The new school "color".jpg)
Amanda and Mom
Amanda and Me - I don't think we look anything alike
It's absolutely beautiful outside today! Sunny and 78 degrees with a slight breeze. We have the windows open -- you can't beat fresh air and sunshine.
So last Monday I came down with a cold, which was the worst timing because work was awfully busy. I felt terrible, but kept dragging myself to the office to take care of business. Sean was in Dallas training for the week, so my whole routine was out of whack. I was a mess, to say the least - trouble sleeping, lonliness...and then there was all the sneezing, coughing, headache, sore throat. I took a sick day on Wednesday, and by the end of the week I was feeling much better. Still have a cough and maybe mild brochitis, but the benefit to this is having the sexy, raspy Tara Reid voice.
Friday night I met up with mom, Jimmy and Amanda for the Franklin High Homecoming game. I've only been to one homecoming since I graduated 7 years ago. Ok, maybe two. But my, how things change so quickly...Last year they demolished my old school (the one my parents went to as well) and build a brand new one from the ground up, so it's completely different. I still get all proud and nostalgic when I visit, but nothing really looks the same. One thing that struck me was the amount of camoflage everyone was sporting. The Franklin Rebels' colors are Maroon (pronounced m'roon) and White. But I guess when your mascot is a Civil War soldier with a Rebel flag, you feel compelled to let your inner red neck shine through. Somewhere along the line, these kids decided to buy up all the camoflage in Franklin and wear it to the games. I even saw parents doing the same. As weird as it was to see this new school "color" (pattern, maybe?), I rather enjoyed it, and was a bit jealous that my generation can't take credit for this new trend.
It was Amanda's last night in town as she's now on her way to Austraila for a semester abroad. We had a great time meeting up with more family and old friends...and of course gossiping about everyone who passed by the stands. Mom's the attendance lady (has been since I was in school), and Jimmy who has lived in Franklin his entire of life (67 years now), is the girls soccer coach. Between the two of them they know just about everyone in town. As the homecoming attendants were being presented on the field before the game, mom gave us the low down on each of them. She'd say, "See that girl down thar in the blue? Well. I'll tell you what...she's sweet, but she shawr does dress awful skanky. She's up in the office almost every week for that belly button ring hangin' out."
Speaking of gossip, Sean and I spent yesterday in Kentucky for a family reunion. Mind you, this is my other side of the family...my father's side. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to share...
Just last year I was a Hargis, but in some ways it seems like a lifetime ago. I thought chaning my name after marriage would be difficult, but it really wasn't. I mean, it took a little while for me adjust. I'd just flat out forget that my name was different. Even after a few months, I'd occasionally attempt to log into Windows using my old name. I'd be cussing that computer, "Why won't this thing work?! That is my password FOR SURE!!!" Or I'd be in a metting and someone would say, "Mrs. Carroll?" I'd be looking around the room thinking, "Why doesn't someone answer?" Yesterday, I enjoyed being a Hargis again.
The reason we went up was to celebrate Mary Dunnaway's 87th Birthday. Mary is my great grandfather's youngest sister. She was born Mary Hargis in 1920 on a farm outside Murray, KY. A lot of the family still lives around there today, and Murray is where we visited a few times when I was younger. Unfortunately, we didn't keep in touch with them, and I never really got to know that side of the family. Meeting Mary was very special for me. First of all, she's still got a sharp mind and seems to be in good shape. Mary was the life of the party, hilarious, and feisty. In several of her old picutres, she was making goofy faces or wearing a costume. I also got to see pictures of her family growing up which included some of my great grandfather Frank.
As I said, I never really knew my great grandfather. I met him a few times when I was younger, but at that age ,I didn't take the time to talk to him or ask stories about his life. His birth name was Richard Franklin Hargis, and yesterday was the first time I found out he went by the name Frank. He was always just "Grandaddy" to us. My dad is named after him, Richard Franklin Hargis II, and goes by Rick (or Ricky to family members). My brother is Richard Franklin Hargis III, and goes by Trey. Aunt Mary got to meet Trey for the first time, and I think she was blown away that he's carrying on the name. She told us that Frank was her favorite brother. When Frank got married, Mary was only 5 years old and she said, "I thought Frank wasn't going to love me anymore." I later found out that Frank took a job in Michigan to help support their family. Mary said, "If Frank hadn't done that, I don't know what would have happened to us..." She showed me a picture of all of them, her parents and the seven Hargis siblings. In it was my great great grandfather Samuel Lionel "SL" Hargis and his wife (whose name I can't recall right now). Anyhow, it was haunting to look at all of their faces. I was thinking "Wow...these are my roots. I came from them." There were 4 generations of Hargis' together yesterday. Out of all of us, my brother is the only one who will be able to carry on the name.
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