Mom's Belated College Days

My mom was an Ohio girl, born and raised. 

After working for some years out of high school, something remarkable happened. 

Someone- out of the blue- anonymously gave her a scholarship for college!

I'm not quite sure if this scholarship could be used for any college, or just for Bryan College, but I'm thinking it was the latter. In any case, my mom, at the ripe old age of 24, who had been living with her mother working various jobs, decided to take the scholarship and leave everything she knew behind to enroll in Willian Jennings Bryan College down south in the little town of Dayton, Tennessee. 

Her younger sister had gone to college right out of high school. Money was tight, so I'm not sure how she did that, unless it was through a scholarship that perhaps she had somehow earned. 

Back when Mom was in high school, her parents' marriage, which had been wrought with several separations, finally ended in divorce when she 16. Despite the ongoing marriage difficulties of my grandparents, the actual divorce had hit her hard and her studies during that time likely suffered. 

So, not unlike George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, she remained at home, whether by choice or not, after her younger sibling left for college. 

But now- suddenly- here was her chance! And though jittery at the thought of starting life over with strangers far from home, trying to tackle college classes and studies, and knowing she was older than most of the other freshmen, she realized she couldn't throw away this opportunity that had fallen at her feet. She was going to go!

My mom later told me that outside of eventually becoming a wife and mother, those years were four of the most rewarding years of her life.

She soon made friends, dove into her studies, enjoyed campus life and all the activities, and grew a lot in her relationship with the Lord. 

The college during the early 1950s had a warm, small community feeling and at its core was a solid faith in Christ.

Despite that little age gap, she fit right in with the students, being a self-proclaimed "late bloomer". 

When I was growing up, she'd let me pour over her college yearbooks. I was fascinated by them. I'm not sure if it was the whole idea of college life that intrigued me, the faith conveyed through the pages, or the nostalgia I felt for the black and white photos of young people from a bygone era. Perhaps it was all of the above.

I still have her yearbooks stashed away somewhere. And recently, I even found where I can access them online- by year, and page by page. I can see her class photos staring back at me, knowing they were captured at a time she when she was flourishing.

My mom graduated four years after she arrived, earning a degree in Christian Education.

No, she never found the love of her life at college. She would have to wait just a little longer for that. But she did tell me the story of a young man there named Bob (who consequently shared a name with my dad) who apparently had a sweet, unrequited love for her. She said he was such a nice person, and she always felt a little guilty that she couldn't return his feelings. But alas, she only cared for him as a friend.

To this day, I can't hear the Nat King Cole song, Autumn Leaves, without remembering her story of how he gave her that little record as a gift.

Fast forward to the Fall of 2022, when my husband and I took a trip to Tennessee just for fun. 

We had such an amazing week touring that state- I'm sure I left a part of my heart there! (A separate post about this trip is probably coming soon!) 

We visited the historic town of Franklin near Nashville and absolutely fell in love with it. 

We rented a car and drove across the state to the east side, staying in a large, beautiful cabin while visiting Dollywood and the nearby towns.

We met up with my husband's old friend and best man at our wedding- whom he had recently gotten back in touch with- and we had a great lunch with he and his wife.

And on the drive back across the peaceful rolling hills of central Tennessee, we took the extra time to find and visit my mom's alma mater, Bryan College. 

Up, through steep green hills and winding roads until we finally arrived.

My mom was by then a few years in heaven, so it was especially meaningful to me to finally see this place she had spoken so fondly about. The place of those treasured yearbooks.

And it was a beautiful campus. Even prettier than I had envisioned it! And though I'm sure the college had changed a bit since my mom attended, it was incredibly special to walk the grounds where she had spent some of her favorite years.

How I wish I could have called her that night to tell her I was there. But maybe she was able to look from heaven and see a glimpse of my visit. I know it would have made her smile.

"Trailers for Sale or Rent..."

 I love trailers.

All shapes and sizes. Large rigs or cozy little trailers. I pretty much just love them all.

But especially vintage trailers!

Well, okay, if you know anything about me, I tend to love anything vintage.

But trailers have an extra special place in my heart.

Perhaps it goes back to when I was little. 

I grew up as an only child, and though not all my childhood memories were rosy, I did have some truly happy times. And some of my favorite memories with my family include camping in our mid size Terry trailer. 

                     This is not our actual trailer, but ours looked very similar!

Brown and white, it was probably about a1968 model, give or take a year, and I'm pretty sure my parents purchased it new. But we enjoyed it for nearly a decade. 

It had a sofa which made into a bed, and that's where my parents slept. I slept in the bunk bed above them, and we had the option of closing the accordion-type curtains, which I actually loved.

I felt warm and secure, tucked inside my sleeping bag and looking at the little rivets on the ceiling- or, excuse me, stars. They were stars to me.

We had little windows that opened their slats by cranking. And light fixtures that gave off a cozy lantern glow at night.

We had a table that made into another bed, which we rarely ever used as a bed. (But sometimes for fun, I'd decide to sleep there, instead- just to be different.) 

On the side of the bench seat was a drawer with my special toys or activities that only stayed in the trailer. They were just for camping, and I liked it that way. I looked forward to getting out my special things that I only got to use when we were camping.

There was a kitchen area across from that, a large closet and a tiny bathroom in the corner that even had a shower. We rarely used that, but it fun to know it was there!

Occasionally, I'd get to bring a friend with me camping. And a couple times, my grandparents caravanned with us, taking along their smaller old trailer. 

One time in particular, when I was Kindergarten age, my parents and grandpa went off somewhere- fishing, most likely. I got to come over to hang out with my grandma (known to me as "Gammee") who made me feel quite grown up by serving me coffee. 

Well, actually, a coffee cup of milk with about a tablespoon of coffee.

Besides our camping trailer, for a good part of my childhood, those same grandparents lived in a long, single-wide trailer. They had sold their house in retirement and moved there, and I thought it was the coziest little home to visit.

(If you've ever seen the old Lucy and Desi movie, "The Long, Long Trailer", my grandparents' trailer house was almost identical!)

Fast forward to now. We have an old pop up tent trailer which perhaps is not a true trailer but comes pretty close. But...well, not exactly the same. 

However, last year, my husband and I discovered a vintage trailer resort as we were zooming down a highway about 45 minutes from home. We zipped around and went into the little resort park to inquire, and to our pure delight, there were rows beautiful vintage trailers lining the streets that you could actually stay in. 

Many were actually from the 1950s and restored, with added modern touches, like a built in television and other amenities. 

"Glamping" to say the least, but with a decidedly old fashioned twist!

                            The adorable trailer we stayed in!

I later perused their website and booked a little Shasta trailer- cute and cozy for two.

When our weekend in early June came around, it ended up pouring most of the time, but that didn't dampen (pun intended) our moods. It only added to the coziness!

We brought a new game to learn to play, listened to music, cooked hot dogs, explored the nearby town, went out to dinner once, and when the rain let up a bit, even managed to ride the bikes they lend out over to a restaurant for breakfast in the light mist.

It was a very sweet time for us as a couple and we definitely want to do it again soon.

Later this past year, we went to two separate vintage trailer shows in different areas! We had so much fun touring all the privately owned trailers and chatting with their owners. Many of these folks had restored their trailers themselves and took pride in showing off their labors of love.

I guess you could say that vintage trailers were a definite theme for us last year!

So, whether they're a childhood Terry trailer, my grandparents' trailer house, or restored Shastas  all gleaming and bright, I love them all. 

(Yes, I even love the new, showroom floor models! Just not quite as much!)

Ok, so I'm not exactly sure I'd want to live full time in one like my grandparents did- or like Lucy and Desi's characters do in the film!

But there's really just something about a trailer.

And to borrow a quote from The Long, Long Trailer:

"Once a trailerite, always a trailerite."

First Post

First of all, for those who don't know me, let me introduce myself. 

My name is Tammy.

I'm a writer, an entrepreneur, and a child of God. I'm a wife of 31 years, a mom to two daughters. And soon to become a grandma! 

Other things about me: I love history, nostalgia, old classic movies and television shows, reading, music, and peaceful scenery.

 
Okay, so this first post may be appropriately titled, "First Post", but it's not exactly accurate. It's only the first post of this blog.

A long time ago- about 20 years ago (gulp!)- I was a part of a blogging community. Back in the days right before social media took over, I blogged nearly every day. Yes, almost every day!

I visited and commented on other blogs, they visited mine, we gave each other awards and participated in themes. (I really miss that little blogging world!) 

And most importantly, we became a circle of friends- some of whom I still have contact with to this day, even though most of us haven't officially blogged in ages. 

Looking back, though, if I had to do it over, I'd probably spend just a little less time on the computer during that season. But in my own defense, I remember honesty trying to be a devoted mommy- spending hours taking care of my little girls, playing with them, teaching them, and trying to be in the moment. Blogging was my connection with other adults- as well as my creative side- as a stay at home mama.

Back then, my writings and musings were mainly of family life with two little girls, but I would also venture off on to other subjects. 

But wow, 20 years is a long time and lot of life has transpired since I was an active blogger back then. 

Since then, I wrote and published my first novel in 2019, The Sentimental Journey. (A faith-based WWII time travel novel) along with several novellas. (I'm still working on finishing one of the novellas right now!)

I started a design\print on demand business a few years ago which is currently on Etsy.

And my cute little ones are all grown up and in their twenties. 

I homeschooled them for 15 years- which were the most rewarding years of my life so far! 

My oldest went on to Bible college and got her degree there- along with her wonderful husband! She has worked several rewarding jobs, began pursuing dance again, and is now getting ready to be a mommy herself.

My youngest's last year of homeschool high school was six years ago. Along with working, she joined YWAM, attended that same Bible college for a while, and recently took on a camp internship. She is currently seriously dating a really nice guy she met through that internship.

As for my blogging- my first blog was called Family Doin's and later, Lattes and Lollipops. There was one last, short-lived blog called School in the hammock, which focused on homeschool life. They are all still out there in the blogging internet land, floating aimlessly. When I have found my old posts, they sometimes amaze me because I barely remember them. But it's good to have these pieces of time stashed away.

(I did start another writing blog as an author but, well, I have sadly neglected it.)

However, what really inspired me to start blogging again now was recently finding my late mother's online blog. (Which is interesting, since 20 years ago, I was the one who inspired her to blog.) I also just found a hand-written notebook where she had composed many of her childhood memories and details so one day her granddaughters could read it. 

My mom, whom I was very close to, has been gone for nearly nine years now, and I miss her so much. But finding her writings has made me feel close to her again. 

Honestly, it both pulls at my heart and makes me miss her that much more...yet also comforts me at the same time.

In her blog, grandmothersmusings, as in her notebook, she writes about various memories, mostly of her childhood and youth. And not only are they personally special for me, but they have such historic significance, given the fact that she lived through the Great Depression and WWII.

So, because of reading her stories, I guess I'm inspired once again to write. Not just fiction, as I've already been doing, but my own meanderings and memories.

I guess this blog will be a combination of many things- past and present. Current family life, faith, travels (we have an exciting trip just around the corner- more on this later!) my own childhood memories, maybe even some fun thoughts about old movies and shows. 

I may even share some of my personal struggles from time to time- not to complain, but in hopes that someone reading might be able to relate and be encouraged they aren't alone.

So, if you read this far, thanks for joining me on my NEW blogging adventure. (And be sure to say hello in the comments!)