Hey Y'all! - Good Riddance 2018

As I was driving Mama to the emergency room on New Year’s Eve, I thought, well of course this is what we’re doing today.

Of course it is.

I haven’t written an issue of this newsletter in a long, looooong time because, well, this is my happy thing and 2018 made for times that were anything but happy.

I’ve wanted to tell you some things about last year because I feel like I tell y’all everything. When I write up my recipes, I almost always tell you what was going on in my life that week or what lead up to me cooking a particular dish or what way the wind was blowing or what bizarre thing I saw at Walmart that day.

I talk to y’all about my kids, my husband, my pets, my parents and everything else that’s part of who I am and why I have this blog. And that’s why I’m going to tell you these things now. In this crazy online world, in a weird way, I feel like y’all are part of my life and to not tell you would be like keeping a secret from a good friend.

This won't be like a normal issue of the newsletter. I'm not going to follow any particular format. I just need to tell you about 2018.

So, this is how the year went…

I should have known it was going to be a doozy when in January we paid the last payment on Husband's truck on a Wednesday then the motor blew on Thursday. So we had to go buy a vehicle on Friday (and I was soooooo not planning on having a car payment this year) then on Saturday it was vandalized.

Then our baby girl didn’t make her school softball team the next week and I ugly-cried into a pile of dirty laundry on my bathroom floor because mamas have to keep their stuff together in front of their kids when their little hopes and dreams get crushed.

And then early Spring the dog our children have known their entire lives, our 15-year old golden retriever, our golden boy, the heart of our home, passed away.

And none of that really even mattered. Because then we discovered Mama had a very serious aneurysm in her brain. One so serious, no surgeon here in South Carolina knew how to approach it. They told us there was a 50% chance she would go blind if they operated. If she didn’t have a stroke and die before. Which landed us at the Mayo Clinic to seek treatment. After many appointments and procedures, her very serious surgery was scheduled for July 9, 2018.

On July 3rd, my daddy died. And I'm not going to get into all the details because it's just too painful to talk about. But I want you to know he passed away. Because I’ve talked about him often here and I know many of you feel like you knew him. He was one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. He died too soon. It was not his time. He should have had another 10 years on this earth with the family who loved him so much. He was a good husband and father and he was an even better grandfather. My kids called him Gigga. I think about him every day.

We got through July somehow. We put Daddy to rest July 5th then headed to the Mayo Clinic July 7th. Mama’s surgery was a success and we came home a week later.

The time between then and Thanksgiving is kind of a blur to me. We put a lot of effort into changing up the fall and winter holidays because none of us could imagine our traditions without Daddy. We actually managed to have a good Christmas. Mama spent the night with us and we made a big effort to keep things light and fun. We all had matching Christmas jammies, even the new puppy. We did everything we could think of to make the holidays unlike our old traditions. I don’t know if that’s healthy or not but it worked for us and now we have a bunch of new traditions for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

So, like I said, ending up in the ER on New Year’s Eve should not have come to a surprise to me because of course 2018 was going to kick me in the gut just one last time. Of course it was.

Fortunately, mom’s issue wasn’t serious, and all is well, and I am so happy to put 2018 behind us!

Through it all, though, there have certainly been some blessings too. I know there are millions of people in the world who had a way worse year than we did. I know that. And a lot of good things happened to us too.

Mama came through and is in perfect health. She is like a hurricane. She is steady and fierce and she plows through anything that ever stands in her way. This has been the hardest thing she's ever done, my hurricane of a mama, but she's learning to live without Daddy one day at a time.  This June they would have been married 50 years.

Daddy's death and Mama's illness really opened my eyes to a lot of things. You wouldn't think so when it's all happening but you really take stock of who shows up for you and your family when there is a tragedy. And you really take notice of the ones who don't. My mental Rolodex has a lot of notes in it now.

I learned to lean on Husband in a way I'd never done before and he was all the things I needed him to be and even things I didn't know I needed. He is the best blessing of them all.

Our kids are absolutely wonderful. They are all in perfect health and seem to be some of the happiest, most amazing young people on the planet.

We got a new puppy and he is the bestest doggy who ever lived and he has made me into a complete baby-talking idiot. We are spoiling him rotten and loving every minute of it.

And because this is a recipe blog, I guess I better throw some food around here too! Here are the Top 10 Recipes of 2018:

1. Three Meat Crock Pot Cowboy Beans 
2. Paula Deen's Banana Pudding
3. Egg Roll Stir Fry 
4. Southern-Style Macaroni & Cheese 
5. Pepper Steak 
6. Chocolate Delight 
7. Seafood Salad 
8. Sausage & Rice Casserole
9. Southern-Style Baked Beans 
10. Preacher Cake 

So, here's to 2019! I hope and pray it's better than last year and I think it will be. I feel hopeful about the new year and am excited to see what it will have to offer!

Thank you for being a part of South Your Mouth. I appreciate you all so much and I'm glad you've been on this journey with me over the last eight years!

Love,
Mandy

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