Taco Meat and Leggings with Ruffles

Two quarts of taco meat.

Two trays of baked ziti.

Two loaf pans of chicken spaghetti.

One plate of brownies.

Hi, I'm Jill. I'm a Southern Baptist woman. I make and take food to show love.

Only a few more days until I get to deliver the food to someone I love . . . Chris. It's been six weeks since we've seen his face in person. That is the longest time I've not seen him. Yes, we have Facetime and yes, we text and share pictures. But, hugging him in person and watching him eat a home-cooked and transported meal is what I will be doing this weekend.

A six-hour drive with a loaded ice chest and bags full of favorite things -- chewy Chips Ahoy and fruit snacks to name a few -- plus some other goodies -- pictures of his sisters and some nifty Texas Tech coasters is what is on tap this weekend. It's parent's weekend. There are plenty of events, meals and t-shirts to be had up in Lubbock. There is even a game. I think we'll be just together. OK, I'll be going to Wal Mart, washing sheets and towels, cooking for a tailgate and watching the girls swim at their Bubba's resort. I don't think I'll be at a parent's weekend event with a name tag talking to strangers about my son's year so far and his plans for the summer. I don't think I'll pay $30 for the t-shirt and casino night combo. And, I am not certain we will be buying tickets to the game. (Why on earth would I cheer for another Big 12 school?)

I am 100 percent sure I will be happy just being with Chris. Watching him with his sisters and hearing his stories about school will keep me entertained as much as any football game.

Not really. I mean, did you watch my Bears almost beat Oklahoma Saturday. We were there. Details that we left after halftime, but I was the driver and the highway was going to be closed in Austin and I didn't want to be out on the roads super late.

How did I not stay!?!?? We were 0-3 going into that game. And, it wasn't like we had lost to Alabama, Notre Dame or Michigan. Nah, we had lost to schools that aren't known to be football powerhouses. We lost to Duke. In football.

Each season, I say, it's our year. Except this season, I knew it would be rough. I believed we would lose some games, but we would win the requisite six to  go to a bowl game. I knew it was a rebuilding year. Let's be clear -- this rebuilding was starting from the foundation. It has been hard watching my Bears not win.

Then, Saturday, we scored. We sacked the quarterback. We got a turnover. We threw the ball deep and struck quickly. We converted third downs.

So, we lost. And, we are 0-4. Because my hope springs eternal, I fully believe we will be in the Big 12 championship game because we will win out since the game plan is finally solid. Oh, Bears, why does this happen?

How did we get to Waco last weekend and are now headed to Lubbock this weekend? Fourth part planning with a car that gets some fantastic gas mileage.

Waking up early last Saturday was tough. Getting to Waco early in the day to spend time in one of my most favorite places was the bonus to the alarm clock sounding at a time that is before our school morning time. We went to the Silos -- with all of America. I mean, the people. And, the people. Buying so many things. In 45-minute wait lines for cupcakes. It wasn't busy because of game day. The clerk at the seed and garden shop, that was about the size of my covered back patio and full of more people than I've ever put on said patio, said every day is packed. Every day. Joanna and Chip are killing it.

After the Silos, we went to the Suspension Bridge and took in an impressive art installation. We then hit campus, visiting the bookstore, seeing Judge Joy the bear, walked around the Student Union building and found the locker room for the Acro and Tumbling team. Camille now, like Caroline, wants to go to Baylor. (Smiles)

Then, we went to the stadium which required a lot of walking on a very warm, day after the first day of fall day. We tailgated, ate hamburgers, drank many bottles of water and took advantage of every give away -- Whataburger frisbees and koozies, Baylor keychains and paper fans, pom poms and green and gold necklaces, Sic 'Em towels, free t-shirts. Lots of stuff that wasn't going to fit in my stadium-sized approved bag.

When you arrive to a game early, you also get to participate in the Bear Walk where two darling cheerleaders told my girls they could grow up and be cheerleaders one day, too. Caroline asked one of the girls if her hair was fake -- hair spray, sweet girl, lots and lots of hair spray. It's Texas. It's a humid day in fall. It's cheer hair.

Bear Walk isn't about the cheerleaders. It's about the players. They come off their bus and make their way down this path -- the Good Ol' Baylor Line, perhaps -- and high five every person along the way. The Adams' girls were in and kept asking if we knew any of these guys. When a coach came up and briefly spoke to them, they later asked if he knew their daddy. I said no, not every coach knows each other. (I secretly wished he did because maybe G could have a job at Baylor and all my hair spray dreams could come true and I would be in Waco again. I rubbed my eyes from the sweat dripping off my forehead and remembered, G would never, ever live in Waco.)

Gas in the car, cash in the wallet, comfortable shoes on our feet, extra ponytail holders in my purse and PJs in the travel bag happened because of planning. Even our timing from one venue to another was planning. I had mapped out the day. I had read the game-day central emails. I had spent my week prior fourth parts getting ready for game day.

This upcoming Lubbock trip with a Texas Tech game day has also required some planning. My fourth parts have been prepping meals. All are frozen. All are hearty. All are favs. All are labeled with cooking instructions. (I forgot to write on the plastic lids to remove the plastic lids, but surely my son will know that, right?)

I'm pulling the girls out of school Friday so we can get on the road. I've scheduled work calls so I will be working. I'll get cash. I'll make sure we are packed Thursday p.m. The ice chest will be packed Friday morning.

It seems so easy when you write it. But when you are trying to figure out what clothes to bring because it might rain, it might be in the high 50s or mid 70s and you may or may not go to the game . . .it's a challenge.

Even with all our prep and my organization, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to wear during the day Saturday. I have my game outfit (or tailgate outfit, if we don't go to the game), my PJs, my car outfit (will be worn both up and back) and my Friday night dinner outfit. Trying to figure out what we will do Saturday is a challenge. I think the Windmill Museum may be on the docket. Random, yes. Interest piqued, of course. Instagram worthy, absolutely.

Truth be told, I've been dying to wear a new pair of leggings I bought during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Black leggings with ruffles down the side. Not all the way down my leg, please, give me some credit. The ruffles are a few inches long from about mid-calf down. Super cute. Curses. I've no shirt to wear with them. I've been on the hunt for a long, loose, but not too loose, thick-ish, but not too thin, v-neck or even scoop neck, long-sleeve or even 3/4 sleeve length white t-shirt. I'm exhausted thinking about it. Shouldn't this search be easy. I've got the internet. I have a ton of boutiques in my various social media feeds. I have friends who have the shirt I'm looking for. Yet, I cannot find one.

Really, should a mom at parent's weekend be wearing leggings with ruffles while she visits her 20-year-old son. Absolutely not. So, why do I want to. Why do I want to find cute outfits to wear out and about in Lubbock. Who cares? I really don't. So, why?

I know why. I want to appear as if I have it all together. I want the casual, care-free, effortless, just threw it together look. I want other college parents to think I am able to raise twin girls, be married to a high school coach and pay my son's tuition on time (so far so good on that one). No, no, I don't. I really don't care what other people think of my parenting or my marriage.

I care.

I want to be pulled together. I want to show my children you can be effortless in life and come out on top. I want them to know while some things are hard, really hard, there are other things that just don't need to matter. My outfits. They don't really matter.

This massive amount of fourth-part planning I've undertaken the last couple of weeks has been laser focused on something I care about. I've been trying to pull quite a bit together to be ready to get to something that matters.

Chris.

I mean, I have missed him. I don't cry like I did his first semester away. I don't get sad as often. Maybe I'm missing him because well, he's moving to a new phase. He has less than two years of school left. He's planning a summer internship. He's not coming home as much. He's grocery shopping and cooking.

This weekend, I'll be cooking. I'll be wearing boots with a jacket. The girls have a few choices of outfits -- all include leggings and jackets, too.

Once we get there, I won't be thinking about my outfits. I won't be worried that I don't have the perfect shirt to go with leggings that have ruffles. I'll be wondering how I can slow down the clock so that we won't have to leave on Sunday. I'll be wondering how Chris is settled into a new apartment. I'll be wondering why I'll cry on the way home.

Fourth part planning also means having some tissue in the car. It also means planning to stop at a Diary Queen on the way home for some ice cream to make us feel better.

And, it means knowing that he has some good food to eat for a few weeks.