The Indestructible Cat

This is Max, quite possibly the laziest cat you will ever meet. His top priorities have always been eating and sleeping. Max is beginning to show his age. You see I received Max as a birthday present from my friend Jess back in 1995 I believe, making Max a ripe young 14 years old. When you hear people say cats have 9 lives, they aren't kidding...at least not for Max. This cat has been to battle with other local animals, seen the wrong end of my sisters Honda Civic tires, and has mysteriously disappeared several times, only to return with fresh injuries (the last of which nearly did him in). Needless to say, I think Max may be down to his last few lives. But that's ok, now that his hearing is pretty much gone, vision is extremely blurry and his motivation to "frolic" is at an all time low. He is still the cat that my family loves whether they like to admit it or not. When he is meowing at the top of his lungs at 4:00 in the morning or begging you to feed him non-stop all day long we may have a tendency to say, "JEEEZ MAX, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?!" but deep down, we all know our lives would not be the same without sweet little Max!

What's going on?

Ok, so I try to keep most of my blog posts happy, positive and upbeat. No one likes to dwell on the negative, but I want to talk about something that has been weighing extremely heavy on my heart lately.

I'll never forget that Wednesday evening my dad pulled up to my house and didn't get out of the truck. Lucky for him I had seen him coming down the road, so I ran out of the house to say hello. I'd gone home sick from work that day, so I'd been lounging around all day and had a sudden burst of energy. Greeting him with my normal, "What's happening Jeb!" his typical carefree grin wasn't all there as he answered, "well, Adam's missing..."

The back story: Adam's mother, Brenda, and my dad have the same father, making them half brother and sister. They never really grew up together, despite their close ages and location, and this is something that my dad and our family truly regret.

Adam's missing? Where'd he go? I haven't seen him in years, would I even recognize him? These were all the thoughts running through my head. Feeling like I needed to do something to help I buckled in next to my dad and drove around the 7th District looking for Adam and his Black S-10. We never found Adam, but the next day the police did. Adam is no longer with us, after an intentional auto accident. Adam took his own life at only 18 years young. The next week was absolutely heart-breaking to witness. I've never seen my dad so down in the dumps, let alone Brenda and her family. I imagine losing a child is like having part of your own soul ripped out of you, but I'm sure those who have experienced this will tell me it's much worse. Those next few days felt like I was outside of my body just watching the sadness and despair that swept over so many people who knew Adam.

Back to the point of my blog: I want to know when all of this tragedy is going to end. This afternoon, another young teen took his own life in the 7th District. Just over a year ago, a teenage friend of the family took his own life too, again in the 7th District. Are we tainted? What is the deal? I know we aren't the only people to experience this kind of thing, but it's just a bit unsettling. Children today, and yes I still consider teenagers children since in the scheme of things they are still very young, need to talk more. At Adam's funeral, Dr. Morales told all of us in attendance that we need to talk. Why bottle things up inside? Find someone to talk to, I'm begging you! No matter how bad it seems, you have to remember that you are still young and that life goes on. It doesn't stop, it doesn't pause, it doesn't linger...it keeps moving.

Rest In Peace Adam Palmer Burch~You will be missed by so many.

A Toast...

Considering I have a sister who dreams of eloping in Vegas, I have a feeling I won't get the opportunity to give a speech or toast at a wedding. So here's my chance, via my blog:

This past weekend, my best friend got married. So let's raise our (imaginary) glasses and honor Amanda & Charlie!

Amanda and I have known each other pretty much our entire lives; Our mothers played softball together and our dads worked together. Then we continued our friendship into high school where we became nearly inseparable. (Some even accusing us of being attached at the hip) Amanda has always been my strength and my backbone when I wasn't able to speak up for myself. I am not sure where I'd be today without her.

I knew Charlie was the "one" for Amanda when he told me he would travel all across the country with her as long as she was happy and they could be together. I also knew it was meant to be when Amanda called to tell me about the new guy she met and that he was named Charlie. You see, Amanda had a tendency to refer to people as "Charlie" regardless of what their name really was. For example: Amanda: "Oh you know, that guy...I think his name is Charlie." Mindy: "No, Amanda, his name is Mike." Amanda: "Oh, well, whatever, you know what I mean." So now that Amanda has found her REAL Charlie, I know it's meant to be.

I have no doubt that Amanda and Charlie are going to have a life full of many fond and loving moments as they truly complete and compliment each other perfectly. I love you both will all of my heart and wish you all the happiness in the world. Congratulations to two of the best friends a girl could ask for!

It's Official: We're Grown-Ups

Happy Birthday, Ty-Ty!!

Ok, so today is the day...the Morris children are all officially adults. A sad day indeed, but also an exciting one! Today my little, baby brother is turning 21-years-old. I have always been a little over-protective of Tyler (I actually made him a map for his first day of high school of all the fastest routes to get to his classes, terrified he'd get lost or not know where he was going). Anyway, now that he is 21 will I finally stop worrying about him and accept that he can handle things on his own? Probably not, but I have been able to chill out a little bit lately, as I've started to notice that he is growing up, and is a pretty damn good guy. Not only is he one of the most personable people I know (he can talk to anyone, about anything), but he is so smart, smarter than he gives himself credit for. Not many young people know all their stuff about politics and the world, they might say they do, but they don't, not like Tyler anyway. He is the one person I know who is not afraid to voice his opinions and not care what others think of him for it. And that goes beyond politics, he truly is his own person and is ok with that. And because of this I have more respect for him than he'll ever know.

Happy Birthday, Lil Brah! I love you :)

Old Time Summer...or Fall...

(Idea board/what represents an Old Time Summer)

"Old Time Summer" is what my favorite little brother likes to call the time he spends running around the 7th district hanging out on the water, fishing, tubing, maybe even drinking a little...My description, as he will surely tell you, doesn't quite do it justice. However, I'll do my best: It's the feeling you get cruising around the back roads with your windows down and music up; the distinct smell of the "rivah"; the sensation that runs through your body when you look outside and realize the sun is shining, the wind is gently blowing and you just KNOW you're day is going to be filled with smiles, laughter and good friends...OTS.

To me, this past weekend is a pretty great example of an OTS, except it was more like an "Old Time Fall". The first weekend in October is always one of my favorites for two reasons: The Sotterley Wine Festival and the Blessing of the Fleet. The WineFest is somewhat of a tradition for my mom, sister and I, attending every year and drinking our fill of the sweetest wines from each vendor. We then head down to Colton's Point for what I consider the celebration of everything 7th district: The Blessing of the Fleet. With a blessing of the boats, more delicious food than you can imagine (even fried Oreos), bands, magician, craft vendors, artists and boat rides to St. Clements Island, this festival represents what many people down our way hold near and dear to their hearts; Tradition and Heritage. This year was even better than all the years past, since I live only three houses down from the museum, where it's held. The best part? Getting to enjoy the spectacular fireworks display from my front yard with dear friends and family.

(It should be called butterfly island, not St. Clement's Island!)

Summer Close Out

We are in the second day of October, and it's official: Summer is gone. And I am totally ok with that. Fall has a lot to offer and the past few months have treated me well. There were trips, parties, weddings, softball, concerts, the beach and even more parties. Summer 2009 will surely by one to remember.

Up Next: My baby brother is turning 21, my best friends is getting married, holiday functions and my glorious trip to NYC (more about that later!). Many memories to be made, and good times to be had.

A stroll down summer 2009 memory lane: