Now Boarding: Atlanta, Huntsville, and Nashville

I don't know why it takes something as big as a wedding to remind me that all of my best friends have lives that continue when I am not around. Somewhere in my head I like to think that life takes a short pause when I'm away, and that the moment I come back home everyone will be there waiting, just as they were before. Yet every time I see them we have all changed, grown and gone through experiences that don't involve one another, and to that end I am even more grateful for the closeness I share with them. Despite all the time, miles, and moments spent apart we are always able to pick up right where we left off, even if that now includes things like husbands, finances, and grad school all over the country. Lydia's wedding was just that reminder to me that she had met someone, fallen in love, and now is a working, married woman who lives in Nashville (not sitting and waiting for me back in Madison until I return again). But I still secretly wish everyone was on pause. I think my friend Becca said it best when she mentioned that the weddings are so much fun, and so hard because they stand as a reminder that our lives are in a constant motion of change and maturation. We are quickly becoming adults, while we grew up together as high schoolers, and that is quite the adjustment. Nonetheless, Lydia's wedding weekend was a blast in its simplest meaning, and I loved every minute I got to spend with my friends filling in the blanks of life that happen each time we're apart.

Friday morning I dragged myself out of bed (I would like to blame the time change at this point), showered, packed, and hit the road for Nashville. This in fact turned out to be a jam-packed day of pre-wedding festivities, and so I paced myself at the bridesmaid brunch with lots of sugary and sweet foods while forgetting the promise of a sugar crash later in the afternoon. At the brunch I had the opportunity to meet tons of Lydia's family, new family, and friends from college, something odd that also happens in the spaces when we don't see each other- we make new friends. The highlight of the morning had to be Lydia's mom and two aunts serenading us with the songs that made them famous enough to appear in a Burt Reynolds movie of the 70s. From the brunch we headed to a lingerie shower at Lydia's cousins' house, and I am proud to say that we Madison girls managed to wrangle in as many raunchy jokes as we could given that Lydia's younger sisters were there. We simply said them to each other in a huddle on the couch and to that end I am fairly confident that Lydia's family and other friends think we are slightly nuts. Luckily it wouldn't be the first time, and Lord knows it won't be the last. What good are friends if you can't act like a fool and laugh until your sides and cheeks hurt? After the shower we quickly got ready for the wedding rehearsal and met with our super strict wedding coordinator. The best part of having this super strict lady was that Lydia doesn't even go to this church, it just had enough seating for the ceremony. So we bridesmaids made a valiant effort to have as much fun and giggles as possible under her eye. I also realized when being paired with a groomsman that we were the tall couple. I don't think of myself as exceptionally tall, but being in the back of the line made me wonder. I blame the cowboy boots I had on for line dancing later in the evening. And to that point, I want everyone to imagine what I looked like in the Seattle airport with cowboy boots on (since everyone knows those things don't pack well in carry-ons). One security guard even stopped me to look at them in amazement and I had to explain that I was going to a Nashville wedding! So, of course I wore those boots as much as possible the entire weekend. My airport trials would not be in vane, nor would wearing them six-plus hours on the airplane. Therefore, I wore my boots to the rehearsal, dinner, and then for line dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon. I am proud to say that I hit the dance floor and line danced for a good while, and I have now decided that I am not a horrible dancer provided someone is showing me exactly what to do. Maybe one day I will return to the saloon and show everyone my mad skills.

After dancing and talking way too late into the evening, I woke up Saturday and headed to a clubhouse to get ready for Lydia's wedding. Becca, Katie and I jammed into one bathroom and spent time spraying hairspray everywhere, trying to get make-up on, and making jokes. My guess is that our lungs are already permanently damaged from running indoor high school track in Alabama, and that the hairspray is simply added to the masses. Again, I ate a whole bunch of sugary foods and I would like to blame it on being "on vacation" more than my inability to control myself or make healthy decisions, and that sugar rush matched nicely with the Disney and late 90s pop music we had blaring in the clubhouse. We shortly thereafter headed to the church to get dressed and take pictures for the rest of the morning before the big event kicked off. I really have to give Lydia credit here. She was the calmest and most collected person the entire day, and when she smiled it was the most genuine and sweet thing, a lovely bride to say the least. My NW living gave itself away when I got sunburned from being outside for wedding photos. My poor skin didn't know what to do with sunshine, and warm sunshine to boot. Luckily Katie burned too, so I didn't feel quite as alone. The ceremony and reception were awesome, and I have to admit that I almost started sobbing when she came down the aisle. Being a bridesmaid allows you to think much more and reflect on life than being the bride trying to not trip on her hem, and so while I cried none at my ceremony, it took all I had to hold it together at Lydia's. We even had a dancing entrance into the reception, and Katie, Becca, and I chose to do some awesome moves that equally impressed Dereck when I showed him later. The best part of the reception was being around so many people that I know and love in my life, and don't get to see now that I live on the other side of the country. I spent a majority of my time hugging necks and catching up on life post-college. After the reception Erin, Sarah, Katie and I went back to the Wild Horse for one last bit of line dancing, and by the time I crept back into bed, I knew I had had an unforgettable day. There is something so precious in seeing people that you love get married, and that alone would have made my cowboy boot journey worth the effort. Seeing my friends was the spectacular icing on the cake.

I didn't realize how relaxing it was to be around people who know my name, story, and beliefs until I got home. No more asking names and going through that awkward first conversation that has dominated my life since I got married. When friends ask what it's like to have moved to Lewis I like to compare it to that freshman year of college. It may have been fun, but there were also lots of spots of loneliness and energy spent trying to find your space. My goal is to be out of that phase as quickly as possible. Sunday I drove back to Huntsville and relaxed all day before going to see friends in Birmingham on Monday. That day was as good for my soul as the wedding trip, and I have to give props to God for giving me what I needed so badly but never could have formulated into words, like a funny old joke, or warm and familiar hug. My last day at home I spent time with my grandma, aunt, and mom and simply basked in being home and relaxing on the couch. The trip overall was the perfect amount of timing. I loved being home, seeing everyone, and watching Lydia get married, but I was also excited to come back to my new home with Dereck, and by the time my plane landed in Seattle, I knew I am right where I am supposed to be, freshman feelings and all.

As I mentioned in the last blog, I am now coaching 9-11 year olds in track, and Thursday was my first practice. I had more fun than should be allowed. We did a ladder workout (100m-200m-400m-200m-100m) and I quickly learned that I am going to have to change my thinking on track distances for the little legs. Most of them want to be sprinters, much to my chagrin, but I have a goal of making a few distance runners bloom along the way. I even got called coach, and that feeling of age sticks to me even now. Since when am I old enough to be a coach instead of athlete? I cannot wait for the next practice with my crazy kids, they make me smile so much on top of the ridiculous things they say, like whether someone can run faster forward or backward. I also went to a retreat this weekend held by PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) and it was called "The Husband Project." Based on a book, the author came in and shared with us over two days how to better love our husbands intentionally, and I figured at 4 months, I still have a little to learn. In fact, I won a prize for being married the shortest time (the oldest was 48 years) that included spaghetti, sauce, recipe cards, magnets, and a magnetic calendar which I was super excited about- call me a nerd if you wish. The retreat was awesome and wonderfully informative. We all got to share with each other in addition to hearing the speaker, and I think I may have made a few friends along the way. Hearing so many other women talk about their deployed husbands made me realize how blessed I am to have Dereck home. In today's Army it is almost unheard of, and I intend to treasure every moment while I have them. Between going home, loving on my friends, and learning how to love on my husband I have to admit that I am one happy clam. Two weeks until the new puppy comes home!

Underground Seattle

I sit here in utter disbelief that it is the middle of April. The lack of school semester craziness and never-ending projects seems to make time move that much more quickly, and if I had to think of a way to summarize April thus far it would be: family! As hinted at the end of the last blog, Dereck's mom and sister came April 1st and spent a long weekend with us in the NW. Besides the fact that it was awesome to see them, it also gave Dereck and I that final kick to get some things done around the house that we had put off since throwing out the last moving boxes. This included putting pictures in photo frames and buying curtains for 90% of the house. In fact, the night before Marcie and Lesli came in, I spent hours ironing curtains while Dereck hung rods and drilled screws into our lovely Army-white walls. Simply ironing the curtains really came to solidify the fact that I hate ironing. There- I said it. I hate ironing with a fiery passion. Curtains are especially evil because they have these creases in them from packaging that must be older than time itself. No amount of work and steam is going to get those creases out, and at a critical mass point late in the night, Dereck and I said "to heck with it," and proceeded to hang wrinkly curtains all around the house. I also got some quality time cleaning those weird spaces in a home that never seem to bother you until someone is coming to visit. That red towel lint around the shower door has gone months without any concern from the Kennedys, but I would be a liar if I said I didn't Swiffer that stupid door until every piece of lint was gone. To mark the momentous cleaning of the house I even took pictures as proof that at one beautiful moment in time the house was sparkling clean, and it was a glorious twenty seconds until Dereck walked in with his Army magnet-to-dirt boots.

Having Marcie and Lesli visit was a great excuse to finally get out and see some of the museums and sights that I have been putting off simply because I was thought to myself, "I can't go there yet. I need to take visitors!" So, on Friday morning we loaded up and went to the Tacoma Glass Museum. Tacoma is world famous for its glass productions, and I have to admit that I underestimated how cool a glass museum could be. My favorite exhibit is a portion called Kid Works where kids draw all types of fanciful creatures and one gets chosen every month to actually be made in glass. The sketches hang next to the creations, and the kids think of the craziest things, like a "handyman" made of hands, or a coyote wearing rainbow socks (simply because the kid said he likes to think of the coyotes near his house prancing about in socks, and rainbow socks no less). Tacoma Glass also has what's called a Hot Studio where artists create glass pieces throughout the day while visitors sit in theatre-style seating and stare at them. I couldn't help but wonder if they felt like monkeys being watched at a zoo, and very skilled monkeys at that. We wrapped up the museum by visiting the overpriced gift store and staring at glass baubles while school kids ran around trying to find the cheapest piece of junk to take home and promptly lose. After that, we headed to lunch at Cheesecake Factory (gotta love having parents visit!) and then went shopping to find Lesli a dress for her military ball. The impressive thing about the dress shopping is that we found the perfect dress in record time- maybe I should shop with these girls more often. The downside to shopping? Evil I-5 Friday traffic. I never cease to be amazed by how this interstate can have traffic 24/7, and to make matters worse I was driving Dereck's truck which feels like a monster compared to my little Civic, and did I mention it was raining like crazy? After all the hustle of the morning, lunch, and shopping, we rounded out the night making soup at the house and watching tv to prepare for Saturday's adventure.

Saturday we made a huge breakfast and then piled in the car to go to Bremerton and catch the ferry to Seattle. This is the same route we did on my birthday, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time, even if it was twenty degrees colder. We girls were all decked out in my random winter layers, and being from Alabama points out the irony that I even own any. But despite the chill and freezing rain we stood on the deck and watched the skyline move from epic evergreens to giant houses and then the Seattle harbor, all the while drinking our Starbucks coffee and letting the warmth and espresso make us excited for the day. Our first stop was the Underground Tour as recommended by my friend Scarlett. Much to my surprise, the history of Seattle involves several rounds of sinking, filling in with sawmill dust, and then sinking again. What do I really remember about Seattle history? That it was one of the first cities to receive a Crapper Toilet from London- call it selective memory. The underground comes from the fact that the city had a massive fire, rebuilt, and then built new roads more than 5 feet above the previous level, thereby creating an underground world around buildings at the old street level. It even remained open until a serious of plagues shut down the area, and it then promptly became a playground of drug addicts and gamblers in prohibition times. It was one of the best city tours I have ever been on, and I would go again in a heartbeat! After the tour, we walked up to the market and grabbed a quick lunch. Lesli and I ate monster crepes, but the best part is that this guy came and sat next to Lesli the whole time we were there. I could tell he wanted to talk so bad, and I thought that he might have eventually had stinky Dereck not come in. We even have a photo of us and our monster crepes with him smiling at the camera in the background- he just never had the guts with Dereck scowling at him. We then proceeded to wander the market for a good while, and finally got into the truck and drove into the mountains to see Snoqualmie Falls. Apparently while we got all the nasty rain the mountains had been getting powder-perfect snow, and we took advantage of this by stopping and jumping in it, and of course catching it on our tongues. I hope I never get too old to stop and let snow fall on my tongue. And the falls were awesome! I had only heard of them from friends, and so never really knew what to expect, along with a fear that they might be a tiny trickle making me look like a fool. Suffice it to say the falls are huge and spectacular, thank goodness!

The next morning we waved goodbye to Marcie and Lesli and promptly came home for a huge nap. Between me getting ready for guests and Dereck having a full work week, we were two tired kids. Last week however had no rest for the weary as I packed to go home for Lydia's wedding. There is nothing like packing to make you realize how much you need to wash clothes, and so I tried to pack, run errands, and finish all my chores in two short days before flying home Wednesday morning. I don't think I comprehended the distance between myself and Alabama until I flew 5 hours to Atlanta and then another home. At this rate I could have been two hours short of making it to Germany from Atlanta! I was so happy to see my mom and feel the wall of warm air hit me. Gone was the rain and 40 degree weather of Lewis and in front of me was sunshine and flip-flop weather. I spent Thursday running errands I needed to get finished at home, like cutting 3 inches off the nest I like to call my hair and finally getting all the wedding pictures chosen for an album with the photographer. It was weird to be home after not seeing it for four months, and it was weird how quickly it became familiar to me. I am happy to report that Madison is still looking the same, and my pirate Beagle is still kicking, although we now like to call her Methuselah since my mom fears she will never die (Brooklyn is about to hit 14).

Friday came around quickly enough, and I found myself driving to wedding festivities for Lydia, one of my best friends from home. However in order to give the weekend the full amount of space it needs for proper blogging, this one will have to roll to an end. I would hate to try and squeeze it all in only to leave you the reader with an entire novella. And to that end, I shall bid adieu and head out to coach 9-11 year olds in track. Now all I need is a really loud whistle.