Balm for the Bulldog Wounded

Gather round Bulldog faithful. I need to tell you a story. It started a long time ago around 1971. My husband was born in Florida. Raised in a God fearin' but Gator lovin family. Y'all there is even photographic evidence of him wearing a Gator sweatshirt as a young teenager. I tell you this because I want you to know through prayer and careful consideration, this burden was lifted from him. I reckon that's how it happened. All I know is if he hadn't made this conversion, my daddy would've straight written me out of the will when I brought him home. Georgia will do that to you. Makes you forget what you used to know. Makes you new and full of eager ambition. I can testify. But, there's a down side to such fervor. When your Dawgs lose a heartbreaker, it hurts like whacking your shin on a reese hitch. Like shaving over a mosquito bite, like when your horse steps on your toes and you were stupid enough to wear flip flops. Worse. Although my husband shares my deep abiding love of Athens and the University, he only gets into football because there's nothing else allowed on any TV in my house on Saturdays in the fall. He watches and cheers but mostly laughs at me writhing on the floor begging Jesus for a 4th down stop.  Last night he went sound asleep during the last half. The girls hung in there with me but he was slap out. I don't say that proudly. It's one of those things I will never understand about him. But nevertheless, when I'd eaten a rice krispy treat, a leftover chicken wing, a handful of stale popcorn, and a biscuit I think Murphy bit into first, I realized I had to go to bed and get some sleep.  As I turned on the lamp so I could crawl into bed, I see my 130 pound Great Dane in MY spot in the bed. He is out. I mean snoring like a grown man. OUT. Like a Carolina fan on a 3 day drunk. OUT. Now, I have no upper body strength, but I can pull an entire Bama bandwagon with my legs. So I crawled into bed and pushed him as hard as I could with my legs. He's barely moving at all so I push with hands AND feet. Right as I get him close to the edge, he wakes, startles, and flips over on top of me and goes immediately back to sleep. Here I am- legs hanging off the bed, Great Dane laid out completely across my shoulders. I managed to push him off my chest and throw my legs into the bed. He's literally got his big race horse sized head over my shoulder but I'm so exhausted I don't care. I closed my eyes and began my normal routine of praying for soldiers, for old people, for dogs on the street, for children with no parents, and for Tech fans clearly eaten up with envy.  I prayed for friends struggling at work, and mamas barely making ends meet, for dairy farmers, for coaches' wives and that my girls will one day find worthy spouses who hunt and fish and  love Jesus and the Dawgs. I prayed for Sony and Nick and Hot Rod and Kirby. For Jake, Roquan and for Bama's #48, through gritted teeth. I prayed for the freshmen with so much to look forward to and the seniors with so much to remember.  I thanked the Lord for Munson, for Herschel and for my Grandmother who loved football almost as much as she loved cigarettes and a deck of cards. No doubt my prayer life is rife with Attention Deficit Disorder. As I was wrapping up I asked the Lord to soothe the souls of the Bulldog faithful and instantly let me tell y'all what happened. Y'all it was a sign. You know how some claim to have felt the brush of angel's wings when they talked to God? Well I felt hot, Great Dane breath.  Sweet dog breath. I about cried. Thank you Lord for that Dawg breath. I know that was you, God. Thank you. Thank you for every Dawg out on that field last night. Thank you for all the Bulldog faithful. It will be a long stretch of winter and disappointing Braves baseball waiting for fall, but with You, we will get through it.  Stop wasting a single second of this blessed Bulldog life complaining about horrid officiating or big mouth Bama fans. Stop. Just start counting down the days. Because, it is GREAT to be a Georgia Bulldog. I know so because the Lord told me through Dawg breath and a little slobber on my LL Bean pajamas. Good night y'all. Sleep tight. Smile. Say your prayers.  Get some rest. G Day will be here before you know it.  Go Dawgs.

To all the Dawgs in my life..on the night before "The Game".

I haven't written Game Day Commentary in awhile. Mostly because the Dawgs have kept me speechless most the season. But I got a text from a good friend that said just this "you owe it to the Dawgs, Carmen Bennett. You have until tonight at midnight." Okay well if you put it that way... Here goes. For you, the Georgia Mafia. :)

It's not just a game.

If you think it is- you can stop here. I'll save you the time.  But if you know it's more than a game, keep reading. If you've loved the Dawgs the whole of your life, you can keep reading too. If you spent 4 amazing years at the University of Georgia, keep reading. If you can remember your parents cheering on the Dawgs while listening to the game on the radio, you should keep reading. If you can recite Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott without missing a single word, keep reading.  If you've ever named the family dog Munson or Dooley, keep reading. Because, if any or all of the previous describe you, you my friends, are Damn Good Dawgs.  Ain't a one of y'all just woke up one day and decided you thought it'd be cool to be a fan, bought you a sweatshirt and then became a loudmouth.  Not that there's a thing wrong with the Bama fans that do that kinda thing. Bless ya heart y'all are still good Christians. But I don't trust y'all. Y'all are like those folks that make pimento cheese with pre-grated cheddar. It's perfectly legal but that don't make it right. I love you, but I'm still givin' you the side eye and I ain't turnin' my back to you.

There are many ways red and black gets in your blood. I was only five when the Dawgs won their last national championship. I've been told tales about it but I cannot remember it. I do remember losing to Penn State in 1982. I was 7 then and my Daddy won't even say the words "Penn State" even today. My daddy graduated from Georgia. My mama has two degrees from Georgia, as do I. My husband has 2 Georgia degrees. My brother has one. My aunts have several. My daddy's cousins have a few too. So even if I hadn't gone to Georgia, there's still no way I could be anything but a Dawg, just from good righteous raising. The good book says train up a child in the way he should go. Mine did. So many good rabid Dawgs were made this way. If you have righteous raising and you've strayed, come on home, sugar. Take that Bama sweatshirt to the Goodwill and come on home. We'll be happy and your mama will be proud.

There were some lean years in Athens when I was a teenager. Growing up in northeast Georgia, I wasn't a rebellious kid but I'd sometimes mention going to Georgia Tech or Clemson just to get a rise out of my parents. Some teenagers drink too much and some drive too fast. I just threatened to go to college in Atlanta. I was a student at Georgia from 1993-1997. There wasn't much to cheer about through Goff and Donnan and although it dampened our spirits,  it never dampened the loyalty of the faithful. In 1995, when Kirby Smart was a Dawg himself, who'd have thought he'd be the one to lead us to the gates of the promised land a little over 20 years later? Throughout those 4 years, it wasn't the football team that made me fall hopelessly in love with Georgia. It was meeting my future husband in Aderhold Hall. It was a thoroughbred named Cashew that threw me off his back more than once but taught me a lot about getting up, dusting off, and getting back on. It was the way downtown glistened on cold nights. It was Milledge Avenue in the spring. It was Guthrie's chicken tenders, the chapel bell, Hodgson's ice cream, and Cooper's fishbowls (don't worry Daddy I only HEARD about those. I never ever witnessed it personally).  It was professors I still stay in touch with today, and friends I now count as family. It was North Campus grass and a blanket in the fall (even to an Ag girl from South Campus). It was a crappy Russell Hall dorm room with my elementary school best friend counting change to see if we could order the "good" pizza.  It was that same friend flinging open the door to our dorm room and yelling "there's a nutjob preacher at Tate! Let's go watch!" It was Arooj from Pakistan who loved JFK, Jr., Rebecca who prayed all the time (probably for the rest of us)   and Rhonda, the yankee softball pitcher from New Jersey. We were quite an interesting mix of Soule Hall sisters back then.   Blessed just seems too simple a word.

So when the Dawgs take the field tomorrow, there's a lot more than a football team tied up in that G on the helmet. Whether you went to school there, it was bred into you, or a wicked combination of both, you know it's not just a game. Athens is not just a town. Georgia is NOT just a University and whether we win or lose, I love the Dawgs. I do. I love them. I love the University of Georgia and ain't no "Roll Tide" from any big mouthed bandwagon Bama fan ever gonna change that.

Y'all pray for my mama. She's in the hospital recovering from a terrible stomach virus. She asked the doctor this morning if he could have her home by kickoff tomorrow. Clearly, a Damn Good Dawg. Clearly NOT just a game. Glory, GLORY, to Ol' Georgia.

The Way I Remember It...

Every Christmas night since forever, I’ve always been blessed enough to sit around somebody’s fireplace. After the whirlwind of gifts are opened and I’ve almost caught the house afire burning amazon boxes and wrapping paper in the fireplace. After the kids have retreated to their rooms to tinker with their Santa loot. I always find something good to drink. What I drink depends on how many folks I’ve had go in and out of my house during the holidays, how many political conversations I’ve endured and how many times I’ve had to get out the mop bucket. A few years ago we had about fifty eleven people here for Christmas. Our housekeeper who was far more than a housekeeper to us had fallen on difficult times and she was living with us along with her two small children. We had in total about 12 people sleeping here that Christmas Eve. As many as 18 the days before. That year- Russian tea didn’t cover it. Needed a nip of peppermint schnapps in my wassail and some Bailey’s in the egg nog! It was a wonderful Christmas though. It’s funny how hard we try to create Christmas memories for kids, when the things kids remember are very seldom things at all. My most vivid Christmas memories are these:
*When I was a little girl my daddy owned a lumber yard. He also sold Christmas trees, or I guess he did. Anyhow, when my teacher asked if anyone could donate a Christmas tree to the classroom I shot out of my chair at the blue square table so fast I’m sure it scared the chalk off the blackboard. Several kids volunteered and the teacher said whoever brought one first. I don’t even know what my daddy had to do to get that tree to my elementary classroom early the next morning but he did and I have never forgotten it. I thought I was something else and I ranked my Daddy right up under the sweet baby Jesus. I’m 42 years old and I still do.
*I think I was in 2nd grade when our house burned on Christmas Eve. I don’t remember being sad about presents at all. What I do remember is that Ms Gay Martorell, my 2nd grade teacher brought me a blue sweater vest and a plaid shirt. I can tell you exactly what that sweater looked like. If I was any kind of artist I could draw you the exact stitching. That’s how vividly I remember it.
*Daddy used to load up our whole family, extended family too, in his big blue delivery truck. He covered the floor with hay and we all caroled around Hartwell. I could barely see over the side rails but I can remember being so cold in the north Georgia night, I’d burrow myself in the hay and fall asleep with visions of Santa, reindeer, and Hershey kisses in my head.
*I remember Gail Brown singing Watchman Tell Us of the Night at The First Presbyterian Church on Christmas Eve so beautifully that it captivated the attention of a kid who was delirious with Santa excitement.
*I remember Ms Beverly Dove and Ms Hope Williams teaching our 4th grade class to sing What Child is This for our Christmas program at school. I still have the mimeographed copy in Ms Dove’s handwriting.
*I don’t know how far back in my daddy’s Family the tradition goes but when he was a kid he got stockings from Santa in REAL nylons. Like real panty hose weighted down to the floor with oranges and cracker jacks. My brother and I used to drag those things around clear through January. We always got them growing up and now my kids get them even though they’re weighted down with Reese’s cups and snickers bars now.

Mama says some Christmases were plentiful and some were tight. So funny how as a child I couldn’t tell the difference. I’m more thankful tonight for good Christmas memories than I am for any material thing I had then or have now.

5am

Last night I fell into bed exhausted. The kind of exhausted only family christmases can bring. But no matter how tired I am the night before, I am always awake by 5am. The house is so quiet and within an hour or two the mayhem will return. That’s why I love 5am. I can hear the 120 pound dog snoring on the floor next to my bed. And even though he gets excited and gallops through the house like a dang racehorse, even though he chewed up Christmas gifts, air hockey pucks, Christmas lights, and half of an Italian Creme cake, I am so thankful that big lug found his way into our lives. Right now he’s dreaming as he does almost every night. His legs are moving like he’s running and he barks in this low muffled tone. I always wonder what he’s chasing in his dreams.  I think it’s probably Ali. There’s a light coming underneath my bedroom door which tells me the 3 amigos left the kitchen lights on last night. I can’t be upset because I’m just thankful cousins have this time together even if it means screaming squealing and running in the house, frosting on cabinet doors and a dishwasher running nonstop.  Pete’s sound asleep next to me and in a few minutes he’ll roll over and say honey put that damn phone away and go back to sleep even though in the previous 20 years together I’ve never gone back to sleep. Today I’ll let him sleep a little later. I can hear the hardwood floors creak upstairs. My inlaws are here for the holidays. They will soon be here permanently. I couldn’t be more thrilled. Don’t get me wrong. They are crazy, REALLY Baptist, old fashioned, stubborn, hard headed and sometimes fussy in a way that only those around 70 years old can be.  But I’ve come to realize that I’m crazy, Episcopalian, old fashioned, stubborn and fussy in a way that only mothers around 40 can be. So we have a lot in common. They love my children and I know there’s nothing short of their last breath they’d give us if we needed it.  Most all the adults worked most of the day clearing the little patch of woods next to our house where they’ll build their house soon. My mama helped clear brush, set herself on fire twice and still managed to feed us all not just supper but supper with broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes that didn’t come from a box, and a beef roast that she fretted over being over cooked all during dinner. That’s about as southern grandma as it gets and they live 513 steps from our front door. You really don’t get any luckier than us. 

Merry Christmas everyone! From our house of 4 chihuahuas, 1 Great Dane, one elusive big gray cat, 8 People, and a missing air hockey puck. From our house to yours..May you find happiness and see all the blessings in the midst of the mayhem of the next few days. If you can’t, try it at 5am, while still lying in bed. You’ll be surprised what you hear in silence. 

What I Loved and Learned in Louisville

What I Loved and Learned in Louisville

I thought leaving Effingham County almost 10 years ago would surely break my heart. When we crossed the county line with our last load of furniture headed to Burke County I couldn’t help but bawl like a baby. Leaving friends behind then was seriously one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I was so happy to be moving out of a subdivision and into “the wild” as the kids called it but dang it was hard to leave. Over time it got easier and I got used to a new normal. But this move might hurt worse. Even though I’m not moving my RESIDENCE this time, I am moving to a new school system and leaving some of the dearest people in the world behind in Louisville. Teaching in Louisville was more challenging than anywhere I've been before. Teaching in a poor rural district is hard. If the teachers in districts like these don’t stick together and lean on each other- if they don’t bond, if they aren’t good friends it just doesn’t work. It’s too hard a job to do on your own. You need your friends or you’re as good as sunk. Let me give you a few examples.

1.If you catch the science lab on fire, you need a friend to scream hysterically to get the fire extinguisher!

2. If you catch the science lab on fire, you also need a friend to tell you after you’ve stumbled out of a smoke filled room, that you’re missing the Italian leather sandal that was previously on your right foot.

3. If a rabbit gets loose in your classroom, you need a friend who can help you catch it. It also helps if this friend still agrees to chase the rabbit even though she is wearing a super cute lily pulitzer skirt.

4.You need a friend who will immediately send you the phone number of another friend so that they can efficiently coordinate the release of 500 crickets into the 8th grade hall.

5.You need a friend who will, in an effort to salvage all our jobs, willingly smooth things over with the principal after 500 crickets are released into the 8th grade hall.

6.You need a friend who will tell you if you are saran wrapping the wrong teacher’s car on their birthday. (you hear me Greg Burns? You need a FRIEND!)

7.If you lock yourself out of the dressing room at Maxway during school hours, you need a good friend on speed dial.

8. If you get your hand caught in the ipad cart because you are wearing some hippie style hemp bracelets, you need a friend who will get you out after rolling on the floor laughing hysterically.

9.You need a friend who realizes how ADD you are and will always do testing labels and other tedious teacher bullcrappery for you because they understand you are honestly completely incapable of completing such tasks without cursing enough to send the whole district to hell.

10. You need a friend who will tell you your lipstick looks like a damn vampire so get a new shade.

11.It’s always good to have friends who boost your self esteem by assuming you know the scientific name of every snake, lizard, chameleon, gecko, spider, and jackelope known to man and sends you the pictures of the aforementioned critters for identification confirmation!

12. You know you’ve found a great group of friends when they know your keys, your phone, your purse, your tervis tumbler, and even the book you’re reading by heart so that they can return these items to you after you’ve left them in various places all over the school.

13.After sending a text saying what a crappy day you had, you need a friend who will simply text a picture of a margarita back to you. It’s teacher code language for go sit on the porch, let it go and live to fight another day.

14. You need friends who know your shortcomings, do their best to make up for what you lack, tolerate your weird quirks and love you anyway even during those times when you're just not easy to love.

As I toted my first box out of my office yesterday I had to think back to when I was toting my first box INTO Louisville Middle School 9 years ago. I hardly knew anyone. I was still missing Effingham County and all my friends there. We were living with my parents while building a house. It was probably the most stressful year of my life. It got even worse when I lost a baby the following spring. I felt so far away from anyone who really knew me or cared about me. But it was also during this time that LMS became my new family. They rallied around me and kept me going through those following weeks even though they hardly knew me and I have never forgotten that.

So as I get ready to move all my “teacher junk” to Jenkins County Middle/High in the next few weeks, it’s so bittersweet. I cannot talk much about it without becoming a weepy mascara streaked mess but I know it’ll get easier as the weeks pass. I am so excited to get my hands back into potting soil again. I want to leave school every day smelling of sawdust and varnish and maybe with a little dirt under my nails. I’m thrilled to be teaching Addie next year. My heart is overcome with joy when thinking about being at the same school as Pete and the girls. I’m totally reinvigorated at the thought of teaching Agriculture again. It seems so surreal how things have come full circle. Now I hope to end my career in a few years the same way it began- in a greenhouse, in a woodshop, at hog shows, or maybe even in a welding booth. I am pretty sure it’s a situation that God has set up just for me and my family and I look forward to our new adventures together. I want to feel about teaching the way I felt back then. Positive that I am making a difference in the lives of kids. Not just test scores. Not just numbers.. but lives. That doesn’t make my heartache any easier right now, but it will in time. Thanks for the memories, Louisville. A piece of my heart will always be there.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Holy Jesup, Georgia!

1. What had happened was I think Greyson Lambert or his mama read my blog last week. He got his hair cut. He got a good beard trim. And that young man became a DAWG! He’s no longer Greyson Lambert from UVA! Champagne and Charlottesville are a distant memory! Who would have thought that boy from the Vandy game would break records tonight. He was almost flawless. Holy Jesup, Georgia. What a night he had! Y'all can thank me later.
2. Game ball to Sony Michel. I love to watch him play. Chubb runs over folks and that is cool but I’m a sucker for a kid who can juke. He’s got that down to an art!
3. Overall awesome game. Hubs put ribs in the smoker and they were unbelievably good. Now I had the normal crowd around here.. you know my Daddy talking about how the Mormons always keep enough grain for a year’s supply and my sister in law texting me about her rooster attacking her in the backyard.. but overall it was a great tailgate at home!
4. There are obviously different levels of Dawg Devotion. It ranges from the low level  “What are you doing Saturday?” to mid level “what time does the game come on?” -who by the way doesn’t know what time the game comes on!.. All the way to “I want my ashes scattered over the Hedges. Now somewhere right up near scattering your ashes over Sanford is where my friend Tim stands. He’s a full grown man and sent me the funniest picture today. He was grinning from ear to ear and just giddy over a Georgia outfit he’d found for a 6 month old cousin. Yep. No doubt Tim bleeds red and black.
5. I don’t care for 6pm kickoffs. You’re down right exhausted after watching a bunch of mediocre games all day like Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. It’s like rooting for the devil or well… the devil. I couldn’t decide. When Notre Dame scored I cussed under my breath. When Georgia Tech scored I didn’t feel one bit different. Equal hate. But all that hate wears you out and by the time the Dawgs came on I’d eaten enough to feed our O Line for 3 days and I’d exhausted myself hoping ND and GT would just knock the crap out of each other equally.
6. I don’t think they ought to review movies during a football game. I don’t care if the movie is about football. Shut up lady. Nobody cares. You’ve got the best running back in the country running wild behind you and you’re interviewing somebody in a movie. I.Do.Not.Care! I don’t care if a former camera man is in the movie. This ain’t the Roger Ebert show. It’s a football game!! I’d rather talk about the Mormons and their grain stockpile than a movie. The film may be great. But I repeat… this is a football game! Ridiculous! Course that wasn’t as bad as changing over coverage to the Ole Miss/Alabama game. I missed the last minute of the Dawg victory to listen to Kirk Herbstriet babble on about nonsense.
7. I know Spurrier says he’s good for another 3-5 years but I’m tellin ya he may be done this season. I love to hate Spurrier and I will miss him. But this may be our last chance to have hung 60 on the ol’ Ball Coach and we missed it. Oh well. It’s still GREAT to be a Georgia Bulldog! I will be in Athens next week! My sister in law (of rooster attack fame) will be with me and it will be her first game in Athens. We have been to several Georgia Florida games together and even though she's an Armstrong Atlantic grad, she's a DGD! I'm still working on the "game focus" but we are making great progress! One thing is for sure, there's always a lot of laughter when the two of us go off to a football game together and I can't wait! I've missed Athens and I need to check out Mark's hair up close! Go Dawgs!

Went to a Football Game and A Goat Show Broke Out

10.  Sweet holy Mary where to begin.. First, Look- Lorenzo Carter I know your ejection was bull. Crazy call that really diminishes the game. But all of that aside, when you get ejected you don’t smile. I wish Coach Richt would hire me just to yell at players who do stupid things like smile after an ejection. I think my 5’4” self jumping up and clanging them upside their heads with their own helmet might help.  Think about it Mark, ok? I have to give 2 weeks notice at work.

9.  Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and the rest of the defense saved this game. They all deserve the game ball. In fact they ought to make the offense pay for dinner all week. Ridiculous.

8. Now I know I’m going to get flamed for this, but I don’t care. I think, and I have always felt that given the right opportunities, Sony Michel is a better all around athlete than Nick Chubb. I think he’s just now coming into his own. I’m glad both of them are Dawgs and Nick Chubb is still a freak.  It’s my commentary. Make up your own if you don’t like it.

7. If you have not seen the video replay of  Dominic Sanders’ touchdown run, you should. The run is awesome but that’s not why you need to see the replay. My sister in law pointed out the guy on the sideline near the end of the run doing a toe touch. Like her,  I’m not certain he was aware he could do a toe touch until that touchdown run! It’s worth your time to watch it. Whoever you are young man, Go Dawgs! That toe touch earned you a DGD designation!

6. I hate when they show too much cheerleader footage on a football broadcast. I don’t have anything against cheerleaders.. there’s only so much of the valley girl “GeorGIA” and “Dogs” with a short O sound I can stand.

5. I have a confession. Last week Matt Hodges suggested I get a shirt that says “Hush Y’all The Dawgs Are On!” since I end up watching the game with people who tend to talk about random foolishness during the game rather than pay attention. I bought it and it arrived Thursday! I love it! BUT… during today’s game I had to leave the room. Our cleaning lady hasn’t been here in two weeks and I got so frustrated watching this RIDICULOUS display of offense that I furiously cleaned two toilets during the first half. THAT’S how bad it was. The toilet/Our offense… same general idea today.

4.  Now I know y’all are gonna want to give Lambert a hard time. I’m not. This fella came from the ACC. This time last year he was playing in Charlottesville. At Georgia, we say “it’s north of the stadium or it’s south of the stadium”.  At UVA they say it’s north of the “lawn”..  My brother in law is a UVA grad and he verified this for me. Folks I’m tryin’ to say it like this… Give the boy a break. He’s going to need to get the rust out. You can have rust in the ACC and get by. That’s not going to cut it here, but he needs a chance to shake it off.

5. Now look here Greyson Lambert- you see me taking up for you? Don’t do me wrong next week against the chickens you hear me?  Hell hath no fury like a Georgia girl proven wrong. Oh and for goodness sakes get a hair cut and a shave. Ya look like tweety bird with an 8 o’clock shadow. It’s not a good look for you. Sheesh. Once I get Mark Richt straight on his foolish hair mess, you start looking like you’ve come off a three day drunk.

4. Overall the best part of this game was my Mississippi Sin Dip. Even though I couldn’t find chives in the entire town of Waynesboro, it was still pretty dog gone good. It sustained me while the Dawgs were busy being inconsistent and flat.

3.  Mark Richt still lacks fire in his belly. I’m beginning to think he doesn’t really have it in him. This is yet another position for which I am highly qualified. Mark, if you can’t bring yourself to grab a kid by his facemask, or rip your headset off and stomp it, I could do that for you. I mean I single handedly cursed the refs while waving  a toilet wand today. I can do it. Let me know.

2. This game was “oogly” as my daddy would say. Wasn’t a thing pretty about it. Felt off balance and totally out of rhythm. I know a win is a win but this one was like three fourths of a win. You can’t have a full win when Vandy makes you nervous up until the end.

1. There were some stupid calls. The phantom hand to the facemask call was ridiculous but ya know what? This was Vandy. Even though Georgia was the visiting team, it was clear that the Dawg fans vastly outnumbered Vanderbilt’s.. That oughta tell you something, but somehow Vandy hung around like hair in a biscuit as Matt Hodges would say and that was nothing short of ridamndiculous.  It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog. Greyson Lambert, Virginia transfer, I’m a need you to amp up ya greatness ya hear?

40 things I've learned in 40 years

"Life really does begin at 40. Everything up until then is just research." -Carl Jung

On the Eve of my 40th birthday, I decided maybe it's a good time to write again. I haven't blogged since December of last year. Life has a way of hitting fast forward and you feel like you're a passenger on a train rather than driving the train. I remember in Coal Miner's Daughter Loretta Lynn's famous line "I feel like my life is running me." Sometimes I do feel that way. We all get overwhelmed and have crazy time periods in our lives.  Some major changes have been underway in the House of Bennett. The girls are back in public school and very happy. We just needed an academic change. I am happier. They are happier. Win win.  Ali has been super busy with her 4H madness and is eager to start high school at JCHS where Pete teaches. Addie is just Addie. Quirky, nutty, silly, and just full of life. She loved her teachers this year and she tested into the Gifted program. Her tender heart and her ability to think just a little differently makes me smile. I'm very proud of both of them. Ali needs some extra help in math this summer in order to prepare for Coordinate Algebra next year in public school but I am SO super proud of her reading level. WAY above grade level. The older she gets the more she takes after her daddy. An avid reader, a low tolerance for bullshit, a very keen eye for superficiality. It's hard to tell who Addie takes after until she opens her mouth and her smartassery comes out. She's mine without a doubt. 

So 40 things I've learned in 40 years...

1. I have found the older I get, the less tolerance I have for obvious stupidity. Like calling Miracle Whip mayonnaise. Stop. That's an insult to jars of  mayonnaise everywhere and it makes you look like an idiot. At least in the South it does.  

2. I've learned that people change. For good for bad.. for better for worse. People change. I've changed. I don't know if it's God working in your life or it's just that you've lived long enough on the earth to realize that if you don't bend then you're more apt to break and bending is akin to changing. 

3. I've learned that it REALLY doesn't matter what other folks think. Really. It doesn't! Isn't that freeing? It doesn't make two hairs on a rat's hind end what someone thinks about what I do. That's been a long time coming for me but I've arrived at the intersection of "It's my business"  and "Don't care what ya think about it anyway avenue". It's a beautiful destination. Make a map and get there quickly folks. Life's too short to worry about people who look for controversy. Repeat after me "I really don't care". Say it several times. You'll feel better. Make decisions based on what's right for you and your family. If other folks whisper behind your back they're either jealous or they think very little of themselves. That's really about it. 

4. I've learned that some people lack self esteem and when they do, they will tear you down. Don't let them. What they lack in self confidence shouldn't affect yours.

5. I've learned that it is SO SO SO very easy to let your work/family balance get out of whack. I've learned it's easier for this to happen to husbands.  It takes vigilance on my part to make sure I'm doing right by my kids. There are some key phrases that I recognize IMMEDIATELY as a bad sign when I say them. "In a second", "let's do that tomorrow" , "i'm too tired to do that today".. just a few. When I find myself saying those words I stop what I'm doing and do what the kids want to do. I try to anyway. 

6. I've learned that childhood is kinda like a roller coaster but when a child gets to about the 4th grade, it's like the coaster is at the top of a huge hill and all of a sudden everything goes so fast. It seems like yesterday Ali was in elementary school and here she is starting high school. In 4 short years off to college she goes and I swear I still see her at about 8 years old. Sometimes she comes downstairs dressed to go somewhere and I hardly recognize her anymore. It's so exciting and so very heartbreaking at the same time. 

7. You can't increase a kid's vocabulary by copying definitions out of the back of the book. I don't care if you did it in school yourself. It didn't help you either. If you're still making kids do it, for the love of God stop. 

8. If you read, you get smarter. If you don't read, you get dumber. It's well researched. Check it out if you don't believe me. 

9. I've learned that there are precious few things more beautiful to me than Addie singing when she doesn't know i'm listening, Ali dancing a foxtrot, or my husband building something for me with his own hands. 

10. I've learned that the kids don't care if my thighs jiggle. They just want me to swim in the pool with them. 

11. I've learned that not everyone was born a Dawg. It's sad but all we can really do is pray for those people. 

12. I've learned that sometimes folks you call your friends are not and that sometimes you'll be astonished at the kindness of strangers.

13. I've learned that you can be rude, obnoxious, bitter, ugly, foul mouthed, and a general jackass but it doesn't endear you to anyone and studies say you won't live nearly as long. Your choice. 

14. I've learned that if you have at least 2 friends in this world you can call in the middle of the night for any reason and they'll help you, you are blessed beyond measure. I can think of a few in my life. You know who you are and I'm glad you are a part of my life. 

15. I've learned that if you lean over in a kayak to try and retrieve your hat, you're going to flip over.

16. I've learned that if you flip your kayak, everyone will laugh. Even your friends from #14.

17. In fact, I've learned that if your friends don't laugh at you when you flip your kayak, they aren't friends. They are fake. Without a doubt. It's a litmus test for friendship. Try it. Flip your kayak, and if you come to the surface and your friends aren't laughing so hysterically they flip their own kayaks, ditch 'em. Not real friends. It works every time. 

18. I've learned that I am a small town girl at heart but the older I get the more I understand why young people are moving to the city. It's hard to think differently from the crowd and live in a small town. 

19. I've learned that if you accidentally get toothpaste on your flat iron and then iron it into your hair, it may take as many as 3 shampoos to get it out.

20. I've learned that real friends will look out for you and they are particularly good at pointing out when others are taking advantage of you.

21. I've learned that teenagers get really wrapped up in the number of likes they get on facebook or instagram. It's an immaturity thing I know but it gets on my ever lovin' nerves.  Who cares. See #3.

22. I've learned that just because the crowd is doing it doesn't mean it's the right thing, the best thing, or even worth your time and money. 

23. I've learned that you shouldn't plant ornamental sweet potato in the same container as an asiatic lily. The sweet potato vine will take over and choke out the lily. 

24. I've learned that what they say about marrying a man like your daddy is true. If you have a good daddy, then try to marry a man as close to him as possible because every single thing about your husband that is not like your daddy grates on your nerves if you let it. It took me YEARS to tolerate Pete sleeping past sunrise or wearing sweatpants. I still cannot stand either one, but I tolerate it better than I did early on in our marriage. 

25. I have learned that you get out what you put in. In your work, your family relationships, your life in general. Don't think you're going to put crap in and expect to get a rose bush out.  That only works inside a chicken coop or a cow pasture, and it ain't usually a rose bush that sprouts up. 

26. I have learned that it's okay if your kids don't participate in every sport and play every instrument. 

27. I've learned that money in no way equals class or even the least amount of manners.

28. I've learned that it's much harder to raise a thinker than it is an honor roll student and the two aren't always synonymous. 

29. I've learned that a place is truly home when you get REALLY pissed off when folks slight it. I can complain about Burke County. The rest of you punk asses better not. 

30.  I've learned that if you put too much alcohol in a milk jug and light it in the science lab, you could cause a potentially major fire and the ensuing explosion will literally make your Ann Taylor skirt fly up over your head in front of everyone including Jesus Christ who single handedly prevented us all  from becoming toast that fateful day. 

31. I've learned that if you put too much alcohol in a milk jug and light it in the science lab, the result could be a friendship literally forged by fire.

32. I've learned that nobody grills a steak like Al Cooper. Nobody. I haven't eaten a restaurant steak in years. Probably 5 years at least. 

33.  I've learned that scrolling past that ridiculous show you love Jesus post on facebook doesn't really make  you a member of satan's army. I don't think Jesus has time for facebook... what with all the world hunger, oppression, poverty and alabama fans around Jesus is very busy and although He works through His people, I don't think sharing that stupid post on your facebook page is what He had in mind. I could be wrong. 

34.  I've learned that contentment is a wonderful thing and that being happy in your own skin is such a blessing. Happy with your body, happy with your life, happy with your family and all of the little things life has to offer. Happiness is largely a choice. 

35. I've learned that if you start hysterically laughing while paddleboarding you will fall off and your friends from #14 will laugh. 

36. I've learned that a woman needs to know how to put up her own tent. 

37. I've learned you find God in some really unexpected places and that God uses people in all sorts of ways. Spiritual gifts are real folks.  Find yours. Use yours. And I don't mean only at church.  I mean use those gifts for THE LEAST OF THESE.  

38. I've learned that you can't please all the people all the time. The older I get, the fewer people I see fit to please anyway. 

39. I've learned that I earned every single laugh line on my face. I've realized how lucky I am to be able to laugh. I've realized how blessed I am to work with a bunch of fruitloops who laugh way way more than they fuss. 

40. I've learned that 40 really is fabulous and I am one lucky girl. Super supportive family, funny as hell friends, house on a dirt road. Asking for more would be plain greedy. 

The end.  Looking forward to 40 more. 

2014 Is Almost Gone!

 I haven't blogged since Thanksgiving. That's how you know my life is either blissfully wonderful or dreadfully nuts. I only blog when we're in a happy medium somewhere in between.  Thing about it is- I've started realizing almost every situation can be blissfully wonderful if you look at it the right way... now granted it was hard to find "bliss" in a puking carsick chihuahua on the way back from Jesup for the Bennett Thanksgiving, but hey- that's asking a lot. Things like that will make for great stories when the girls bring their own families home for Thanksgiving. Mama, remember when you were driving back from Jesup because Daddy was holding Clara because she was car sick and then he started screaming at you to cross three lanes of traffic in 4 seconds because Clara was making the "puking noise"?   Our life is one nuthouse moment after another. No lie. I could think of a thousand stories my kids will tell at future family dinners. Here are a few that stand out:

1. Mama, remember when daddy drove you, us kids, AND Nanny and Poppy 38 hours in the sleet snow and ice on a ski trip only to be thrown out of the condo because of a "reservation error"? Remember when we decided Aunt Bonnie could no longer be in charge of planning family vacations?

2. Mama, remember when you were pregnant with Addie and we bought a new van and drove Gran and Papa all the way to Fort Campbell to see Uncle David and Aunt Jess for Thanksgiving and daddy crossed 5 lanes of traffic, jumped a curb and slammed on breaks in front of startled onlookers, then jumped out and yelled for EVERYBODY to get out of the car so he could figure out what heating vent was on that Papa KEPT incessantly complaining about for 3 hours?

3. Mama, remember the time it snowed in Vidette and daddy pulled us with a John Deere gator all over the farm in an igloo cooler?  Remember mama, you made us wear our riding helmets because you didn't want us to end up in the hospital or worse, on the news? 

This holiday didn't disappoint. We had our typical nuthouse moments, like when Addie announced to our entire row of Methodists during communion that SHE DID NOT LIKE WINE! What would a holiday be without somebody in this clan raising a few eyebrows?

Truthfully, it's been pretty blissful around here.  Ali Grace looked amazing at her Christmas Social.

And equally as beautiful at her dance company's performance of "Rudolph". We always celebrate with ice cream rather than flowers!

We didn't travel that much over Christmas break. We pretty much stuck around home and it was nice. We needed the break. 

We did venture across the road to the Big House for the Vidette community Christmas party. Girls had a ball with Colten.

Good times with good friends..

Per Lyles family tradition, Pete juiced oranges for the kids. Emma and Sarah were able to join us this year.

Christmas Eve brought "Cooper Stockings" unlike any other. Cooper stockings are always epic, and a true Cooper family tradition.

The whole week before Christmas was cloudy and rainy. Christmas Day and the days to follow were filled with sunshine and we took advantage of it!

Isn't this a gorgeous sunset?

This morning there was an equally stunning sunrise. I hardly EVER sleep past sunrise. In fact most mornings I'm up by 5:00 am. I guess all the holiday madness caught up with me last night and I only woke up when the sun came through our bedroom windows. Pete was still sleeping and if the girls were awake, they were still upstairs. The chihuahuas hadn't yapped yet either and after determining there was no way we could have a carbon monoxide leak, I laid back down in the bed and snuggled under the covers a little longer. There's nothing like morning sun coming through a bedroom window in a warm house to remind you of how grand this life is. Here's to a better attitude of gratitude in 2015. 

It IS what it IS...

1. Mark Richt- I need you to know that good looks can only take you so far. Yes Paul Johnson favors Jabba the Hut and you look like a fresh wave of pure hotness, but apparently that's not enough to win a football game. Get with it. My patience is wearing thin.

2. This was a tough loss. Partly because I hate Tech. I actually don't hate the team, They're not punks like Auburn, but ugh... who chews on a piece of shrubbery even if it is a "hedge". Freakin' idiots. Actually now that I think about it,  I do hate them and they are punks. Their mothers should be horse whipped for not being better mothers. As a side note, Privet ligustrum is mildly toxic to humans. I hope that idiot on the Tech facebook page spends his Sunday on the porcelain throne.

3. I did have a great time in Athens today. The weather was gorgeous and I did some mean tailgating with a great group of Joneses. Y'all are DGDs and I know a DGD when I see one!

4. A nice elderly man asked me when I sat down in the stadium if my husband was a Tech fan. I said excuse me sir, but no he is not and I take offense to the fact that you would think I would marry such and I'll have you know my daddy would have written me right out of the will if I'd brought home a tech fan. His response? "GO DAWGS!" Now granted, my husband might have spent the entire first quarter trying to figure out whether that leaf he found on campus was a shumard oak or a scarlet oak, but he ain't no damn wretched tech fan. 

5. Damian Swann- I apologize for naming my two chihuahuas after you. It was a rash decision after the South Carolina game. That 99 yard run put you back in DGD status with me. We've renamed the pups now. 

6. Hutson Mason- what can I say, man? You're a DGD. I know some Georgia jerks are going to be calling in bashing you but they're knuckleheads and too drunk to remember we fumbled twice on the goal line. Take it in stride young man. 

7. Y'all Southerners know what happens when we see a snowflake fall? Mass chaos ensues. Hysteria begins. We suddenly turn stupid and start running around crazy as a bunch of peach orchard hogs. Why? Because we don't see snow that much and when we  do we don't know how to act. Same with Georgia Tech chewing the shrubbery and doing "turf angels" on the 50 yard line after a win. Why? Because they don't beat the Dawgs that much and when they do, they don't know how to act. I still blame it on poor raising, but I could be wrong. Doubtful though. 

8. I told my sister in law, Beth that I wouldn't put that Georgia Christmas tree up this year if we lost to Tech. I'm putting it up tomorrow afternoon. 

9..  I can't explain what happened today Dawg fans. I really can't. But I know I came home to a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner around a table surrounded by NINE degrees from the University of Georgia. I love the Dawgs. It is in my blood and there ain't a cure for it. I'm thankful for that. The Dawgs make me cuss, scream, holler, and gnash my teeth but isn't that a lot like a family?   Blessed is the girl who loves such a team no matter what. And THAT is all I have to say about that. Go Dawgs.  

This Week's Georgia Football Commentary (With pictures used completely without permission) ;)

1.  I am too old for night games. I just got home this morning from the game. I feel like I've been hit by a truck and I didn’t drink a drop. 

 2. I didn’t get hit by a truck, but on that fake punt, I did get hit in the shoulder by my “friend” to the left of me. That set off a slight domino effect that left a poor lady in the last seat sitting in the stairwell.

3.  I know Todd Gurley is a beast and a half. But Chubb is a workhorse. I PROMISE you I heard Larry Munson’s gravelly voice come from the sky after that run where Chubb bounced off the defender. It sounded something like “he’s driving and running with those big thighs”.  I’ll admit I was a little misty eyed when I looked to the heavens, conveniently located over Sanford Bridge and answered him with “My God, Larry, a Freshman!”

4.   On the first Auburn drive when Auburn seemed to be running at will, I had to invoke a little divine intervention. My LMS Peeps know that when the going gets tough at work, I just close my eyes and say “Fix it, Jesus.”  Y’all look at this picture and tell me Uga isn’t saying “fix it, Jesus”.  Not a doubt in my mind that Uga loves the Lord.

5. David Andrews is my kinda player. If I had to give the game ball to someone other than Chubb, it’d be to that hoss.  After a crucial touchdown, he went nuts on the field. It was much better seeing it on TV. I didn’t get the full effect live. If you didn’t see it, the vine link is  here After watching, refer back to #2. That’s precisely what Beth Haynes was doing to my left shoulder at that very moment.

6.   Did y’all watching it on TV think that Mark Richt just randomly changed his mind on that 4^th down? Maybe it was the booing from the student section you think? Nope. It was Beth coming over the rails and grabbing his headset. That’s how she ended up in the paddywagon.

Don’t fret. Mark let her go after the touchdown. (I’m kidding, Marcelle.) This is not for real.

7.   After this game, I’m even more puzzled as to what melted down at Florida. Florida is the F word in my house, so that’s why I can’t say anything else about it other than it was sweet to see the Ol’ Ball Coach beat the Gators in the Swamp yesterday.

8.  What may have been sweetest of all though, was seeing grass in Nick Marshall’s helmet. He is a punk. I’m not just saying that because he got kicked out of Georgia and landed at Auburn. I mean that’s not exactly rare these days is it? He is a little too big for his britches and it was quite nice to see him shut down and held to 41 yards rushing.

9.  On a more serious note, it’s been some time since I’ve been to a game in Athens. I was really shocked at the trash all over the place. I’d love to think that it was left by pissed off Auburn fans. But I’m sure it wasn’t. I have to wonder if you losers throwing your beer bottles and potato chip bags all over campus actually went to school there. If so, you were undeserving of such an experience and I hope Karma bites you in the butt somehow… by having your kids end up at Auburn or something. Beth and Tim said it looked the same way at Arkansas but that’s different. That is Arkansas. Their mascot is a pig for goodness sake.

 10.   It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog. Even when you are pushing 40 and can barely stand upright the morning after riding home sleeping at a 90 degree angle in the backseat of a chevy truck. Thank goodness next week’s game is a 12 o’clock game or this ol’ Dawg might not make it.

Oh one more thing… shout out to my friend Stacy’s daughter, Raley, who just found out she got into UGA! Best wishes for an incredible 4 years!

A Goat or two or three or five, A Fair, and a Mobile Home

 Since I was Ali's age, we've been going to the Georgia National Fair in Perry. I LOVE a fair in the fall and this year's fair didn't disappoint. We took my parents' motorhome for the first time this year and it was AWESOME. We all get a kick out of Addie Belle referring to the motor home as the "mobile home". But, I guess if you're going to a goat show at the fair, a mobile home is as good as any! I so much enjoyed having a place to go and rest between classes and we grilled out both nights.  My daddy is a heck of a cook and the food and company was fabulous. If you didn't stop by "Camp Cooper" during the fair, you really missed out. You'd feel real stupid knowing you paid 12 bucks for a turkey leg when you could have eaten with Al Cooper for free. Pete was loading up the livestock trailer and wondered why in the world my daddy was carrying so much ice. I had to respond, "Ummmm honey that's not all ice. There's food in all 4 of those super sized coolers."  I'll be running every day next week to work all of it off but man was it all delicious.  Addie took a 4th and an 8th place. I was so proud of her!

Ali Grace didn't have her best show, but she looked beautiful, and that's very important at a goat show!

Colten enjoyed a little mutton bustin'...

The weather cooled down nicely and we had a great time. I can't believe my own children are showing livestock at the fair. I also have several former students who have children now showing livestock. If I wasn't so confident in my youthfulness, I'd feel downright old.

Ali Grace has had a lot of success with the 4H forestry team so far this year. They won first place at the regional competition. They compete again at the Georgia Carolina Fair at the end of the month. We always enjoy that competition because Ali competes against her daddy's FFA Forestry Team. Winner gets bragging rights for a whole year.

She also started Social II back in August. She and her partner, Christopher just looked fabulous at the first lesson! I looked back at last year's pictures and couldn't believe how much both of them had changed since they first began Social I a year ago.  Love that girl to pieces. Not that many middle school kids can Foxtrot!

A couple weeks ago I spent the weekend tent camping with the Teacher of the Gifted and my cousin, Leigh Anne. Leigh Anne and I have known OF each other forever I guess but we've never had a chance to really know each other. Our fathers are first cousins. Well, let me say this- we spent the weekend with the South Carolina Wildlife Federation and paddle boarded, cooked outdoors, canoed, and had a blast. Leigh Anne hiked the entire AT a few years ago and I thought she would have a better plan for getting the dank smell out of my tent than to spray glitter body spray inside it but nope. When I opened the tent box to get some supplies for the motor home this weekend, glitter poofed out everywhere. Good times!

Addie has been burning it up on the Edmund Burke Cross Country team this fall. I am so proud of her I could eat her up. I always tell her I don't care what place she finishes. I am so proud that she gets out there and practices and then competes. The fact that she finishes a mile and a half race over the river and through the woods is really something to be proud of. I am amazed at how well she and the other elementary team runners have done! In the most recent race at George L Smith, Addie's friend Sidney was running close to her in the race. Addie said she heard Sidney fall and looked back. It looked like a bad fall so she stopped and helped Sidney up. Addie and Sidney finished the race a second apart. They got ribbons for 9th and 10th place out of 25 or so elementary runners. I could not be more proud of Addie if she broke a world record. In this rotten world, if you can raise kindhearted children who care about their friends, you've really done something. Jacqueline Kennedy is credited with saying "If your children don't turn out well, nothing else really matters."  Indeed.

Though she be but little, she is FIERCE! -Shakespeare

Other than that, we've been enjoying football season, small town livin', and just life in general. Anyone as happy as I am about the cooler weather??