New Year-Old Memories

After a wonderful New Years celebration in Jackson Tennessee, it was finally time to go home.  So, the alarm went off early on a dreary, dark morning and we started to pack the car.  Now, we knew the weather was going to be dicey, and sure enough, as we were packing the car big snowflakes started to fall.  I remembered that the boys had rarely seen snow falling before and they had to get moving anyway, so I woke them up before the sun was up, they put on their coats, and they ran outside to play in the falling snowflakes!  Boy, it was cold, but they had a ball scraping snow off the car and the grass and smushing it into a "snowball".

Once the car was packed, we gave Aunt Beth and Uncle Roy some big hugs, chiseled the ice off the front window, and headed off into the snowstorm.  We were basically outracing it, so before long we were back into a dreary rain which was nice because it meant I didn't have to drive in the slippery stuff.  Once we had been on the road for a few hours, we arrived in Nashville.  Everytime we drive through Nashville, Ian and I always talk longingly about our former Vandy haunts.  So, this time, we actually decided to stop at one of our favorite places, Pancake Pantry.

We parked and headed in.  Unfortunately, we were directly behind the Georgia women's basketball team in line, but we were seated amazingly fast all things considered.  It was honestly very weird for Ian and I to be there with kids. We've never been there and even thought about a kids' menu, but they had one, and the boys happily picked out a "bear" shaped snowman with chocolate chips.  Ian got the traditional grill cooks medley and I had to get the french toast.  It was all as delicious as we remembered.

By that point, the cold and snowflakes had caught back up with us.  We debated about the next segment of our adventure, but we knew that the boys would be in the car for the rest of the day.  So, we decided to brave the cold for a few more minutes and walk down to Peabody on Vanderbilt's campus for an important bit of reminiscing.   We walked to the center of their beautiful lawn in front of what used to be called the Social Religious building, and we stopped right where the sidewalks cross.

About 12 and a half years ago, on a November evening, Ian and I stood directly on that spot and he asked me to marry him.  So, we went back to that spot and tried to explain to the boys how important of a spot this was in their lives as well.  I don't know how much of it sunk in, but Ian and I had fun remembering and just being amazed at where we had come in those 12 years.

In no time, we had some cold, complaining little ones, so we ushered them back to the car, hopped in, and drove the remaining nine or so hours home.  It was a long day, but a wonderful trip!

(My boys on "the spot"-Don't they look happy to be there?)

(My boy and I)

(This proposal wasn't quite the same as 12 years ago, but it might have possibly been cuter!)

(Self portrait of the married couple...boy, I'm glad I said yes!)