The Lalis

Okay, I mentioned last time that I was getting excited about getting together with The Lalis. We have planned a reunion for the week-end of Feb. 22-24 in Madison at a friend's boat house on Lake Caroline. For some reason southern women tend to hang on to their friends and form lasting rellationships. I can't say that I still have close ties to my high school friends, but I have a bond with four different sets of friends that go back to my college years and extend to the last ten years. I firmly believe we make close friends because we each fill a spot in the other that brings us comfort, validation and love. That's what The Lalis do for me.

Celebrating Barb's daughter's marriage

We are a group of six women who worked together from 15 to 25 years in the department of Language and Literature at Mississippi Delta Community College. We named ourselves The Ladies of Language and Literature, The Lalis for short. I guess you could say we are the English equivalent of the YaYa Sisterhood or Idgie and Ruth in Fried Green Tomatoes. We have been through raising children together, suffering deaths of parents together, surviving divorces together, celebrating graduation and marriages of children together, becoming grandparents together, and overcoming professional upheavals together, all the while trying our best to impart a love of writing, language and literature to students who for the most part we forced to learn in spite of themselves. We have all since retired from the department, and our paths have widened some, but we are still as close as if we were just down the hall from each other.

At a bed and breakfast in St. Francisville, Louisiana, before we head out on a day trip

Who are these ladies? Sandra is a life long resident of Moorhead and was the head of our department. She was and still is our leader, our mentor, our boss, our guide. Our respect for her was/is unparalled. Mac, a.k.a. Barb, is our New Orleans native who is probably the deepest thinker of us all and the only one who can say, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" better than anyone I know. Ellen is our world traveler, celebrity magnet and language expert who is always up for an adventure, as evidenced by our retirement adventure in her honor. Karen is a fellow high school friend and lifeguard and swimming instructor who ventured back into my life around 1979. She has such a soft heart and an act of violence is the most foreign concept to her. Daphney has a sense of flair for the unusual and an understanding of literature few are able to match. As for me, I am told that I am the most anal retentive of the group, whatever that means!

Our vow was to never let our friendship die. As result, we get together every 3 to 4 months to share what is going on in our lives and to plan a trip of some kind for the next get together. Our travel lust was formed in the years that we traveled to TYCA-SE (a professional group for English teachers) around the south. We have walked the tree-lined streets of Savannah together, toured the Dali museum in St. Petersburg together, eaten ribs at the Rendezvous in Memphis together, traveled the back country of Louisiana and ventured around the streets of post Katrina New Orleans together, and yes, even canoed down the Mississippi River together. We have dissected just about every topic there is to discuss, and sometimes the discussion can get fairly heated, for even though we are the best of friends, I don't know of any six people who could have such diverse opinions on every topic and be willing to express those opinions and still remain close friends.

It is our tradition that when one of us retires, we get to choose how the group will celebrate the retirement. With our first retirement of Mac, we had a party, and I must say it was a fun party with our husbands in attendance. We had great food and a great roast of Mac. We then stepped it up a bit for Karen and Sandra by going to New Orleans and wandering around the town and treating ourselves to wonderful food and wine. Then came Ellen's retirement. Remember that I said she is always up for an adventure. That is an understatement. Her choice for her reitrement celebration was to canoe down the Mississippi River. It was the most fun we have ever had together, even though my and Sandra's husbands threatened to divorce us for endangering our lives on such a dangerous trip. We did not tell Ellen that until the trip was over. For my retirement, we were a bit less adventurous. I had always said we would go to Graceland--I have never been and it is my opinion that no self-respecting southerner should be able admit that--and stay at the Peabody. The Peabody proved to be a bit expensive for us for the entire week-end, and I just don't think their hearts were into all things Elvis. So we did the next best thing, found a good place to eat. I chose Emril's new place on the Gulf Coast. The meal was wonderful and as Ellen always does, she found a connection, this time to the waiter; he was from Boston, her home.

Adventure: Canoeing Down the Mississippi River

Starting at the Quapaw Canoe Company in Clarksdale, MS

Paddling down the river with our guide

The Mississipp River stretches out before us.

We make it to the end of our journey at Fariar's Point. John Rusky. June Bug, D.K., Daphney, Karen. Sandra, Barb, and Ellen

So now you can see why I am so excited about seeing the other Lalis. I think we will be planning a retirement adventure for Daphney. She has hinted that this may be her last year to teach. There is no telling what she will want to do. DK

Sustaining Water

If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. John 4: 10 (NIV)

Okay, I am going to take some time away from family to share one of the most incredible evenings in my study of God's word. Our Esther group at church is involved in a Beth Moore study entitled Breaking Free . This study has been a very enlightening study as far as having us search within ourselves to find and examine those aspects in our lives that keep us from having a life sustaining relationship with God. The study for the night was based on John 4: 1-42 better known as the story of The Woman at the Well. It is the familiar story of Jesus' encounter with a woman of ill repute who had been married five times and who was living with a sixth man. The story ends with her declaring Jesus to be the Messiah in words of which she may not have realized were significant.

Although not new but needed repeated, three points were etched into my brain, more importantly my heart. As with the woman at the well, we have sins that we hide and that have brought us shame, and because of the guilt they bring, there is an abyss (Moore's term) that keeps us from God. It is into this separation that Satan inserts himself and begins to work to destroy our relationship with God. We need to remember God already knows the sin and is more than willing to forgive us if we only ask.

Also the woman told the people of the town, "He told me everything I ever did" 4:39 (NIV). On the surface these words appear to be a statement from the woman as to what Jesus had told her about her sinful self. Yet, in her words she was admitting openly she was sinful and Jesus knew it. Amazingly, these words tell us that Christ confronts our sin, all the while allowing us to keep our dignity. Consequently, if the guilt we feel over our sin continues to separate from God, it is our unbelief that separates us, not the judgement of God. He has forgiven us; we need to forgive ourselves.

Finally, in light of the scripture above, there is a word that continually keeps us from experiencing all God has in store for us, IF. How many times have we said, "IF"-- "If I had more time", "If I had more money ", "If I had gotten up earlier", etc. Jesus told the woman if she had only known the gift of God and to whom she was talking she would not have hesitated to give him a drink and she would have known he could have given her more that just a drink of water; he could have given her living water. Unlike the woman, thankfully, I know the gift of God and I know who it is who asks of me on a daily basis. Now, I need only remember He continually offers me living water, the only water that can sustain me.

Each night after we have watched the lesson video, we sit in silence and marvel at the profound wisdom Beth Moore offers. It is my prayer that you are experiencing God's sustaining water.

As I said when I started this blog, my life is fairly routine. I don't even have a picture to offer this time. I do have two events to look forward to and hope to share with you soon: a Lalis get together the end of February and a trip to Italy over Spring Break. Then as the Spirit moves, I will share God's amazing love as revealed through the Beth Moore study and Explorers' Bible Study. Oh, did I mention that we listen to Dr. David Jeremiah in Sunday School?

Well, before making this post, I checked Laura's blog to see if there was anything new in her life these last couple of days that she had not told be about on the phone. It looks like we are in the same place of being struck by God's awesome love. Like mother, like daughter. DK

We Survived!! Christmas 2007

Well, we survived Christmas. I know that sounds awful to say, but by the end of Christmas Day and New Year's Day, I usually feel like I have been run over by a truck. This Christmas was one of the best for me. Could it have something to do with having grandchildren?? I shopped on-line with a vengeance. The UPS delivery man and I met several times in the days leading up to Christmas. We spent the holiday at Chase and Laura's, along with my mama and daddy. William got into the presents and Santa Claus and baby Jesus' birthday. Wes was as mellow as always. We spent New Years with our friends the Turners and the Dickersons, eating and watching football and catching up on family news. The diet starts tomorrow. I have included some pictures from Christmas eve and day. HAPPY NEW YEAR! DK

Putting out reindeer food and cookies and milk for Santa

Posing in our Christmas jammies

Look what Santa brought us!!

Delivering presents like Santa

How does this look, Coach Croom?!!!!!!! Future Bulldog??

Family pic Christmas '07 and 3 generations (Baria, Jaudon, Taylor)

2007 in Review

For what it is worth, my observation is that blogs will soon take over as the annual Christmas letter. So, here is a quick review of the Barias in 2007.

We can't complain. Life has been good and the blessings have been many. Work has taken up most of our lives, with golf and tennis for Lance and yard work and visiting the kids for me. My big news is that I retired from Mississippi Delta after 25 years.* Two years ago I left the classroom and went to work in the library. I now work only two days a week in the library. The first semester has passed quickly, and I am not sure where the time has gone. My house is as clean as it is going to get, and I don't see a lot of constructive accomplishments so I am praying to find some purpose in my retirement. I have helped out with the Sunflower County elections and have enjoyed meeting and getting to know some new people. It is nice also to be able to go to Tupelo on a whim and see Laura and Chase and the boys. As for Lance, the answer to everyone who calls and wants to know if he is at home is, "Is the sun shining?" If the answer is yes, then they know he is on the golf course. I'm not sure how long he is going to last getting up in the mornings and leaving me in the bed as he leaves for work at 6:30 a.m. He has close to 30 years in the retirement system. When he does retire, my question will be, "Can a man play golf everyday? Lance's answer will be, "Sure he can!"

Chase and Laura are doing well and have been living in Tupelo for a year and a half. Grandson #2, Wesley Lance Henson, was born on May 11. At first we thought we had a clone of William, but Wes has developed his own personality, and even though it is obvious he and William are brothers, Wes does have his own features that set him apart. It was rough going at the beginning for Mama Laura, but fairly soon she got Wes whipped into shape and on a schedule. I'm not sure how she does it all. I know I am worn out after keeping the boys for a week-end and that is with Lance's help! William started to preschool in the fall, going two days a week in the morning. Chase stays busy at the hospital. They are both happy MSU fans since the football season was good.

My parents are doing fairly well. Daddy is having some problems with his eyesight because of macular degeneration. Wow! He will be 80 on January 25. Lance's mom is still at the veterans nursing home in Jackson and hospice staff visits her every other day. She doesn't know us and has given us several scares but is still fighting to live. She is 84. We had a Baria/Makamson get together in October and and among the pictures we took there is one of Mary's 8 great grandchildren.

*Note on retirement. My Lali friends took me to the gulf coast for a retirement week-end. I had not been to the coast since Katrina, and the amount of devastation was amazing. The highlight was getting to eat at Emeril's new restaurant in Gulfport. The meal was delicious. If you can't figure it out, I am the one with the tiara! Sometime soon, I will enlighten readers about the Lalis and our adventures.

To you all, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas and wish you a prosperous 2008! DK

Thanksgiving Break

Well, I'm sure everyone ate too much, but hopefully you got some rest, too, over the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanks to all who made comments to my first posting. I was quite excited to find 9 posts when I haven't even informed anyone yet about setting up a blog. Thanks, Laura, for the marketing!

We had a fairly quiet holiday. I think this is the first time in 20 years that I have not cooked Thanksgiving lunch. I felt a bit guilty for not cooking and going to the county club to eat lunch with Lance and my parents. However, by the time the meal was completed, I'm not sure where the guilt had gone, there was no mess to clean up, and the leftovers are not riding around on my hips.

More interesting and special was the baptism of Wesley Lance, grandson #2. Chase and Laura had Wes baptized this past Sunday, a miserable, rainy, cold day, but nothing could dampen the spirits of his maternal great grandparents, both sets of grandparents, grand godparents and a might-as-well-be brother, 2 aunts, 2 cousins, a long-time friend, and, most importantly, his brother William. Wes is well on the way on his spiritual journey with the love and blessings of all. We all enjoyed lunch together after the service. Next, we all headed home for peace and quiet!! I have added a picture of Chase and Laura and the boys. I hope you can see the detail on the beautiful christening gown his grandmother Honey made for the family baptisms. DK

Getting Started

Hello. There is an old saying that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but this old dog is going to try. I have enjoyed reading the blogs of Laura's friends and keeping up with the goings on in their lives, so I thought I would start one for our friends and family to check in and see what is going on with us. Now, I am trying to figure out what I am going to post since our lives are fairly routine, except for the occasional trip to Tupelo to see the grandkids. Hopefully our friends will log on, see what is happening, and maybe even make a comment. DK