Today, our grandfather Tally Adams, Jr. is listed in #TheState newspaper under the article "REMEMBERING 2011." This makes me proud!! We have a legacy to continue and a STRONG, INFLUENTIAL "name" to uphold!! I'm extremely thankful to have you guys, and I love you dearly. As we continue to grow by adding spouses and children to this legacy, I pray our bonds are strengthened and even more priceless memories are created together.
Although we may not all have the ADAMS last name (and some of us will eventually drop it upon marriage), we are obviously linked as first cousins. So when I used the term "name", what I really mean is the character and reputation that has been created through our grandparents and passed down to us through the examples set by our parents.
I've been labeled as Baby Adams, following in the steps of Mama Adams (Grandma) through singing and ministering in church. I thought it was cute when I was younger, having overlooked the weight behind it. I never really knew how much that "name" meant until after she passed. Singing took on a whole new meaning for me, and many of you know that for a time, I completely STOPPED!! You didn't hear a peep out of me unless someone was getting married or we were playing around at "the house". As time moved on, I learned to embrace the gifts I have and to carry on the legacy she established. It's a privilege to be offered the torch, but we don't have to accept it. Nor do we have to keep it lit... Ultimately it's our individual choice.
I'm choosing to take the torch, and with it, I am runniiiiin' (Forrest Gump voice)!! With the passing of both grandparents, the generations have been shifted. WE ARE OUR PARENTS!!! Scary?? I know. BUT we have each other, and what better time to bond and build legacies for the next generation than now?? This is OUR family. If we don't step up, there's no one else who will.
I'm teary-eyed writing this because I'm grateful. I realize just how blessed I am to have FAMILY that I'm not just related to but with which I have RELATIONSHIP!! I can't explain how honored I am to have you ALL in my life.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR:
brutal honesty, tough love, rug burns, encouragement, bullying, speeding tickets, butt whoopins, smiles, arguments, babies, near death experiences, phone calls, hugs, car accidents, opinions, rubber band bruises, food, deep conversations, support, fights, clothes, cards, advice, a plethora of incriminated unmentioned happenings, etc. I could go on all day...
There's no better group of people for me to laugh, cry or cut a fool with, and I wouldn't trade you for the world. Despite how far apart we are spread across the WORLD, we always manage to bring it back to good ol' South Carolina, where we can escape and find strength in each other. :)
Don't forget to check out the article!!
http://m.thestate.com/state/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=8N2xPrA7
Be you, be true...
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
--William Shakespeare via Juliet Montague
HAPPY NEW YEAR from Orlando
Believe me, it gets even BETTER!!
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