Long Time No Holla, Y'all!

Hi, Everyone! Long time, no holla!

I know, I know—“Natasha, it’s been a minute since your last blog post. Where you’ve been, Girl?”

Well, as you all know, I’ve been nonstop busy, helping my family prepare for our upcoming reunion on August 8-11. Yes, we are about six weeks away from what I know will be a grandtasticalistic time. I think I mentioned that our last family reunion was three years ago, and it fell upon Gramma Jewel and Great Aunt Reesie’s birthday. We haven’t had a family reunion since then, but things have changed.

I don’t know if I mentioned it in a previous blog post, but Cousin Keith was actually the catalyst for our family planning a reunion this year. As you know, he returned home last summer after having spent eight years of serving his country in Afghanistan. Matter of fact, Cousin Keith was the one who suggested that we have a family reunion, and we all just jumped at the idea and got to planning. I know I mentioned that my mom already got the t-shirts made, but I just found out earlier this week that Cousin Keith is gonna test out his DJ skills. He’s even picked out his nickname—DJ Sarge… hahaha!

Well, y’all, I had best get going, but it sure was great to post a blog after all these weeks. I know it feels like months, but the last blog post was only three weeks ago. Yes, I know that three weeks is a long time, but lately I’ve been as busy at home as I have been at Rust. And with the Jones Family Reunion coming up, y’all already know that I’m gonna be some kinda busy.

With that said, I shall close this blog post up, and I’ll holla at y’all later. Take care and be good.


Hugs & Kisses,
Natasha

Reunion with Mrs. Martin

Hi, Everybody!

I’m too excited to give a proper introduction—let’s just get into today’s blog post, shall we?

 

You all can probably guess that I had a great visit today with my former kindergarten teacher Mrs. Ingrid Martin, and I gotta say that I was quite surprised to see that I am at least a quarter of an inch taller than her… hahaha! For the record, she actually pointed that out to me. She gave me a big hug, then she said, “Natasha Stewart, you’ve surpassed me by at least a quarter of an inch.”

 

It’s nice to know that I’m finally taller than someone… hahaha!

Well, in my visit with Mrs. Martin, I got a chance to sit in her classroom throughout the entire day… oh, and incidentally, the staff is all new. My old elementary school has a new principal and a new secretary, so it was questionable if I would even get a chance to so much as speak to Mrs. Martin. Well, imagine my surprise when I stepped on the school grounds, and Mrs. Martin walked right up to me and said, “Little Natasha Stewart—you sure haven’t changed!”

Oh, and I also need to point out that Mrs. Martin is the only original faculty member left. She was entering her twenty-fifth year of teaching when I was in her class, and she is two years shy of her fortieth anniversary. And even more so than that, Mrs. Martin she celebrated her 72^nd Birthday two months ago. I’ll post our picture at a later time, but Mrs. Martin doesn’t look a day over sixty.

I know that I’m all over the place with this blog post, and I do apologize. I guess it’s the nostalgia of meeting Mrs. Martin all over again, not to mention the fact that she remembered me after all this time. Matter of fact, she even introduced me to her class; she said that I was a “very special surprise guest,” and then she had me introduce myself. Perhaps remembering my Fundamentals of Speech class in my freshman year at Rust, I introduced myself to Mrs. Martin’s class, and I let them know that I sat in the very seats in which they were sitting. I also told them that it was because of Mrs. Martin that I am aspiring to be a kindergarten teacher. And then,the cutest thing: A little boy raised his hand, and like any teacher would, I acknowledged him. He stood up and said, “Miss Natasha, will you come see us at our graduation?”

I looked at Mrs. Martin and smiled, then I said: “Young Man, if it’s in The Lord’s plans, then I will do what I can to be at your graduation.”

Incidentally, Mrs. Martin’s class graduates next Friday. I’ll have to see if I can get someone to give me a ride to my old elementary school, because I kinda do want to see them graduate.

I tell y’all—I am thrilled to pieces that I finally got to meet the inspiration behind my decision to teach… oh, and before I forget, I did tell Mrs. Martin that I would be graduating in two years. Just like old times, Mrs. Martin squeezed my cheeks and said, “Little Natasha, I am honored that you would invite me… yes, I read your mind.”

All I’ve got to say is: Wow!


Hugs & Kisses,
Natasha

Back Home Again, And It Feels Damn Good!

Hey, Everybody!

Well, it goes without saying, but I’m back home… hahaha! I actually returned home this past Friday evening, just in time to see my twin cousins Matthew and Trish graduate from college (they graduated from Burns College this past Saturday, and y’all already know that me and my fam represented.

Here’s the tripped-out part about return to Southern Cali: As you know, my finals were this past Friday, the same day that my flight was set to leave for Los Angeles. Well, y’all, I read my ticket wrong—I thought my flight was set to leave at 2pm CST, and immediately after my last final, I was scrambling around like a confused viperwoman (LOL). Once again, Ruby’s parents volunteered to hold my stuff until my return in August.

And then, in all of the commotion, I suffered the worst charley horse in my leg—and the pain was quite severe! I mean, it hurt so bad that I actually stumbled and fell to the ground. Only after stomping it out did it feel better, but I still had a pretty noticeable (and thankfully temporary) limp.

And in all that rushing, I discovered that my flight to L.A. was scheduled to leave at 6pm CST. Talk about egg on my face—I felt a little embarrassed, but Mr. Hudspeth said that it was better to be too early than way too late. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that I am back home where I belong… well, at least for the time being.

And in case y’all were wondering, my leg is feeling a helluva lot better… hahaha!

Well, I’ve decided to stay home for the day, although I may head out for a minute, if for nothing but to get out of the house. Now, check this out, y’all: As much as I am glad to be back home, I am actually looking forward to returning to the South. As you may or may not know, in addition to returning to Rust for my junior year, I am also preparing for my family reunion at Great Aunt Reesie’s house, which is slated for August. We’ve been talking about a reunion since Cousin Keith returned home last year from Afghanistan… and I think y’all know by now that my family don’t be messin’ around when it comes to gettin’ stuff done! Matter of fact, my mom’s already got the t-shirts made. I’ve seen the design, and it looks great. Our family reunion t-shirts have the state of Mississippi on them, but Great Aunt Reesie lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

I’m sure that some-a-y’all are asking yourselves: “Why do the t-shirts have the state of Mississippi if our family reunion will be in Nashville?” Well, here’s the modus operandi behind that: You see, Gramma Jewel and Great Aunt Reesie were born, raised, and educated in the Mississippi Delta, and the theme of this year’s family reunion is: “Back To Where It All Began.” And in addition to that, we’re all gonna caravan to Ruleville, Mississippi, just to see where it all began for Gramma Jewel and Great Aunt Reesie.

Well, y’all, I reckon I’d better get on up here and get out of the house for minute, lest these four walls start closing in on me. I’ll be back with another update on the preparations for my family reunion, but until then, y’all take care and be good.


Hugs & Kisses,
Natasha