A tale of three families: Ensley, Parsons and Tubbs

James Elbert Tubbs was born in 1856 in Parker County, Texas and married Saphronia Anne James (1859 - 1926) in 1878 in Crawford, Texas. “Jim and Fronie” Tubbs had several children, two of which were John Wesley and Elbert Marion (my grandfather). 

Here is a poem that was written shortly before Jim and Fronie were married. It is signed “Badly Written By Saphronia A. James, March 21, 1878”

Many long hours I’ve been waiting

for your smiles to welcome me home

but so long you have kept to me waiting

till I thought you never would come

Oh will you never come again

with your bright and merry smiles

oh will you never come again

my lonely hours to beguile

I have gathered wild flowers from the hillside 

to wreathe around thy brow

but so long you have kept to me waiting

till they are dead and withered now

But my love for thee is still living

though the flowers they are dead

and around my heart it will linger

until life itself hath fled

Many bright lighted balls I have wandered

where all was joy and glee

but my heart grew sad and lonely

because I could not be with thee

but I defy thee brightest future

give up they joy and glee

and I’ll ask none on earth to love me

but thee and only thee.

William Thomas Parsons was born in Tennessee in 1866, and moved to Texas in 1892 at the age of 26. William married 19 year old Lena Bell Anderson in November 1894 in Coryell County, Texas. To this union were born five children: Roxie “Mae” (my grandmother), Charles Edgar, Mary Gertrude, Minnie Lee and Roy Thaxton.

John Wesley Tubbs married Martha Ellen Ensley in 1901, and then he died in April 1902. John and Martha’s daughter, Jonnie Bell Tubbs was born in August 1902. 

John’s brother, Elbert “Ebb”, married Martha’s sister, Josie on Christmas Day, 1901. Elbert and Josie had three children; Myrtle Ada in 1902, Allie Mae in 1905 and Haskel Garfield in 1907.

Lena Bell Anderson Parsons died in April of 1904, leaving William to take care of their five children. Mae, the oldest child, was only nine years old when her mother passed away. William helped Ebb Tubbs bring in his crop while Josie looked after the children: Mae, Charlie, Gertrude, Minnie and Roy along with Josie and Ebb’s daughter, Myrtle. During this time Josie’s sister, Martha, who was recently widowed and had a daughter of her own (Jonnie Bell) came to visit and while there Martha met William Parsons.

Martha Ellen Ensley married William Thomas Parsons on Christmas Day 1904, creating an instant family with six children. William was 38 and Martha was 20, and they went on to have four more children.

 William Thomas Parsons and seven of the ten children he raised

Josie died in 1909, leaving Ebb with three children to raise. Ebb and his children moved in with his parents, Jim and Fronie, to obtain help with the children. In 1911, Ebb married Mae Parsons and they went on to have 11 more children. They raised all 14 children together until Myrtle, the oldest child, died in 1917 after she was accidentally hit in the chest with a ball and complications developed.

                    Two Little Girls In Blue

 An old man gased on a photograph
          In a locket he had worn for years
         His nephew asked the reason why
        This picture has caused him tears

  
        Your father and I at school one day

    Met two little girls in blue

    They were sisters we were brothers

  And learned to love the two

  Two little girls in blue lad

    Two little girls in blue

    They were sisters we were brothers

    and we learned to love the two

    One little girl in blue lad

    She won your father's heart

    Became your mother, I married the other

    Now we two have drifted apart.

                    Elbert Marion Tubbs

A Beautiful Love Story

Geneva and John in 1947

My parents were born in 1930, one year after the horrible stock market crash of 1929, so they grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s and then WWII. They lived in an agricultural community where hard work was valued more than a formal education. My mother's family was more successful financially than most others around them, and her father owned and farmed a section of land (over 600 acres). My father's family was poor. They ran a thresher machine, which provides a service to farmers, and there was never enough work to keep their large family fed properly. My father had ten brothers and three sisters, so I can imagine that the group of them just appeared as a blur. People have said that there were so many boys, it was hard to remember who was who. When my parents were around the age of ten or twelve, my mother remembers the first time she noticed my father separately from his brothers. She was sitting on her front porch, churning butter, and the Thresher Crew (my father's family) came walking down the road in front of her house. When my father noticed the pretty girl on the porch, he summoned up his courage and said, "why don't you bring me a glass of buttermilk?" (Be sure to read this part with a Texas accent.) And from the porch my mother answered, "why don't you come up here and get it yourself?" And that was the beginning of their Love Story. They went for walks and had long talks, and she said that when he would hold her hand in his, it sent a thrill through her body from head to toe.

When my father was a teenager, he would go as far as he had to go to find work. Sometimes he would have to hitch-hike for hundreds of miles until he could find a job plowing a field for fourteen hours a day for very little money. He would sleep in a tent and eat whatever he could find. Through those years, my father wrote letters to my mother. She mentioned those letters to me a couple of times and told me that it was fine with her if I read them, but I always declined because I felt that those letters were private and not for me. Yesterday I finally read some of them and realized that she probably wanted me to read them with her, but thought I was uninterested. Those letters revealed a side of him that I never knew. I knew my daddy as a good man, a hard worker, and very quiet. I would have described him as the strong, silent type. He just couldn't relate well to a house full of daughters and our hormones and emotional outbursts, so he did his best to work hard and provide well for us. He put himself through college after he married my mother, all while working a full-time job. As far as I know, he was the only one of his siblings with a college degree. There was no laziness or "quit" in him. Since my father's death 12 years ago, my mother never stopped missing him until her death on July 21, 2014. After reading his letters, I see how much he truly adored her as well.

It's like I had a front-row seat to a Beautiful Love Story. 

Geneva and John in 1997

A Three-Week Visit

Earlier this week, our daughter and grand-daughter left after staying with us for three weeks! Since they moved to Japan last October, I have been to visit them twice and loved it both times. During my last visit in April, our son-in-law received permission to spend 6 weeks in his home town in Arkansas and work in the Marine recruiter's office. It worked out that he could bring his family along, so they decided that our daughter and grand-daughter would spend three weeks with us before joining him for his final three weeks with his family. It has been so wonderful to see the little one when she first wakes up, with her eyes and dimples twinkling. She is 18 months old, and starting to repeat words that she hears. She has tons of energy and love and displays the confidence of a child who lives in a loving, secure home. I love her.

Graduation!!!!!

One week ago today, our first-born graduated from Harding University with a BBA degree in Finance. It has been a long, hard road for him and it would be a huge understatement to say that I am proud of him. He has been sidetracked with knee surgery, a job, changing his major, and various other distractions, but he stuck it out all the way to the finish line. He even had a job lined up before he graduated, and in today's economy that is an admirable accomplishment! The night before the graduation ceremony, we honored him with a dinner with family and a few close friends.
Way to go, Taylor!! We can hardly wait to see your next achievement, and we love you very much.

Best April Fool Ever!

April 1 will never be the same for me again. Let's go back to the year before last on March 31. Do you remember what you were doing? I do. It had been almost four months since my daughter's wedding and I was nearly over the shock of that. Then we heard that our new son-in-law (The Marine) was going to be deployed to Iraq later that year for seven months. My husband was out of town on a business trip and so I was sitting in my living room, all alone, working on some project when my phone rang at 11:30 pm. People don't typically call me at 11:30 pm with good news. It was my precious daughter, sounding slightly panicked. She quickly asked me for confirmation that those home pregnancy tests can be wrong. Gulp. Welllllll (I stretched the word out as 467 million thoughts ran through my head) I think that if they show negative they can be wrong, but if they show positive they are usually correct - why do you ask????? She asked because she had tested herself twice since her friend thought her symptoms sounded like she was pregnant and my daughter was going to prove her friend wrong. As I was talking over the speaker with Mr. and Mrs. Newlywed Marine, I took the opportunity to be the first to congratulate them. And I may have strongly reminded them that we were closing in on April Fool's Day and this was NOT a good idea for a joke. Little did we know what an exciting surprise God was preparing for them and us in their beautiful baby girl!

Bangs

Why did I want bangs? Because they look so cute on other people. So I got them. Now I remember why I grew them out the last time. I'm hoping that if I put this in writing, the next time I forget how much I hate having bangs, it will serve as a reminder to NOT do it!

Elbert and Roxie Mae

Elbert and Roxie Mae Tubbs' 50th Wedding Anniversary Photo taken in 1961

The names on this headstone are those of my father's parents, Elbert Marion Tubbs and Roxie Mae Parsons Tubbs. Roxie Mae married Elbert when she was very young. Elbert already had three children by his first wife, Josie Ann Ensley Tubbs. Elbert and Josie were married on Christmas Day, 1901 and Josie died in 1909. Roxie Mae married Elbert in 1911, and became "mother" to 14 children, including her 11 biological children with Elbert, and I have heard many times how she loved Josie's children as if they were her own.

Roxie Mae died the day after I was born, and I often wondered how stressful all of that must have been for my family. Imagine my surprise when one of my sisters told me her memories, and how having a new baby in the house (me) was the one bright spot during that dark time! Elbert died when I was a teenager, so I am thankful for the memories of him that I carry in my heart. He was a good, gentle man and he could tell really long stories.


My Aunt Bethel recently told me about the nicknames Elbert would use for his children: Virgil's nickname was "Pete" and Bethel's nickname was "Wildcat". It is beyond my understanding why anyone with 14 children to name would also come up with nicknames for them!

At a family reunion a few years ago, I was chatting with a distant relative from an older generation. She told me how much fun they had at the reunions long ago, back when "Uncle Ebb and Aunt Mae were here". That really touched me! It sounds like I missed some good times. I think I need to get busy creating memories that my loved ones can hold onto after I'm gone!

Time Marches On...

It's March already? How did that happen? It felt good to walk the pathway that circles Rice University this morning. First time in a while. We didn't make it all the way around, instead we stayed close to where we parked in case the clouds decided to unload on us.

Last Thursday I woke up to sad news. I had been regularly checking on a dear family friend, Don Vinzant, since I got the word that he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma last month. My dad was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2001, so I am familiar with this devastating disease. It usually causes intense pain and suffering to patients fighting it and it is a diagnosis you never want to hear. Don passed away peacefully March 10, 2011. I am thankful that his suffering was not extended, and at the same time I feel the ache in my heart for his family and friends who will miss him so much. He devoted his life to serving God and leading others to God through Christ. It was a blessing to have known him and to have him perform our wedding in 1983. Don and his precious wife, Carol, have touched many lives and I know Carol will continue without him, but I don't know how. It is my prayer that each person whose life was touched by Don will step up and emulate what he made look so effortless.

The next day, Friday, before I turned on the news I received a call from my sister. The first thing she told me was that my daughter in Japan was OK. That's always good to know, but I wanted to know why she felt the need to call me to say this. (Well - I think I actually yelled at her to tell me what was going on, but I did call her back later to apologize.) Then she told me about the earthquake in Japan, and that when I saw the pictures on the news it would scare me. She was right. I asked her to call mom and warn her not to worry about our family when she turned on her TV. When we hung up, I turned on my TV to the horrible scenes of the earthquake and tsunami. And prayed. And tried to call my daughter. Over and over. And wrote on her FaceBook wall how thankful I was that they were OK. And how I couldn't get a phone call through to her. And then I got an email from my daughter, telling me to turn on Skype. Oh yeah. So I signed on, and as her image appeared on my computer screen I was finally able to breathe again.

I am not going to ask, "what next?" My son took off by himself this morning from Arkansas, driving almost to our border with Canada to pick up a trailer and deliver it to Houston. He assures me he will be fine...

Video of my trip to Japan

The Hills Head to Japan!

During the last half of September, my daughter's family came to spent a couple of weeks with us before going back home to NC to pack up and leave for Japan. We tried to get in as many family visits as we could, and I think we did a pretty good job! This is my mom and sister getting ready for a farewell dinner that they put together.
When my daughter's family flew out of Houston to go home, I went with them. Hey, somebody had to watch the little one so they could focus on getting packed. We stayed so busy and had a ton of fun. A few days before they left for Japan, the rest of the grandparents came to bid them farewell.
After a super long trip they finally arrived in Japan and seem to be settling in. I just got an email from her saying that the first shipment of their belongings should arrive tomorrow morning. Since they left, they have been living out of whatever they could bring in their suitcases. The last shipment, which has their furniture and remaining items, should arrive in the next few weeks.

I know I'm bragging, but I have the best husband ever! He told me that for my Christmas gift this year, he would give me a trip to Japan that I could use whenever I want!!! After talking it over, it was decided that I will leave Houston on November 30, arriving in Hiroshima December 1 and stay until December 9. That way I can be there to celebrate a very special first birthday on December 2, babysit for a very important second wedding anniversary date and also when their final shipment arrives, and celebrate whatever else we can think of. I am really looking forward to my trip, although at the same time a little anxious!

Surprise!!

September passed by in a blur! Mike and I drove up to Searcy for Labor Day Weekend to get some things out of the house there before we put it on the market. It was good to see Taylor. It also worked out that we got to see Ashley, Ava and Cody who were there visiting Cody's family. The surprise was that my niece, Amy, decided to come to Searcy to visit one of her friends and bring cupcakes to Ashley (Amy makes great cupcakes). Taylor, Mike and I met up with Amy and her buddy, Sammi at the Harding football game and Amy brought cupcakes for us! She is such a sweetie!

Our New Foster Dog

Last Wednesday our new foster dog arrived from North Carolina! Her family has trusted us with her care for the next three years while they are stationed in Japan. Izzy is adjusting well and it is clear that she comes from a good home. The airline took good care of the dogs they delivered that day, and we were all relieved when Izzy arrived safe and sound. She is very well behaved in the house, and lets us know when she needs to go outside. For now we have to take her out on a leash each time, because we don't have a fenced yard. We are considering getting a wireless containment system so that we can let her out without her chasing a squirrel and getting lost. I'm glad we are getting along so well!

My Work Here Is Done!

So...the stocking I was making for my granddaughter is finally complete! It is beautiful from a distance, so maybe no one will look at it too closely. It is full of love, sequins, a future lifetime of Christmas fun, and a few flaws. In an earlier post I mentioned how I had the urge to go back and fix every little part of the stocking that was imperfect, but I just had to keep reminding myself that was unrealistic. If I had gone back and fixed every mistake, it would take so long that Ava would never get to use it and that would defeat the purpose!
The stocking arrived in North Carolina yesterday, just in time to be packed with the rest of Ava's family's belongings to go half way around the world to Japan! We'll talk about that one in another post.
Happy Tuesday!

Rembering Lucy

Lucy Tima Hill Endebrock

Last Sunday my precious Aunt Lucy passed away. She was 89 years old and had recently been put on hospice, so it came as no great shock. It did, however, come with great sadness for me. Lucy had been in a nursing home for the last several years and didn't always know me when I went to see her, but that didn't dull my love for her. As the arrangements were made for Lucy's funeral, I began to realize that the minister who had been asked to speak at the funeral had never met Lucy. My mind went back to my own father's funeral, and the beautiful speech that my husband had made about my dad. I decided that if no one had already been chosen, then I would like to volunteer to tell the group about Lucy at her funeral. Since I had not spoken to Lucy's last surviving daughter in a long time, I was afraid she might not remember me and so I was hesitant to call her on the phone. I decided to go ahead and prepare my remarks and get to the funeral chapel early. When Lucy's daughter arrived for the funeral, I was able to ask her in person and she agreed to letting me speak during the service. The funeral director said that my turn would come right after "The Old Rugged Cross". Here is what I said:
Hello, I am Fay Morris and I am Lucy's niece. Today I would like to say that I love Lucy and give you a few reasons why: Lucy was born in 1921, the fifth daughter of R. Q. and Fannie Hill. After Lucy, R. Q. and Fannie had three sons and then Geneva, who is my mother.
Lucy and my mom were very close sisters and even shared a bed while growing up. My mom had to stay in the hospital when she was a little girl, and when her parents came to visit they brought Lucy with them. If you knew Lucy, then you know what happened next. Lucy was very social and so before long, she struck up a conversation with the little girl in the next bed. This made my mom very unhappy, because she wanted to keep Lucy to herself.
A few years later, Lucy told my mom that she was planning to marry Arthur Endebrock. That was OK with mom, right up until she found out that meant Lucy would be moving in with Arthur! Once again, mom didn't want to have to share Lucy.
Lucy's brother, Bud, served in the Army during the 1940's. He told me that during the time he was stationed in Japan, Lucy was so good to write him long letters full of family news. Bud said he always looked forward to getting a letter from Lucy to keep him updated about his nieces and nephews. Lucy was very thoughtful.
Lucy and Arthur had two daughters, Nancy and Judy, and a son, Roger. Lucy was a very active and involved mother. She loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren very much.
By the time I came along, Lucy's children were all grown up, so in my memories of spending time together it was always just Lucy and Arthur. Their house was one of my favorite places to go, even though there were no children for me to play with, or a computer, iPod, or video games! As soon as our station wagon came to a stop in their driveway on Forest Avenue, I tried to be the first one up the sidewalk and through the white gate into the porch that separated Lucy's sewing room to the left, from the rest of their house to the right. Their house had a front door, but I don't remember anyone ever using it. We always went into the house through the door that went straight into the kitchen, where Lucy kept a radio playing softly next to the sink.
Lucy was a gifted seamstress and sewed for the public for many years. Her sewing room was a converted garage and it was there that she turned out one masterpiece after another, always making it look easy.
Lucy and Arthur kept a large garden in their back yard where they grew lots of good things to eat. Fresh tomatoes were one of Lucy's favorite things.
Lucy and Arthur played bridge every Tuesday night with my parents and my dad's brother, Tommy and his wife, Margie for a number of years. Each week the game location rotated between their three houses. When it was Lucy and Arthur's turn to host the group I was always able to find plenty to entertain myself while the adults played bridge.
Lucy and Arthur went on vacations with us to Colorado and enjoyed time together on the Llano River. Once we went deep sea fishing and even while fighting sea-sickness, Lucy caught a shark!
Lucy had a wide circle of friends and also enjoyed bowling in a league for a long time. She always made time for fun, whether it was fishing, playing a game, going for a walk, or having a heart to heart talk.
Lucy's phone number was the first one I ever memorized, and I bet you remember it, too: GL1-6607.
A few years ago when Lucy was in the hospital I went to see her. I sat by her bed and we talked about all sorts of things when her doctor came in to check on her. By then, Lucy had lost most of her eyesight, so after the doctor left the room I commented on how young he looked. Never missing a beat, Lucy asked me if he was good looking. I told her yes, he was nice looking. She immediately said, "Oh, rats! And here I am, looking like an old woman."
These are just a few of the reasons why I love Lucy.

That's what I said at Lucy's funeral, but there is so much more I wish I would have said. Whenever we have had a funeral before, there would be a meeting with the minister ahead of time and he would get all the details of the person's life and share them at the funeral. I expected that this would happen at Lucy's funeral, so I wish I would have also said that Lucy Tima Hill Endebrock was born on July 29, 1921 in the King Community of Coryell County and passed away August 15, 2010 at the age of 89 years and 17 days in Clifton, Texas. Lucy is survived by one daughter, five grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and lifelong friends. She is preceded in death by her husband, Arthur August Endebrock, her son, Roger, her daughter, Judy, and her grandson, Christopher. Lucy graduated from Jonesboro High School in 1938, and married Arthur Endebrock September 27, 1941. In 1946, Lucy and Arthur bought his father's farm near Aleman, Texas in 1946. They worked very hard and had their place debt free in less than seven years. Due to the drought in Central Texas in the 1950s, Arthur took a job at General Motors Corporation . Lucy and Arthur purchased a home in Handley on the east side of Fort Worth and raised their family.
Lucy lived through many hard times but she was not the type of person to let it bring down her spirits. When Lucy was seven years old, her sister Mercedeas died. Lucy also lived through The Great Depression, World War II, the loss of her grandson, husband and two children. Despite these losses, she kept a good attitude and was a lot of fun to be around.
Lucy was a Christian, and she did not reserve her faith for a certain day of the week or a certain building. She lived her faith on a daily basis, and taught by example. If Lucy loved you, you knew it! One of her gifts that was so like Christ was her ability to set aside time to spend with children and make them feel valued and loved.
I also wish I would have said how these are just a few of my memories and I am sure that everyone here today has their own memories of Lucy. I hope this has reminded you of some good times that you shared with Lucy, and like me those memories will always be a treasure in your heart.

Perspective

Today is Day 5 post sinus surgery. Mouth breathing can get very annoying. I am trying to be thankful that I'm breathing in any fashion, but sometimes it just gets to me. It dries out my mouth so much and makes me very thirsty. ugh. I'm thankful that I don't have to show up at a job somewhere with two black eyes and a big bandage on my nose. I'm thankful not to have little children at home with needs regardless of whatever else is going on in the world. I'm thankful that there was something medically that could be done about my sinus polyps. I am very thankful to have a husband who wants to take care of my needs. I have so much for which to be thankful. I just need to work on FEELING thankful. I took a picture of myself but it is way too scary to post. Have a nice day.

Care Packages

Recently I have become acquainted with "Care Packages". Since my new son-in-law has deployed to Iraq with the Marines, I have been trying to learn all I can about what should or should not be included in a care package. It's a topic that until last year I am ashamed to say had never given much thought. It must have been categorized in my brain as one of those things that other people do. When I was becoming acquainted with the family that my daughter was about to marry into, one of the conversations turned to his first deployment and the fun of sending him care packages. Fun? What? That idea had never occurred to me before. The whole process really sounded like a chore, but little did I know how very much fun I would have with it all! As the deployment date approached, I started doing internet searches for ideas. It became important to me that the he receive something from home as soon after he got to Iraq as possible. I'm not sure why this mattered so much to me, but it's possible that it was my awareness of my own tendency to procrastinate! My decision to send the first care package ASAP was probably to keep me from putting it off until he was almost ready to return home. The stories that his parents told me about some of his fellow Marines who never received anything in the mail really made an impact.

A couple of days after he left for Iraq, I went to visit my daughter at their home in North Carolina. While I was there, we shopped together for items we wanted to send in our first care package. It turned out to be so much fun! We found so many more things than we could send in the first box, so we already had inspiration for box number two!! It worked out great for us to collaborate as we learned the ropes: flat-rate boxes from the post office are FABULOUS for taking the whole weight thing out of the equation, they limit what we can send at one time and force us to save something for the next package, addressing a box going to a deployed service member is a little different than one going to somewhere here in the states, and don't forget the customs form (that's the trickiest part for me). So we sent the first box on September 11 and didn't tell him it was on it's way, so he would be surprised. Astonishingly, it arrived in one week! Go USPS!

To clear up a common rumor that I've heard, IT IS OK TO SEND RELIGIOUS MATERIAL. Some people are saying that we cannot include anything religious in the boxes because it would be offensive to the locals. That is incorrect. To quote my son-in-law, "Anything religious is great out here because it keeps people's heads on straight if you know what I mean. Religion is a very important thing to have out here. It sometimes is the only thing that gets people through deployments." I couldn't have said it better myself.

After returning home to Houston, I could hardly wait to start on a care package and see if I could do it all by myself. You know what? I did it! As I started putting care package number two together, I kept thinking about my own son in college and how much I miss him and how proud I am of him and so I made up a box for him. All of that was so fun that I then decided to send a box to my daughter, also. What started as a care package project for a Marine in Iraq ended up being care packages for all three of my charges. Now to get to work on the next round...

Time in Iraq

And Another Thing...

Today I arrived at my daughter's house in North Carolina. Her pregnancy is in full bloom now, and she looks beautiful. Cody went to Iraq last week and I hate that he has to gone during this special time in their lives. He is doing what he has to do to take care of his new family, but it's just hard sometimes.

I brought Ava's stocking with me and maybe Ashley and I will get a little work done on it while I'm here. It was nice to see Courtney today. A visit here just wouldn't bee be the same if I didn't get to see her.

There's not much to say today. I'm just seeing how the new posts show up in the blog.

Christmas Stockings

When my children were small, I made Christmas stockings for each of them. It was a long and tedious process. So many hours passed with me sewing stitches, attaching sequins, stuffing appliques, untangling knots, etc. When the stockings were finally done I felt such a sense of accomplishment! Each year I would carefully remove them from the special box where they stayed safely packed for the previous 11 months. Since I knew how much work had gone into them, I handled them as if they were glass.

This Christmas I will have a new grand-daughter, and so I'm working on another stocking. This time, through the process, I have more time to reflect. As I sew stitches, attach sequins, stuff appliques and untangle knots, I become annoyed when I see mistakes that I've made. I really want this stocking to be perfect for Ava. I want it to be a stocking that she'll be proud of and know that her grandmother made with love just for her. Many times I undo the work that I've done and do it over, trying to make everything perfect. The other day I had the thought, "if I keep undoing each part of this project, I'll never get it finished." That's when I realized that I just can't make it perfect, but maybe she will like it anyway. It's kind of like life. We can go back and fix some of our mistakes, but not all of them. Later, when we look back, maybe we can still see a beautiful life; flaws and all.