Where The Wild Things Are

Dear y'all,

As most of you are probably aware by now, the movie "Where The Wild Things Are" is out at the theaters, and doing great, I might add!

When I first saw the previews, I was all excited because I'd read that book MANY, MANY times during my childhood. As a matter of fact, over the years, I've pulled it out of storage and read it just because it was such a magical story. So, naturally, once I found out there was a movie coming out, I immediately knew that I had to find my childhood book and read it.

See, when I was just learning to read, Mama got me in to a book club so that I could read all about fantasy lands and princesses and wonderful creatures and Aesop's Fables and curious monkey's and elephant's named Babar and all that fun stuff. But, "Where The Wild Things Are" was just the best.

(Side note: When I saw the previews, I was all "Oh my God, I loved that book when I was little! I'm surprised they made a movie out of it because I didn't think many people had even heard of that book", and my friend was all "Are you serious?", and I'm all "Yeah!", and he's all "Tammy, every freakin' body read that book when they were little", and I was "Get Out!". I seriously did not know that it was such a popular book. I swear to God, I didn't. I have no clue how that little fact got past me.)

Well, this past Sunday, while at my parents house, I started tearing through all of Mama's "store stuff" places in the house, looking for "Where The Wild Things Are" because I wanted to read it to my niece, Zhen, along with some other of my childhood books. I could still see, very clearly, what the cover of that little hardback looked like:



Of course, you know me and my luck, I couldn't find it. I have a sneaky suspicion that I took the book years ago and have subsequently lost it during cross-country moves, or something like that. I was terribly upset... as was Mama because I had completely destroyed two bedrooms and a suitcase looking for it. Yes, I said suitcase. She has some of those many books stored in an old suitcase that is never used except to store things like that under the bed. (Hey, don't knock it - it works. It's perfect for under-the-bed storage because you can just grab the handle and pull and voilà - there it is.)

Anyway, as I said, I couldn't find the book but we're hoping it's still somewhere in the house or storage building. Time will tell. In the meantime, I did come across some of my other favorites from my childhood that I was able to read to Zhen and she just adored them!


("The Cookie Tree")



("Miss Suzy" and "It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown")



("How Fletcher Was Hatched" and "The Terrible Thing That Happened at Our House")


But one of my most awesome ones was this one, that I didn't read to Zhen, but if she ever becomes one, I'm totally gonna compare hers to the old one I had from about 35-ish years ago:



MY BROWNIE BOOK!!!

Oh, I so loved being a Brownie and I read this book all the time! Although I never made it to being a Girl Scout (by then my tomboy-ish-ness had kicked in), I did get to sell the Girl Scout cookies and my Daddy couldn't have been happier because, to this day, he totally has a love affair with Thin Mints.

Hope y'all enjoy "Where The Wild Things Are" and it takes you to that wonderful time in your childhood when everything was just magical!

Sparkles 'n kisses!!!

Love,
Tammy

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Memory Lane

The last few days, I've been thinking about someone who was very special to me many years ago. I've thought of him, occasionally, over the years... wondering how he's doing in life and if he has found happiness. The last I heard, he was married and living a happy life.

Time marches on. It doesn't seem like it was that many years ago that I was head over heels in love with him. I remember our time together (20+ years ago) as if it were yesterday. I remember how much we loved each other. The way he would stare seemingly in to my soul, just before we kissed, and oh how it sent shivers up my spine when he looked at me that way. The way he made me laugh. I thought we'd be together forever. God, how I loved him. It was deeply intense.

But, one disasterous event tore our relationship apart. And after that, it was never the same between us. We tried, but we just could not get past it. It is an event that he and I alone share, and one that will remain with the both of us forever.

We stayed in touch periodically for several years after we broke up. As it happens in life, we eventually lost touch. The last time I ever heard from him, he'd just returned from Desert Storm (Oh, he was one damn handsome Marine). He called to say he'd made it back to the States and was driving from California to Georgia. I'd sent him a couple of care packages, and we corresponded some, while he was deployed. Although our time together was over, and we were just friends at that point, I thought of him often, and hoped he would return home safe to his family.

During the time we were keeping in touch, while he was deployed, I asked him to be safe and think of me before he left out for the desert. The result of that statement was a poem from him that I unexpectedly received in the mail. I have kept that poem all these years, and I still remember almost all of the words to it.

I've never shared it with anyone.... ever. Not another soul has read it.

I can still see the paper it's written on, his handwriting. Neatly folded up in the original envelope it arrived in. It lived in my purse for probably 10 years, until it began to wear out. The creases tattered from opening/folding it for so many years. I packed it away for safe keeping when I moved back to Georgia, and now I can't find it -- and I'm amazed at how upset I am at this very moment that I cannot find my poem. Amazed at how something so small can make such an impact on someone's life, memories. My house is now a disaster area. I have torn through the "memories" boxes, the "important paperwork" boxes, and even the "junk drawer" that everyone has in their kitchen. And I cannot find it. And I know it's here. I'll find it.

Perhaps I will share it with you then. Perhaps not.

Until then, I want you all to remember something: Keep all your memories close to your heart. When it's over, of course you want to forget him. But don't. And don't forget the memories. Because many years from now, you'll look back at that letter, or poem, or picture, and remember the sweet, tender, touching moments that you shared together. And it will make you smile.