South Carolina

I am in a hurry, so I'm gonna try to make this short which is always a difficult task. I had the opportunity to go to South Carolina this past Saturday to visit some relatives to celebrate my Aunt Sue's surprise birthday party. I rode with my sister so, of course, we didn't make it in time to see the actual surprise. It was still an amazing day trip and party, though. I love the ride to Liberty, South Carolina---it's right outside of Greenville. I40 through the mountains may not be the most fun course to drive, but the views are amazing! We made it there in great time even though we missed a few turns due to us talking nonstop and listening to Rihanna and Nicki. The party was at my cousin's house which is a cabin style house on a country road. There were bunnies, turkeys, chickens, cows, and donkeys. A perfect South Carolina home haha. Anyways! I've already strayed far from what I wanted to say. They made a slide show with pictures and music for Sue. It was amazing and everyone in the room probably teared up. I'm not sure whether this is relevant or necessary to discuss in the post, but my Aunt Sue has battled cancer for years now. She has been in recession and it came back and well so on and so forth. We have all seen friends or family suffer through the mess of cancer. It seems that my aunt has been battling it for years now, and she still seems strong as ever really. So i feel like this was probably a more emotional bday slide show than normal. But back to that slide show. It was incredible---it started out with Sue, and her husband (looking down from up above), as babies and led into them as a married couple. Next was their three children, then the grandchildren. It showed this family from the very beginning to where they are now. The music was perfect. I have to admit i got teary eyed when I saw my Granny Roxy in a photo. We drove 3 hours and three hours back to Knox in one day, but just being able to visit with family and see that video was well worth it. I always liked visiting Sue as well as my cousin Ronnie. I think i liked them a lot because I probably saw them the least, and there was always something interesting about relatives that didn't still live in East Tennessee. Not only did I get to enjoy the video, I cracked up listening to the ridiculous stories they are always telling----its never a dull moment when you have Sue, Barbara Jean, Ronnie, and the rest of the crew. I wont go on further, and this honestly turned out to be an extremely boring blog. But i just wanted to dedicate it to Sue, who as I said i hardly see, but am still inspired by her life. I hate that she is going through all this pain, but at least she is with the people she loves during it. She has already left a legacy and shown how a God-fearing southern women should be. And by the way----i love South Carolina southern bells haha. My cousin, Heather (sues daughter) says the word "daddy" perfectly. It's like this strange southern drawl, but I love it. I won't go on anymore, but I just wanted to wish Sue a happy birthday and to thank her for her example. I hope this year will only bring more blessings, laughs, cries, and memories for you. I am thankful to have, among the crazy ones, great relatives. On the way back from SC i got some boiled peanuts which is the best!    peace and love to whoever might see this!
until the next post,
marcus