met his girlfriend; they live in New York City, where they "tawk". They have a heavy New York accent; it's kinda hard to understand them!
It is good to see all my kin gathered in one place. They are all growing like weeds; seems like only yesterday when they were rugrats; now they're beautiful (or handsome) young women and gentlemen! And Isaiah and Ian, who are two now, are absolutely adorable; they've grown a lot as well. It's funny to see them walking/talking; it seems like just a few short weeks ago they were crawling around on all fours!
Johnathon is looking pretty good, considering all that he's gone through, but it's hard seeing him hooked up to a vent tube. He still has a great attitude about life though; for that I give him a lot of credit. We can all adopt his "can-do" attitude; the world would be a lot better off!
Ronee' is driving; she has inherited daddy's clown car ... ah, er, I meant SlugBug! LOL I will have to have her drive me to the store, to see just how good she drives. (Look out, world! Ronee' is now hogging the road! Use extra caution when my little sister, the Crazy Cajun, takes to the wheel! Egads!!)
Unfortunately, Lightning and her husband, Darnell, won't be joining us for Turkey Day: hear they are having marital problems. I hope and pray that they can work out their differences. I miss seeing them!
Daddy is getting old: he walks like a man in his eighties instead of a man in his forties; it's really sad to see. While he no longer has the crippling back pain, the arthritis has played havoc on his joints. He now drives a (used) Ford F-150; it looks a lot better than him driving the SlugBug! At least he has room to get in and out!
Maman looks the same: maybe a few more wrinkles on her face, but still incredibly beautiful! If I didn't have Steffi, or if I were older, I'd chase her around! :) She's been working hard at the hospital!
Grandpere' Armand is a lot slower, but he's still kickin'. He's living proof of "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". In his case, that's true . He's just a stubborn old Cajun who refuses to give in to life; he loves it too much. Therese, his wife (my step-grandma), does a great job of taking care of him, even though she's not in the greatest of health either.
I am going to have to have maman do something about her furry powderpuff: that dog must hate me: ever since I came home, she's done nothing but bark her head off at me. Or she growls. I find it hard not to laugh because this little thing weighs just a little more than a minute, and she acts like she's Miss PitBull of 2009. I thought she cured "Cajun Gold" of that: her incessant barking/growling!
Well, I gotta go. Vijay and Emir have just barged into my room, screaming at me to get up, which, in kind, woke Steffi up, so now we're BOTH up. I will write in here again; until later, have a very wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and God bless! (We're going out to eat that day, at Golden Corral.)
~Tank.
