Free As We'll Ever Be

Self-portrait :: Me and Colby, October 2009

While the Zac Brown Band wasn't at Jamboree in the Hills this year, I've been thinking a lot about their most recent hit. We really are free as we'll ever be. This is it, kids. Quit aching for more when you have it all!

I find my freedom in consuming a Nicholas Sparks book in 24 hours. I find it in hard-shell chocolate-covered ice cream with my hubby and kids, in the gorgeous Kodak prints I picked up from the post office, in hearing the heartbeat of my unborn child, and in the messy red curls and ornery grin of my one-year-old. I find it in looking at all the Facebook photos of new babes I know. I find it in a walk with my sister, in catching up on gossip and rehashing Jamboree 2010. And I find my freedom in that I got to do all of these things today.

My little brother Jon likes the song except for the repetitive "But we ain't got a lot of money" line. Yes, they say it SEVEN times in a row. But I think that's just because it's So. Damn. True.

We ain't got a lot of money, but who the &^$#)* cares? I'm not lonely. I'm not sick. I'm not wishing away my present for a future that's not guaranteed.

I'm free as I'll ever be. And it's a goal of mine to remember that. Maybe I can't run away, because my responsibilities as a wife, mother and employee keep me here, but at least I'm free to be a wife, mother and employee. I'm valued in spite of my sex, my lineage or my race. I'm lucky. And I can choose how I spend my time, how I speak about others, how I contribute to my family, my friends and this world.

All is well in my corner of the world tonight. My wish is that you can say the same...

Cheers to Jambo!

Another photo of my siblings and I having fun at Jambo!

Well, I think my to-do list is just about done. I'm done. My body is done. My tired, pregnant body has convinced my weary mind to leave the rest to God, or my mother-in-law or whoever else wants to step in and do it.

I really need some time away, some great friends, incredible music and new memories. Tonight, my bed; tomorrow, Jambo bound!! Love to all of you. Hopefully, I'll come back a better mother, blogger and human being.

Until then....

Dough+Ham+Salami+Pepperoni+Provolone+ItalianSeasoning+LOVE= Jamboree Stromboli!

My best girl, Roberta, and I, making memories we might have forgotten at Jamboree!

That's right, kids. It's stromboli time! I'm slaving away in the kitchen, beating incooperative, mooshy, slight-raised, slightly-frozen bread dough into stromboli. I do this every year at about this time, because hey! Pack your bags, there's a place we gotta go, back in the hill country of O-hi-o! It's Jamboree in the Hills!

I've been going to Jambo since 2001, save for 2006, when I was home alone with a 2-1/2-year-old Lily and a one-month old, Max. (Gee, thanks, Shrek!)

Anyway, let's not talk about how sad I was to miss it that year. I've been to Jambo single, married, knocked up and nursing. Let me tell you, it's best to be able to imbibe a bit. But, alas, I can't miss it! I can't not go hang out our campsite, full of family and friends, hillbilly bars, drinking games and pools; I can't not walk to and from the show in my cowboy boots and hat, sometimes not quite sure of my location, but always in good company; I can't not go into the show, where at least some of the scheduled 28 country acts will knock my socks off. It's an amazing experience, and those of you readers who have been there--even just once--will surely agree.


My siblings, my mother and I at Jamboree. See, I told you the whole family was there!

The stromboli? Well, it's the perfect cooler snack. Goes so nicely there in Ziploc bags beside the Kirky blasters, Gatorades and BEER. (None for me, I know, I know.)

Just to clarify, these wonderful festivities--which cause my brother-in-law to sing, at the top of his lungs, "It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!"--don't really start until a week from today. But on Saturday, campers are movin'! A lucky contingency gets to experience a weekend of debauchery as they pull the campers (about 30 of them in our group) into "Farmer's Field" for two nights of craziness before lining up on the Interstate to file into official Jamboree campgrounds for the best spots on Monday, July 12.


Debauchery, Exhibit A. Brother Jon and cousin Jared makin' it happen!

But really, what could be a bad spot, with a group like mine? Are you with me, all my sisters and brothers? Looks like we've got ourselves another... Jamboree in the Hills!!!