She's Back!

I flew into Nashville Wednesday evening.  The sky was criss-crossed with tracks of planes coming and going.  This will probably be my last trip to Nashville because the reason for this trip is to move Kerry back to Connecticut.

Two years ago, we moved our rather un-enthusiastic daughter to Nashville for her first nursing job at Vanderbilt Medical Center.  The distance from home was difficult for her, especially in the beginning.

She got a cat named Fletcher and lived with her two roommates, Amber and Poorvie, who were also new nurses at Vanderbilt.

Nashville is a very friendly place, and Kerry became friends with her co-workers too.

She also made another friend - a stray cat which she named "Little Grey".

He got to know her schedule and would wait for her to come home to feed him.

When I got to her apartment,  Kerry had taken apart her IKEA furniture already.  It was wrapped and ready to pack.

Fletcher didn't know what was going on, but I think he was enjoying himself.

A small moving Pod was delivered and we began loading it very carefully.  We had doubts that all of her things would fit.

But when all was loaded, we actually had room to spare!

Friday was Kerry's last day of work at Vanderbilt.  

Her co-workers brought food and took lots of pictures with her, 

letting her know she would be missed.

Before I drove to pick her up from work for our long road trip home,  I stopped at her apartment one last time to pick up Fletcher and her gecko, Ravioli.

Little Grey was sitting near her apartment, waiting for Kerry.  

I felt bad for him and fed him his last meal before I left.

Kerry was happy and sad when she came out to the car.

We took this picture as we left to drive over 1000 miles in 17 hours.

Fletcher was a very good traveler!

We drove all through the night, taking turns behind the wheel.

I was happy when the sky began to lighten as the sun came up.

It was a long, but gladly uneventful trip.  

We were very happy when we pulled into the driveway at home!

Kerry is a very different person than she was two years ago.  Her life experiences in Nashville have given her confidence and she seems really happy with herself personally and professionally.

Kerry's own words on her Facebook wall said it best:

"Life update:  I'm excited to say that in about 3 weeks I'll be making the move back home to Connecticut!  I've recently accepted a job on the general surgery/plastics unit at Hartford Hospital and have also become the owner of a condo in Glastonbury that I'll be living in with one of my best friends since elementary school...the one and only Melody Smith!  Nashville and Vanderbilt have treated me so well since I moved down here as a new grad.  Since then, I've grown immensely as a person and as a nurse.  There are a lot of things I'll miss about living and working here, but I'm looking forward to getting back to New England!"

We are certainly very happy to have her back too!