What Day Is It?

"What day is it?" asked Winnie the Pooh.

"It's today," squeaked Piglet.

"My favorite day," said Pooh

                                                                     ~A. A. Milne

I have no regrets about discontinuing my photography business this summer.  None at all.

Instead, I have so many happy memories,  many which would not have happened if I was focusing on clients.

Like biking to Collins Creamery with Annie.

Tranforming Annie's bedroom to a more adult look.

Spending time with friends.

Watching girls who have been friends since childhood say good-bye as they each embark to distant states for their dream jobs.

Spending a beautiful day at the beach with Adam and Annie.

"Be present in all things and thankful for all things."  ~Maya Angelou

Tending my garden.

Taking care of my pets.

Halle is looking and acting like a puppy again

after 3 weeks on medication for hypothyroidism.

Momo, who was stressed from all the activity in the household (culminating in peeing in the middle of my bed)

is now much calmer thanks to a daily dose of anti-anxiety meds.

"Write it in your heart that every day is the best day of the year"

                                               ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Clothes shopping with Kerry.

Taking Adam's picture for his Columbia photo ID.

(new glasses or not?)

  Feeling sad that it will be quite a long time before the driveway will be this full again.

  

Watching Vance make pancakes for the kids the morning we moved Adam into Columbia.

Moving into the dorm.

"Happiness is not in another place, but this place...not for another hour, but now."   ~Walt Whitman

Selfie with my birthday present from Kerry.

 Bringing a very nervous daughter to a far-away state,

worrying about her after we left,

and relieved to see her Instagram post after her first day at work!

I'm happy to say

I've had so many "favorite days"

this summer!

Moving Out, Moving On, Moving In

After two months of preparation - studying for her nursing boards, shopping for furniture, spending time with friends, passing her boards and packing ...

the time had come to pack up the moving truck for our trip to Tennessee.

Annie came along to help out and see a little bit of Nashville at the same time.

But before we left, Aunty Linda came over from across the street for a tearful good-bye.

Vance drove the rental truck and the rest of us took turns

driving Kerry's car.

The scenery was beautiful along the way, especially in the mountains of Virginia.

There were certainly indications that we were in the south.  

When I saw this cross, I wondered what it belonged to.

It was part of a church!  Come on!  Is it really necessary to be that large?

In the middle of the afternoon on the second day,  we arrived at Kerry's apartment.

We began the long process of emptying the truck and putting together all of the IKEA furniture!

Vance doubted Annie's ability to put together the kitchen table, but she proved him wrong!

There was time for other things too - like trying out restaurants in the area.

We also walked around Vanderbilt Medical Center.

The Loveless Cafe was one of our favorite restaurants...

The homemade biscuits were heavenly...

the waitress was the nicest and friendliest...

the art was interesting...

and there was a ton of mouth-watering southern comfort food!

Vance gave it his all to get a picture of the three girls in front of the sign.

The only things in focus were the cars on the road behind us!

Annie and I took a break from assembling furniture to visit an old southern plantation called Belle Meade.

The grounds were beautiful!  

You could almost imagine what it was like to live here back in the 1800's!

Vance finished up the last of the furniture pieces the day we left.

Kerry's apartment, which she shares with 2 other new nurses at Vanderbilt, was beginning to shape up.

Would you like a tour of the downstairs?

The entrance to the apartment is through this door.  Upstairs are 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms (not in any way fit to be shown!)

Through the double glass doors is a small deck...

Dining room

Kitchen...

with laundry room.

View from the kitchen into the living room.  

The dining room is behind the refrigerator.

There's also a half bath off the living room.

I'll end with this picture because there were no happy pictures

on the day we left.

I remember when I moved away from home (Vermont). 

I was lonely.  

I ached for the familiar.

I hated eating dinner alone.

But it lessens with time.

The unfamiliar starts to feel like home.

You make acquaintances, then friends.

No matter what, though, it always felt so good to go back home.