Living in northern Texas for a few years has given me a craving for a family photo surrounded by beutiful Texas bluebonnets.  I don’t know how many of you have seen them, but they only bloom for a little bit, which limits the amount of time that I can set all this up.  (I think they bloom for a few weeks at most.)

So for three years I have been thinking about this and three years I have been plotting planning this family photo.  I have the idea in my head and now the fun part is trying to find a field that isn’t on the side of the interstate to get this picture. 

I think I have the plan for that now.  Tomorrow, I’m going to drag my family out of bed early (to hopefully get the best light) and see if I can get us all together in a field of bluebonnets that aren’t inhabited by the local wildlife, and have a friend take our picture there.

Knowing my family, I’m sure that we will run into an obstacle or two *wink*, but I’m thinking if nothing else, it will be a great memory. 

What about you?  When was the last time that you took a family picture?  Was it anything like this? 

How have I gotten to this point in my life without reading a book by John Grisham?  I can tell you that I have seen many of his books-turned-movies like The Firm, The Client, and The Pelican Brief.  All wonderful movies, and I’m sure even better books.  My husband is a huge fan of his and on one of our weekend trips, he had us listen to the audio book of Playing for Pizza, which I have to say was really interesting.  But nothing compares to when reading something that is what I consider, essentially John Grisham, a story about a trial.

So, when my reading group decided on Sycamore Row for our book for the month of February, I jumped at it!  It was going to be a new experience and I couldn’t wait.  I admit, I was a little nervous because sometimes when you hear about a famous author you come into their books with these high expectations.  You know?  So needless to say, mine were really high with this one…but I didn’t need to worry. This book was everything I expected and then some!  I wouldn’t have thought that there was so much about wills that I didn’t know about, or that you could even make them that interesting, but trust John Grisham to give you a story that catches you immediately and seamlessly keeps your attention throughout almost five hundred pages!

Image courtesy of www.jgrisham.com

I read the synopsis of this book and realized that it was a prequel to the book/movie, A Time to Kill.  I rented the movie to make sure that I understood this new book and I was shocked by how much that story moved me.  I was glad that Grisham kept the interesting characters of Jake Brigance and Sheriff Ozzy.  I guess the only disappointment that I had with the story was that I hoping for an appearance, even if it was small, from Carl Lee Haley, but that’s okay.  It’s still an awesome story.

If I had to say just one thing that I liked about the book (and there were many), I would have picked that I really liked how you didn’t even know where the title of the book came from until you got to the end.  It was a clever way, I think, to keep the story rooted with you when it was done.  I’ll certainly never forget the importance of Sycamore Row. *smiles*

What about you?  Have you read this book?  What did you think?  Have you read John Grisham before?  What’s your favorite?

(Image Courtesy of IMDB.com)

Is anyone else out there a Friends fan? *raises both hands*  It’s one of the only shows that my husband and I can always agree to watch, and believe me, we have watched it over and over again – a ton of times, over the years.  The other day, I was trying to figure out something to watch that I could fold laundry to (and yes, the laundry is still in a large heap on my couch), when I decided to start with Season 1 of Friends.  

Do you remember the episode (like the third or fourth of the first season’s discs), when Rachel is being asked by her credit card company’s if she is okay because she hasn’t been spending money like she used to?  Her response, after some initial freaking out because of a disastrous reunion with some old friends, is that she’s okay because she has magic beans….like (as Phoebe says) Jack from Jack and the Bean Stalk.

Now, I bring this up, not just because the show is awesome (it is SO awesome), but also because the epiphany came at a crucial moment in my life.  Lately, I have been giving some serious consideration to where I am in my life and whether or not I should be proud of what I have accomplished thus far, or rather be angry that I haven’t done everything that I thought I would have by now.

Do you remember those kids in high school that knew from infancy that they wanted to grow up to be a foot doctor or rainbow maker?  Well, I was not one of those kids.  (I had an inkling that I would love to be a writer, but that dream didn’t solidify until recently.)  I was the kid that even after a few semesters of college, enlisted in the Air Force, because I still didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up.

After doing that for a few years (about five), I separated from the Air Force, and moved to be with my husband in Italy. (I know, it was really tough.)  It took some time, but I finally was able to get a job in the Civil Service and have been doing that ever since.

Now, in this time we’ve also had the most gorgeous and smart little girl.  She’s amazing and I can’t figure my life at all without her.  (She keeps me on my toes and makes sure I earn my “mom-badge” daily.)

So, as I’m sitting there, not folding laundry, I’m thinking about my life and where I thought I would be when I reached the age I am, and I couldn’t help but feel a little…unsure.  I know of friends that I have (those dreaded perfectionists from high school) that knew their dreams and are now like famous in their chosen careers (probably have butlers to clean the rainbows they make in their spare time from solving world hunger), and it was hard not to think that maybe I could have tried harder.  Maybe things would be different today.

Well, then my daughter runs into the living room.  She crawls into my lap and gives me a big hug and tells me, “I love you, mommy.  You are so beautiful.”  (She must have heard me say this to her a million times, but I’ll take it.)  

I couldn’t help but smile into her big brown eyes and think, like Rachel, I’ve got some awesome magic beans!

I may not be the astronaut I thought I might be (I’m not really great at math), or the big-time lawyer I briefly imagined (seriously, they have to go to school for a LONG time!), but I have so much more than I thought I would.  I have a wonderful husband and daughter, a great job, and family and friends.  It doesn’t get much better. *smiles*

What about you?  Are you fulfilling all those dreams you had as a child?  Do you have some great magic beans?