Tag: family

A Reflection on Change

“The south moves north, the north moves south. A star is born, a star burns out.
The only thing that stays the same is
Everything changes, everything changes.”

-Tracy Lawerence, Time Marches On

When I began this blog a little over a year ago, my goal was to write about either a travel spot or my love of food once a week. Well, obviously since I haven’t blogged since August that didn’t quite go as planned. Why? Because simply put, things change.

There is a plaque on my living room wall that says “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I’ve ended up where I need to be.” This is a quote that I think describes my life – and probably that of many others – beautifully. When I began the blog last year, I was going through a time of loss from which writing provided me a distraction. The distraction was intensified by dreaming and sharing about all of the places I’ve been or love to eat. At the time, I needed that distraction.

Today, I’m back to blogging not because I need a distraction, but because I want to share my reflections on life. Unlike Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, I know that today is my birthday. There’s no forgetting that one for me! Also, unlike Nick I’m not turning 30; I’m turning 36. But similarly to the character of Nick, I have been going through a period that has changed the shape of my life. You see, last September we found out that God was blessing us with a rainbow baby.

This has been one of the happiest yet most intimidating changes me and Mr. Kisby have ever faced. In fact, at times – especially during those early appointments before I could feel baby moving – the changes were downright scary. But then you realize that you’re going to get to see the world through an innocent, beautiful, all wondering pair of eyes and suddenly you feel overwhelmed by how blessed you truly are!

This change has also led my mind to take a different direction from the focus of travel and food that are me and Mr Kisby centered, to dreaming of things that revolve around us and LilKsby. There are so many things I want us to share with this bundle of love:

  • The breathtaking ocean
  • The majestic mountains
  • The beauty of our quaint, small country church
  • The awesomeness that is Derby Festival
  • The places I loved as a child
  • The greatness of true friendship
  • The wonder of waterfalls
  • The fact that there are great free things to do
  • The adventure of reading
  • The joy of writing
  • The simple things like a walk through nature that show us the Kingdom, Power, and Glory around us

If you’d have asked me when I turned 35 if I would ever have a mind shift like this, then I’d have probably told you no. At the time, my heart was still broken and healing especially with the close timing to Mother’s Day when I had to watch as mothers were put on pedestals while I wanted to scream, “What about me? My baby is in heaven!”

But as Robert Frost once said, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” My road between May and September 2018 involved some amazing things that allowed me to be ready to be blessed by change. Me and Mr Kisby celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary (though I did tell him happy 7th anniversary) with an amazing dinner at Jeff Ruby’s and another cruise! We even tried snuba diving where supposedly there was a shark swimming near me that I didn’t even notice! I walked across the big Mary Kay stage in Dallas as a part of the Princess Court of Sales! In a fabulous dress of course! We went to the State Fair! We saw Taylor Swift in concert in Nashville! We spent a lot of time with friends and family! And shazam! We were blessed with the biggest, best change in the world: the change of LilKsby.

With our change, I will continue to blog. They might be more reflective than informational, but I’m looking forward to that. Maybe I’ll help someone else that needs a change experience one.

In the meantime, be like Gatsby…

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.” – F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Restaurant + Love = Egg Roll House

If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting The Great Kaysby in person, then I have no doubt that you have heard me talk about Egg Roll House.  For those who’ve never heard of it, Egg Roll House is a family owned Chinese restaurant nestled in what used to be the heart of Radcliff when Fort Knox was still booming and Winn Dixie and K-Mart off of Knox Boulevard were the premiere business areas.  Now Winn Dixie and K-Mart are long gone, but Egg Roll House has remained.  It has seen a ton of other businesses come and go, but there it sits diagonally across the street from the Gold Vault Inn.  You might be thinking, what makes Egg Roll House so good?  It’s simple.  When you’re at Egg Roll House, you feel loved like you’re at home.

One of the many reasons Egg Roll House feels like home to me is because my family has literally been eating there for 25 years (possibly more).  Before Egg Roll House, there was another Chinese place we ate at, but I was so young that prior to eating at Egg Roll House I thought Chinese food was fried shrimp and fries.  Thus Egg Roll House was the first place that I really tried and fell in love with Chinese food!  The earliest things I remember eating there besides delicious chicken wings were the Triple Delight (chicken, shrimp, and beef that I wouldn’t eat because I’m not big on beef), fried rice, and egg drop soup.  I would also eat Sweet and Sour Chicken without the sauce.  This would lead to a lot of laughs when I was in high school because for years my best friend also ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken without the sauce because I had said I didn’t like it, and then she tried it from the buffet and was like “You liar, this is good!”  In my defense, I never said it wasn’t good, I said I didn’t like it.  LOL

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Over the years there have been a lot of laughs like the Sweet and Sour Chicken incident at Egg Roll House. We’ve had many weekly family meals there, and more summer break lunches than I can count.  We’ve shared the Egg Roll House with others too.  For example, when Mr. Kisby and I got married, we took our out of town family who came in for the wedding there to eat.  We’ve also taken friends there on countless occasions over the years. One of my favorite more recent memories of a friends trip there was when we met another couple and their son there after church one Saturday evening.  All of the adults ordered various Chinese dishes, and the son ordered chicken nuggets and fries.  When our food came out, he wanted ours because it looked so good.  I’m so glad that Egg Roll House could be a part of introducing a new generation to the deliciousness of Chinese food like it did me so many years ago!

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As you can see for us, going to Egg Roll House isn’t just about food.  It’s about going to a restaurant where you feel loved just like you were eating in your own home. There is something nice about going into a restaurant and them knowing what you are going to order to drink when you walk in the door (sweet tea for Mr. Kisby and unsweet for me).  Just as nice is the owner coming out and talk to you when you come for dinner.  I find it to be extraordinarily nice when they’ll ask things like “Where are your parents?” when me and Mr. Kisby dine alone or “Just two?” when me and Dad eat there and Mr. Kisby and Mom have to work. Making us feel even more loved? When we mourned the loss of my grandmother and uncle (who were also frequent customers), they mourned right a long with us.  Can you imagine feeling more at home without being at home?  I can’t!

For more info check out: http://eggrollhouse.weebly.com/.  I highly recommend anything mentioned previously or the Egg Drop Soup with an order of Spicy Wontons and Lucky Family or Gai Sue Chicken for the entree.  I hope we see you there!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

 

 

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