Christmas Parties

When we would come to visit around the holidays, often we would get to take Anne to her Special Olympics or Advo Christmas parties. These were always a big party and lots of fun for everyone. They were certainly one of the highlights of the year for Anne. All her friends were there. There was food. There was music and dancing. And best of all, there was Santa. We all remember that Anne never gave up believing in Santa, even when she was 30 years old. That was the same with all her friends. When Santa would come in the room, the crowd would go wild and everyone would immediately line up to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Anne would always get in line and tell Santa what she wanted while sitting on his lap! It was always funny because Mom would have a hard time figuring out what to get Anne for Christmas but Anne wouldn’t tell mom because “Santa already knew.” One time Mom tried to tell Anne that Santa wasn’t real, and that Mom was the real Santa. Anne responded indignantly, “You are NOT Santa! Do you have rosy red cheeks? Do you live at the North Pole? Do you have a white beard? Do you have a belly that jiggles like a bowl full of jelly? I don’t think so!” That pretty much settled it in her mind.

Of the many parties I attended, there are a couple of memories that stick out in my mind.

Once, after Jennifer and I had just gotten married, we were all at the Special Olympics Christmas party and when the music came on, we all started dancing. One of Anne’s friends asked me to dance. I can’t remember exactly who it was, but this particular girl who had a crush on me and always told Anne about it. While we were dancing, Anne followed us out on the dance floor to keep an eye on us. She was very concerned that this girl was going to lure me away from my new bride. Towards the end of the song, Anne decided she’d had enough, so she leaned over and told her friend, “He’s taken!” while pointing to my wedding ring. With that, Anne rested her case. She was always very protective of those closest to her and this was a perfect example of it.

Another time, we went to the Advo Christmas party. I had just arrived in town and everyone else had a long week, so just Anne and I went to the party. She was so proud that I came with her, as soon as we walked in the door, she yelled out, “We’re here! This is my brother Scott. He lives in Fort Worth.” The party was already going and it was so loud that nobody really heard us but Anne didn’t notice. The rest of the night, Anne repeated the introduction to everyone we saw, whether they were listening or not. She made me feel like a celebrity, and we had a great time.

Cats

As everyone knows, Anne LOVED cats so we had several over the years. Anne loved to run through all the names of all the cats she ever had. I thought I would write down some of the cat names while I could remember them (in no particular order):

1. Bucky

2. Tabby

3. Snowball

4. George Strait

5. George Strait 2.0

6. Mittens

7. Symba

8. Nolla

9. Spicy

10. Spicy

11. Spicy

12. Spicy

13. Spicy Five

14. Dog

15. Tibet

16. Tigger

17. Maggie

Anne always took great care of her cats. She fed and watered them every day, played with them in her room, slept with them, let them in and out, etc. She also always wanted to take them to the vet to get shots or “doctored for ticks.” It didn’t matter when they last went, the cats were always due for a trip to the vet.

One time she told me that she had a cat that weighed 60 lbs. She knew this to be the truth because she had weighed the cat herself on the bathroom scale. I tried to explain to her that wasn’t possible, even comparing to a 50 lb sack of animal food, but it was futile. You couldn’t reason with her. She insisted that her cat weighed 60 lbs. So finally I asked her to prove it to me. She took me into the bathroom where the scale was and showed me the cat weighing procedure. Anne grabbed the cat and put it on the scale. The cat was squirming and struggling to get away, but Anne persisted. She pushed down on that cat with all her strength, and sure enough, when the number popped up, the scale said 60 lbs! Anne was right, sort of.

Leftovers

When I became a part of the family I quickly learned two things that were important to Anne: Scott and food. She loved it when we came to visit and she got to see her brother. Kelly would always have lots of good food for us while we were there. This meant there were always leftovers! On the day we would leave, Kelly would (and still does) pack us a sack full of leftovers to take with us on the trip back to Fort Worth. Anne did not like this. As soon as she realized what was going on, she let us know she wasn’t happy…”Why is everyone taking my food?” “What am I suppose to take to work?” “I never get to eat what I want.” etc.

In the early years, I could say, “I’m sorry Anne, but do you mind if I take the food?” She would put on her polite face and agree to let the new sister-in-law take all her leftovers. But as time went on and I was around more and more, the politeness wore off. I was treated like all other members of the family. I remember one time when I asked her the same question about taking her food years later, she looked at me (from around the open refrigerator door) and gave me the same earful she gave everyone else!

Miss you Anne.

Love,

Jennifer-wennifer

AnnieBeth

                                            Decision Time

 

There are so many happy memories of Anne that it's difficult to single out just a few. I have really

enjoyed the ones that have been remembered by those that loved her!

 

Over the years Anne and I had many telephone conversations. There was lots of talk about cats

and pigs and , of course, George Strait and Kenny Chesney.

 

The call I remember the most though was when she had a decision to make. It seems two of the

boys she worked with, I don't remember their names, were wanting to be her Boy Friend and she

wanted me to help her choose the right one. You can imagine how much help I was!

 

It was always such a delight to hear from her.

 

                             G G