My Feet Are In Arkansas!

I have spent the last week in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the home of my childhood friend, Kay Allen.  Coming here two or three times a year is always a highlight for me because it helps me to reconnect to my Arkansas roots and disconnect from Texas for awhile.  I think we all need a change of scenery, especially during the confinement of the pandemic.  Actually, had there been no virus, I would be walking the streets of Rome right now or possibly traveling through Tuscany with my traveling buddy, Toni German.

Kay and I have managed to have a great time together even with our limited choices of places to go.  She has a pool in her backyard which is a magnet to a limited number at a time of friends and family which really brings a lot of joy with great conversation and laughter.  We have rediscovered our cooking skills with an emphasis on BLT's with outstanding Arkansas homegrown tomatoes. I continued making chocolate chip cookies which quickly disappeared. 

But, most treasured of all is our time together to talk, talk, and talk about everything, anything, and nothing all that important.We look at Life  very much in the same way.  Two kindred spirits, you might say.  She is definitely my sister by another mother.

I have Cooper here with me.  We take morning walks each day at a park nearby.  There are always other people there of a variety of ages.  Some have their dogs with them, all sizes and shapes.  It is a shaded park full of beautiful trees and lovely paths.  It is such a feel good spot to begin the day.  Of course, the real reason these walks have been so fabulous is because the weather has been unbelievably mild with low temperatures and low humidity.  Unfortunately, the heat is returning and will certainly be there when I get home to Texas.

One of the highlights of this trip was my visit with my cousin, Karen Bridges.  Karen and I found each other on Ancestry.com three years ago.  We immediately hit it off.  We found it pretty amazing as to how much we instantly became good friends and, even more so, how much we look alike.  We have the same chin, nose and dimples!

 

In a few short weeks I will be teaching an online course at UNT. This will be my 12th year as an instructor which is hard to believe.  These have been some of the happiest moments of my life.  I have established some incredible friendships with faculty, but mostly with students. Teaching remotely does not meet my teaching style at all, but I am going to give it a try and will see what the future holds.

It is time to get on with this beautiful day.  I hope it will be a beautiful one for you, too.

R.

Don't know where this underlining came from, but couldn't figure out how to remove it!  ha ha ha