Everything's Bigger in Texas

Lexie, Baylie, Teryn and Mamaw

When I first moved to Texas, I was surprised at how much advertising uses phrases like "as big as Texas," "as strong as Texas," "as wide as Texas," "as strong as a Texan needs it to be," etc. David, having been born and raised in Texas never even noticed this until I pointed it out to him. Texas is a unique place. I loved living there and I love going back. I miss it a lot. Unfortunately, everything's bigger in Texas, including my appetite, sigh.

We spent the long weekend with Mamaw, David's grandmother, in Dallas. She is a classy lady. I really enjoy being around her. She is a true southern belle with a soft accent and gentle manners. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She has been undergoing chemotherapy for several months. Ironically enough, her only sibling was also diagnosed with cancer - but a different kind. The two of them are the best of friends and do everything together. Now they are even battling cancer together. All I can say is "cancer sucks." I was relieved to see both of them looking as beautiful as ever (they really are striking women). They have such great faith and optimism. They are inspiring to be around.

I wish I had been able to spend more time around David's grandfather. He died the year after David and I were married and I only got to meet him once. It seems that David's character is very much like his grandfather's.

I know a lot about my ancestors. I was raised surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles and my grandparents. David doesn't know as much about his side of the family and I have sort of developed a passion to find out as much as I can about them. Mamaw gave us some pictures of David's great grandparents as well as a towel that his great grandfather used when he was a barber. It has his name embroidered on it. These things are treasures to me.

I wonder if Baylie will be satisfied to just have our family history be her family history. I wonder if she'll want to explore her biological family history. I wish I knew more about them. Hopefully it's something we can explore together. My primary concern is that she not feel anything is missing in her life. I want her to feel complete. For me, I wouldn't be able to feel that way without this knowledge I have of my extended family. For David, it's not as big of a deal. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how Baylie feels about it.