Enjoy them while you can

In the Tree House: Enjoy Them While you Can

By: Samantha S. Daviss

This past week has been extremely trying on our family, but I must say we have pulled together and battled through all the difficulties that we have endured.

My sweet, sweet mother in law, whom I adore, suffered a massive heart attack; but she is doing better, and her spirits are high and hopeful. But through all this, if I haven’t taken anything from it, I have certainly taken away the fact that you need to enjoy your loved ones while you have them in your life.

My husband has always been extremely close to his mom, which is one of the things that I love the most about him; which made it all the more easy for me to love her as well. Even when my husband and I were just dating, his mom immediately loved me, accepted me into the family with open arms, and has treated me like a daughter from day one. She and I have a very healthy, strong, and open relationship.

There was no judgment, no questions, just the fact that if her son loved me, she loved me. And the feeling is mutual, I feel extremely blessed and fortunate to have a mother I love immensely and a mother in law that I adore, so you could say I am double blessed.

But as I mentioned she is doing well and her spirits are high and hopeful, mainly due to the support and love she is receiving from all of her friends and family. Which got me thinking, why do we always go out of our way to visit someone while they are in the hospital, or sick, or even come to their funeral? Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we shouldn’t visit someone while they are in the hospital, sick or honor their life at their funeral; but what I am saying, is that we all seem to get so busy in life, that we forget to visit those people that are important to us, that we may not see on a daily basis, to just stop by for a quick visit to see how things are going in their life, or give them a quick ring on the phone.

The visitors, cards, and flowers are all so wonderful to someone who is sick or ailing in the hospital, because it lets them know that you are thinking of them. That support, I think, is so important not only to their emotions, but to their spirits and recovery as well. However, I think we should all take the time to let the people we love the most in this world know that we love them and care for them on a daily basis.

Don’t let another moment slip by without picking up the phone to that college friend you haven’t spoken to in months, and just let them know you care and are thinking about them. Because my theory is, is if the next time you see them is at their funeral, they won’t know you were there.

I’ve always told my husband, that at my funeral, I don’t want any sadness, I want a party! Why would I want all my loved ones moping around in all black and crying? I want everyone to have a party…wear red, wear jeans, just be comfortable, be happy that I had a wonderful life filled with great friends, family, an incredible husband and three perfect kids. Have some champagne, have some cake, don’t be burdened with the fact that I am gone, be happy that I was here. But that is just my philosophy on my life.

I am not trying to sound morbid at all, I am just trying to remind all of us that the past is the past, the future is unknown, but the present is a gift in the here and now; so why not enjoy and cherish those we love the most, now?

So when you have a loved one that is ill, continue to check on them, visit them and send your love and concern…but also remember to enjoy them and tell them so, while they are happy and healthy too.

Small Town Normalities

In the Tree House: Small Town Normalities

By: Samantha Stroube Daviss

My primary job as a real estate appraiser definitely takes me out of my comfort zone; I have been places, seen things, and encountered happenings that I wouldn’t normally encounter on an everyday basis. But this week being out on an appraisal with my dad, something happened, that made me giggle, and be so appreciative of living in a small town and being a native Texan.

This column is just meant for a quick giggle and to see if you know what I am talking about, and how many of these you can relate to, personally.

You can take a person out of a small Texas town, but you can’t take the small town out of a person…

You know you are form a small Texas town if…

15) When you see the football stadium lights, reminds you that it is Friday night;

14) You are introduced to a stranger as who your “kin folk” are, and what “they did” for a living;

13) You aren’t introduced by your name (or if you are a female, by your married name) you are introduced as someone’s grandchild or great grandchild (and by your maiden name, not your married name);

12) Directions are given by turning or stopping at landmarks that existed some 30 odd years ago at that particular spot;

11) When you see a tractor rolling down a major highway, as a mode of transportation and it’s not considered odd;

10) When the shoulder of a road is considered (or treated as) a “passing lane”;

9) Your dream car is a loaded SUV or pickup truck;

8) Boones Farm and Box Wine is your drink of choice;

7) Everyone gets excited about a new drive thru restaurant or the talk of a new Super Store coming to your town;

6) Seeing a sign on the side of a major highway leading out of town warning you that the horses are tethered with a sign that reads “Ponies aren’t lose”;

5) You wave to a total stranger on a back farm to market road and not even think twice about waving;

4) The first date you had (with your future husband) was a balancing contest on the rails of a railroad track off some forgotten road;

3) When you tell someone you will meet them at “The Y”, and you don’t mean the YMCA, you mean an actual “Y” in the dirt road;

2) If your country club has a little more “country” and a little less “club”;

And the #1 reason that lets you know you are from a small Texas town, love it, and wouldn’t trade it for the world or another lifestyle is…

1)When you are out on a back farm to market road, cattle are loose, so you call 9-1-1 to report it and the operator doesn’t hesitate to answer your request.

Everyone comes from different walks of life…and lives in different places. But it’s what you make of it and how much you enjoy it. Ignore the bad, make the good shine through, and just enjoy what you have been given. Never live your life wondering if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.