I'm Going to Mess with Texas

I know they tell you not to mess with Texas, but I'm going to do it again. Even though last time I tried, Texas kept my hot rollers and I had to wait until my aunt mailed them to me from Houston.

Here is what I love about Texas:

1. Delicious Mexican food.
Burritos that have not been microwaved and salsa recipes that were not created by someone named Chloe or Todd or Mildred.

2. Laid-back style
People don't seem quite as rushed or harried as they do in Virginia. They are mostly just more relaxed and they don't give you dirty looks if you wear flip flops.

3. Unapologetic Patriotism
I love seeing the US and Texan flags flying. When they said, "'Remember the Alamo!" they meant it.

Here is what I do not love about Texas:

1. Freakishly oppressive heat.
It gets hot in Virginia. In June. It gets hot in other places too. But Texas is so hot that it feels like you're trying to breathe through a wet towel in a sauna. This is why I limit my time to the outlet malls. Sometimes I think that even the devil must stay away from Texas because he says to himself, "Nope. It's just too hot."

2. The Frizz
This is related to the freakishly oppressive Texas heat. In all the years we've been travelling to Texas, I don't remember ever being there in March, so maybe this time by hair will be spared.

So...joking aside....

The reason I am going to Texas is because my grandfather (my dad's father, O'pa) passed away in January and the memorial service is this weekend. He was a Colonel in the Air Force, and I guess some paperwork had to be completed before the service could be scheduled for this weekend.

This turned out to be unfortunate because my grandmother (my mom's mother, Nannie) passed away last weekend and her funeral was in North Carolina last Wednesday.

When you are an adult and your grandparents get older (O'pa was 90 and Nannie would have been 101 in May), you prepare yourself for these things and know they are coming.

But it doesn't make saying "good-bye" any easier. Two funerals/memorials two weeks in a row is a lot to deal with emotionally. My family is doing fine, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt to lose two grandparents in so short a time. My girls have been asking all sorts of questions, so it's been a chance for me to talk to them a lot about family, love, God, and heaven...but it isn't easy.

The Weekend Bloggy Reading link party will go up tomorrow morning as scheduled, and I'll schedule a reminder post about linking up on Saturday, but I will probably just have to do one very large Highlighted Links post on Sunday rather than breaking them up into two posts. I need some time away this weekend, and I know you all will understand.

Here's the button code for the party if you want to get a head start! Recipes, crafts, home decor, book reviews, funny stories, you name it. Come prepared to showcase your blog and find some great weekend reads.

<a href=" http://www.serenitynowblog.com/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/Amanda_SerenityNow/Blog%20Party%20Buttons/WeekendBloggyReading.png" border="0" alt="Weekend Bloggy Reading"></a>

Y'all wish me luck. I'll be flying out tonight with my mom and brother, and traveling with my mom sometimes makes me want to lay down in the middle of a crowded freeway and pray for the end to come quickly.