Watching it snow, I’m
all tucked in by the fire and it hardly seems like it was this time last week I
was in Waco, Texas. Texas had the arrival of an unexpected
snowfall and it had people excited. I was excited for a different reason, in that
after a year of planning, my mom, oldest daughter, granddaughter and I were
actually doing the trip we talked so much about. I’d packed everything from short sleeve
T-shirts to fleece as I didn’t know what to expect. Let’s just say fleece was a
good thing.
While the main purpose was to go to the Magnolia Silos, we took
a city tour, and well….. I was enchanted.
I have to admit that I am a sucker for feel good stories of inspiration
and good works. That kind of stuff just
sings to this farmgirl’s soul. Our tour
guide consisted of two men, Chase and David, (WacoTours.com), each man had a
great Christian perspective that bubbled up when they shared stories of people
in their town who were working very hard to make changes for the better. We heard several stories, and my favorite was
about the owner of Lula Jane’s, a fabulous bakery/coffee shop. Not only did that owner, while having a great
business, took it upon herself to begin a school and a volunteer mentoring
program to help the reading level of children, plus she has recovering addicts
live with her as they reenter the world of sobriety. Ms. Lula Jane chose to listen to her heart
when others said a start up school couldn’t be done, but she did it anyway and in
two years and had achieved success where she now has the support from the Bill
Gates Foundation and this school is ranked 7th in the state for
reading proficiency. There were stories
of others, and it warmed my heart hearing about
people wanting to make a difference for their community, thinking
outside the box and pursuing their vision.
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| The B&B we stayed in. Oh so charming |
And of course, Chip and Joanna Gaines, was another success
story. Nothing thrills me more than seeing
a passion get turned into a success story. The Gaines are smart and their success has gone well for them, as well as for City of Waco.
Daughter Jen had found a B&B that was one of the “Fixer
Uppers” and we were able to rent it. It
made me wish I was doing my B&B again….
I loved that small side business that I had.
The girl time with mom, Jen & Brinley was
special. The first morning, my mom is
telling us she scared herself in the middle of the night when she realized her sparkly
painted fingernails glowed in the dark, and that she fell out of bed. Luckily no injuries and we giggled as mom
recounted the story. She wasn’t trying to be funny, she just seems to be a
natural magnet for goofy stuff that happens to her. She was (sort of) a good sport as Jen, Brinley and I went to thrift
stores in our search for treasures.
All in all, getting to see and hear about inspirational
people who strive to make their town a better place and spending quality girl
time with my family is the stuff that sweet memories are made of.
As always , thanks for stopping by. I’m always available at swheatfarmlife@gmail.com for
comments and thoughts. All my best,
Gayle
