Granddaddy, Spiffer, and Helen Grace headed off to the zoo one day recently. Of course, HG showed them all around, and they stopped in to see the sting rays. Our brave girl TOUCHED several of them. So proud of herself!
Our beloved Delta Gamma house is bursting at the seams with our current number of members (nearly 400), so we are raising money for a huge addition in the coming years. That will entail pushing the front of the house out into the current yard and expanding our third floor, and while the profile and details of the front will look similar, it won’t be the same as the house where Bubba and I have spent so much time. We are still a couple of years from construction beginning, but this week, Bubba, HG, GD, Spiffer, and I made a trip down to Oxford for lunch and some special pics on our favorite Mississippi front porch.
We had a great, laidback Father’s Day weekend, doing just what John wanted to do- hanging out around the pool. We dressed up for brunch at Owen Brennan’s on Sunday and then went right back to the Browns for more pool time!
Helen Grace and I have two amazing father figures in our lives in John and Granddaddy, and we couldn’t ask for more patient (obviously to live/put up with me and HG!!!), giving, selfless, and loving men. We thank God for them every day!
HG painted this for John: a view out our kitchen window
We signed up Helen Grace for swim lessons with Ms. Melissa again this year. While she loved getting in the pool last year, she never jumped off the edge or really put her head under after the classes were over, so we had a lot to practice and relearn this year.
As the week started, she was excited about seeing Ms. Melissa and going to the pool. After a day or two, she would rather stay home and play than go to class, but there was no fuss to get her in the car. She always came out of class saying she had a great time and loved it. As the end of the week neared, she got more nervous about the ‘graduation’ for the parents, which is so odd coming from the child that doesn’t bat an eye about dancing in front of hundreds of people. By Friday morning, the tears arrived. She cried briefly a time or two at home and right before she got out of the car. She pulled herself together though and went to Ms. Melissa like a brave girl. Her mama, on the other hand, was a HOT MESS.
Granddaddy, Spiffer, and I showed up for graduation, and she was cold but ok. As their ‘tricks’ increased in bravery, she started getting nervous, especially when she got stuck near the end of the line to jump into the deep end. Turns out that her goggles broke, so the ones she was borrowing were filling up with water. As I saw her chin quiver and tears in her eyes, it took all the willpower I had not to run over there, grab her, and head for the car! I saw the assistant give her a bit of a pep talk before it was her turn to jump, and then she stepped to the pool and JUMPED. I was trying to take a pic while GD videod, and she did it so quickly that I almost missed it. So proud! After she was done performing, she acted like it was no big deal, so it appears no trauma occurred.
Since then, she’s been really good about practicing in the Browns’ pool. She loves wearing her goggles and putting her face in the water- even in the bathtub! She is still working on getting her feet up high enough to swim on top of the water, but a noodle is helping her get used to the form. She’ll jump off the side to one of us, but we are still trying to get her to go under water on her own. A lot of progress already in June and still another few months of swim time- we’re very happy and proud!
After Monday’s class
