I personally don’t care for this program. Sure, it saves me the time of opening FF, logging in to my admin section, clicking on Write-but I’m so used to this method. I do like the spell check feature, although I have a plugin for my WP installation, it’s a little buggy at times. I’ll test this a little more and then I’ll recommend it-or not.

I missed posting a BYB post last Sunday, only because I completely forgot. The idea for a post came yesterday, as I was driving to my mom’s house. Looking at the color of the leaves, feeling the crispness in the air, reminded me of being a child.

Memories of childhood. When I didn’t have a care in the world other than homework and friends. Waking up at 6am to get ready for school and walking down a long drive to wait for the bus. The Fall of the year. Crisp, dry mornings, the smell of a coming Winter, the virtual silence. Some think of Fall as the dead season, I see it as a time to rest, to reflect. As a kid, Fall meant school, approaching holidays, Homecoming and football. Then, the season turned into a tragedy. My father passed away October 12, 1988.

Having such a wonderful childhood, now seems like a lifetime ago. After the horrible day in ‘88 my life changed. I no longer viewed the world through the eyes of a child, but, through the eyes of a child who had to grow up overnight. This is difficult to explain and unless one has experienced the same, understanding isn’t easy. The days of no care turned into days of wondering if my mom was okay, if she was paying bills and coming home from school to a house to clean and dinner to cook. But, and there is always a “but”-I am thankful. Why? Although at the time I didn’t realize, going through something so traumatic helped shape me into a strong woman. I’ve weathered more than some do in a lifetime. And survived. How is tragedy turned into a blessing? I’m blessed to have a mother who taught me being a woman didn’t mean weakness-it meant standing on your own two feet and taking whatever life brought. She showed me how a woman doesn’t need a man to survive. Some women believe having a man is the only way she can make it through life. I’ve found this isn’t the case at all. Sure, companionship is one thing, but I’ll be damned if I ever rely on a man for stability. Thank you- to my mother, for being a strong woman and teaching me in the process.

I couldn’t resist. I have a post coming up this evening about what I’m calling, “The Redneck Jamboree,” but I must do my list of household chores and take yet another trip into Redneck Land. Wish me luck.