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Jennifer Jackson Whittier

When one reaches her 72nd Birthday, something special needs to happen. I wanted to celebrate; I wanted to include my daughters and granddaughter; and I didn’t want to have to spend hours driving to our destination. The logical choice was Natchez, Mississippi, only an hour’s drive from my hometown of Brookhaven, and a town filled with history, beauty, character, and hospitality. Natchez has undergone some changes of the past few years…..very positive changes; and if you haven’t visited there in a while, you must see it for yourself.

My first order of business was to reserve accommodations that would be comfortable for us to rest and relax; a place close to restaurants and the lovely shops and boutiques that Natchez has to offer. I found the perfect spot….a charming cottage on Canal Street, close to the River, shopping, and my favorite eateries. We arrived and were pleasantly surprised with a welcome basket, laden with wine, gourmet cookies, and fudge from the iconic Darby’s on Main Street.

The cottage was warm and inviting, and the décor and furnishings were not only beautiful, but tasteful and comfortable. This was a very special place, and my birthday weekend was off to an excellent start.

We found ourselves quite content to snuggle up on the sofa and enjoy just being together. Those times are rare; and the conversations varied from reminiscing about my girls’ childhood and beyond, to sharing plans for their futures. It was a mother’s dream, and one of the most special birthday gifts I have ever received! Of course we shopped, took strolls, and ate far too much of the varieties of delicious food, but the most special part of our weekend was our time together.

I have learned many life lessons in my 72 years, but one of the most important ones is to embrace family time. The years pass by so quickly, and there hardly seems to be enough chances to simply stop and relax. The time spent in that little cottage will be one of my fondest memories. Natchez, I thank you for your hospitality, and for providing such a lovely setting for the best birthday I have ever had.

Cheers to Fifty Years

By Jennifer Whittier

Little did I know that when I said, “I do,” fifty years ago, my life would change so drastically, nor that the years would fly by so quickly. We were just kids when we were married in 1971. I was still in college, and Greg had just begun a teaching job in Aberdeen, Mississippi, some forty miles from Starkville and Mississippi State University, where I was also preparing to launch into a teaching career.

We were the typical young married couple, assuming that we knew all the answers, and if we didn’t, love would get us through almost anything. I was just learning to cook, and the pot roast that we splurged on was a disastrous reminder that I had a long way to go. Apparently when one adds a cup or two of water to a roast, the results are meat with the consistency of a catcher’s mitt. Live and learn though; and we became quite accustomed to eating tuna casseroles, canned spaghetti and meatballs, and hot dogs…….the pink kind.

Fast forward to 1980 and the birth of our first child, a beautiful baby girl. We were now living in my hometown, Brookhaven, Mississippi, where we had built a home and a career. Things were taking shape; we were bonding with friends, working hard to make ends meet, and facing the same struggles that other young couples were facing. Apparently we didn’t have all the answers after all, and love sometimes wasn’t the answer to everything, but it certainly helped.

Daughter number two arrived in 1983; there was no such thing as a good night’s sleep, and my work certainly didn’t end when I left the classroom for the day. We made the best of our time, trying to juggle career and family. Day care turned into kindergarten; and kindergarten turned into elementary school, junior high, high school and college. Where were the years going, and why were things moving so fast? The next thing we knew, weddings were being planned, and grandchildren were being born. Suddenly we were empty nesters, caught up in the whirlwind of life.

Why not celebrate it? So we planned a 50th Anniversary trip, one very similar to our honeymoon trip to the Smoky Mountains; this time we chose Georgia and the beautiful Blue Ridge. We selected a modern, yet rustic bungalow, the Beetree, in Cherry Log, Georgia, and what a beauty! The weather was unseason- ably warm, just like back in 1971; but the cabin was outstanding, and the scenery was breathtaking. We enjoyed the towns of Blue Ridge and Ellijay, the shops and the restaurants. This time we were focused on taking a deep breath, enjoying the peace and quiet, and being thankful for the good times, the tough times, and our cherished memories.

And here we are, reflecting on being seventy years old; knowing that we surely didn’t have all the answers to life’s questions when we said our marriage vows all those years ago; but blessed that our love and faith got us through it all.

So, where has the time gone? The minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months turn into years, and those years make up our lives: who we are, what we have become, the lessons we have learned, and the memories we embrace. Here’s to many more!

Jennifer Jackson Whittier Road Trips

Road Trips

When we go on a road trip, it’s not an ordinary trip; it’s an adventure! One of the perks of retirement is the opportunity to travel. The trip doesn’t have to be long or extravagant; it doesn’t even have to require a lot of planning. In fact, impromptu trips are often the most enjoyable. Time is precious, and we enjoy making the most of it.

Such was the case on our latest adventure to Owensboro, Kentucky, a city of nearly 60,000 people in the northern part of the state, literally a short drive over the Ohio River bridge from Indiana.

If you know my husband, you know he is a music lover. He has recently become a fan of a cover band whose music is a dead ringer for the band, Chicago. I have to admit that Leonid and Friends, a group of Russian musicians, are incredibly talented and have become quite a popular duplication of the iconic Chicago. When Leonid and Friends scheduled a concert in Owensboro, our road trip plans began, and so did the adventure.

Equipped with state-of-the-art GPS navigation in our vehicle and on our IPhones, we began our journey. Only WE can confuse Mapquest by using our own directional skills and challenging the expert advice of “the voice.” One of us.....and it wasn’t me.....made the suggestion that we should buy an Atlas, just to give us an additional resource. Fighting our “the world is flat” mentality, we decided to put our faith and fate in the hands of our navigational system.

A five hour drive through heavy traffic and road construction can tax the stamina of even the most experienced travelers; so we stopped for the day in Jackson, Tennessee, leaving only a four hour drive for the following day. Refreshed and ready to reach our destination, we set out again, and arrived at our hotel in Owensboro. I’m a bit of a stickler concerning our hotel accomodatiins, so my heart rejoiced when I saw the “Now Open” sign at the entrance of our hotel. New furniture, new carpet, new everything! I also pack for a four day trip as if we are boarding the Mayflower for a journey to the New World. Two luggage carts later, everything is ready to be neatly arranged in our home-away-from-home.

More Than A Best Friend

Jennifer Jackson Whittier

Most of us have had a pet at some point in our lives; and most of us remember even the smallest details. We remember their names, their breeds, their personalities, their little quirks, but the things we find most memorable and endearing are their almost human-like abilities to touch our hearts.

As a child I had a number of pets: a rooster that I raised from an Easter cockerel; a little feist that gave real meaning to the word feisty; a Cocker spaniel that I adored......when he died, I cried for days and swore I could see his shape in the clouds as a message to me that he was in dog heaven; and a parakeet I cleverly named Peety. Peety escaped from his cage when my mama was changing the newspaper lining, and he never returned....cue music from Born Free. As I grew older, my pets became more family pets than belonging to me alone.

When I moved away to college, my roommate Lana and I had an aquarium in our dorm room. We had a few fish bought from a local store, and we named them all and took special care of them. One day after class, we found our favorite gold fish belly up and immobile in the water. Determined to honor his memory, we decided to give him a Viking funeral, so we put him in a small match box and flushed him down the toilet in our dorm. A few minutes later, we heard someone screaming, “It’s alive!” Sure enough, the fish was swimming like a champ in the toilet water, so we scooped him up and put him back in the aquarium where he lived out his other life.

When I married, my husband and I continued to own pets; two Siamese cats named Gandalf and CJ, both with truly unique personalities; a German Shepherd/Doberman mix named Bruno.......he would run and catch frisbees like a pro; two English bulldogs, beautiful, but quite high maintenance; and then there’s Bogey. Where do I begin to describe this little gem? He’s a Cockapoo.... a mixture of Cocker Spaniel and Poodle. We bought him sight unseen from a very highly recommended breeder’s website. We chose him over a dozen other adorable puppies; there was just something about him that endeared him to us.

We brought Bogey home the day after Thanksgiving, and my husband Immediately began to train him to ring a little shopkeeper’s bell he had attached puppy-accessible at the back door, if he needed to go outside. The potty training took a few weeks, but Bogey was a quick learner and mastered the art of bell ringing, much to my husband’s delight (and mine, too!) That little puppy has grown into a three-year-old precious little “person”. He has his own language of barks, and he has trained us well in how to respond to each. He continues to amaze us as he has grown from a high energy pup to a snuggly lap buddy. He is our alarm system, our constant companion, our emotional support, and a member of our family.