Celebrate!

Today, the mail was worth walking to the mailbox for. Two surprises!

My magic bean from Joyce Sweeney. A very, very special honor. Yes, indeed, I am in good company! Thanks, Joyce, for everything. I will plant my bean on my bookshelf, next to my handmade book made by my friend Leslie, the shell with a Eudora Welty quote beautifully written on it (also from Leslie), and my birthday card with the picture of Elvis's Tupelo house. (No need to say who made that one!)

Here's my bean. Outside enjoying the fresh air and the Black-eyed Susans. Now safely on my collections shelf.




And then, a truly unique, perfect beyond words, congratulatory/ birthday gift from my college friend. I've consulted with Patty-- and a whole bunch of others-- on my story off and on for eight years. I've asked what it was like growing up in North Carolina during the 1960s. I reached out to my friend Beverly about being a true PK in small town Mississippi (that's Preacher's Kid, for the uninitiated). And more emails than they'd care to remember to my sister and brother-in-law about playing football in the South and other questions so arcane that they were un-googleable. Googliable? Unable to google.

So a big thanks to all of you out there at the other end of my questions.

And a huge thanks to Patty for this most appropriate gift. In more ways than are obvious, it made me smile with delight.

Yes, Home is certainly where my story began...