Reflections on New Seasons

I believe October marks the10 year anniversary of my Great Trip Out West - my move to Seattle (which, for those of you who don't know, only lasted a couple of months). I was 19 years old, working as a full-time bank teller, not in school...and I found myself facing an interesting life transition, but felt incredibly directionless. My good friends and mentors Vicki and Rick suggested I take the opportunity to explore life outside of small-town Tennessee, and I jumped at it.

Three days, 10 states, and 2,500 miles later I arrived in Seattle and felt more out of place than I ever had in my entire life. What am I doing here??? No, seriously...What am I doing?
I had just made my first real-life grown-up decision: Moving away from home with little-to-no parental consent. My folks wanted to be supportive, but at the same time had reservations about my choice to leave. And who can blame them? I had no plans other than to secure a job (which almost didn't happen). Boy, what I would give to go back to the days of being fearless and not planning for my future...

But what I didn't realize at the time is that I WAS actually planning and preparing myself for my future. That single decision to move away from home for 2 months - as silly as it seems now - really shaped who I am today. It helped me spread my wings, and I learned some very valuable lessons about myself, my friends and my family by choosing to leave.

Lesson #1 - Each of us should explore life from a different point of view for an extended period of time. Get out of your bubble! Break your routine! Challenge yourself.
Lesson #2 - You can always come home again
Lesson #3 - The boy you're talking to is never worth it (and you know it)
Lesson #4 - There's no such thing as the right way or the wrong way - we're all just carving out our own unique paths
Lesson #5 - To everything there is a season...

...and here's where I start rambling about seasons...
I vividly recall sitting with Vicki and Rick and explaining that I needed to move back to Tennessee. I felt that my grand idea to move out west was a big giant failure. I had absolutely nothing to show for my time in Seattle (other than clothes from the Gap and a ton of knitting needles). I made no friends, I had no full-time job, no place to live, and most disappointing of all, I did NOT meet Dave Matthews! I didn't see a future in Seattle, and running back home seemed like the smart thing to do. After all, I had a little brother who would soon be growing into a kid and starting Kindergarten. I had friends and family who missed me. I had the option for in-state tuition.

Yes, moving home was the path of least resistance, and I guess there's nothing WRONG with that...but Vicki and Rick did their best to encourage me to stay. Rick made reference to me staying in Seattle "through the season." I took his words literally and thought he meant for me to stay through the winter season, but he continued by saying that each of our lives has its own seasons...its own time to develop and mature, to ebb and flow, and eventually come to an end. Rick knew my season in Seattle hadn't reached its peak. It had nothing to do with the changing of the leaves or the temperature outside, but my 19 year old brain couldn't grasp this concept. I dismissed his wisdom pretty quickly, and within a couple of weeks I was back home eatin' biscuits and drinkin' sweet tea. MMMmmmmm MMMMMmmm

Hearing this bald, musician, wool-sock-wearing granola man (I LOVE YOU, RICK!) tell me that my life had seasons that weren't weather seasons because they were abstract seasons, seasons of change, of emotions and experiences, well...it was crazy talk.

Thankfully, I grew up. I matured. I'm now very familiar with this concept of abstract emotional seasons. I even accept the fact that I might experience several different seasons at once, all with their own impact.

Sean and Murphy

Fall in Franklin

Murphy P. Carroll

2008-2011

New Things

Today I'd like to share a few new things going on in our wild and crazy suburban lives. HA! Who am i kidding? our lives are plain jane and often mundane. I guess that's why I find these new things so absolutely exciting.

The first is an item I've been eying at Yarrow Acres - one of my favorite shops on Main Street - for quite some time. My sweet mother-in-law Ann gave me a gift certificate for Christmas...last year. Okay, so it took me 10 months to go shopping, so what!?! I was thrilled to purchase this adorable birdcage. We're using it to display a pretty fern and an African Violet in the corner of our den (sorry the lighting is so dim).
 

Next in the "new" category are some extra awesome HALLOWEEN decorations. Woot woot! I love love love Halloween. In years past I've gone a bit overboard when shopping for new ghoulish decor, but this year I've been pretty strict on myself. I think spending less than $100.00 on new decorations is strict, don't you??? I'm so enamored with this new arrangement in our dining room that I sort of want to leave it up all year...

Okay, you caught me...Murphy isn't new by any means, but I still wanted to post an update. He's been living with doggy lymphoma for a little over 2 months, and his health is degrading a little bit each day. We're keeping him as comfortable as we can and spoiling him rotten in the meantime. Sampling bits of delicious people food has become a regular occurrence, and he LOVES it.

I saved the best New Thing for last...the PERGOLA. Sean, Trevor and Jeff busted their behinds this weekend to make this happen. Isn't it pergolicious? Sean will be doing more pergolating this coming weekend to finish the job. I'm ecstatic about our new outdoor living space!!! And unlike this guy, these posts aren't going anywhere.

"Alsome"

When we saw Downtown Franklin completely blocked off by police cars last night, Sean and I  suspected widespread criminal activity. Had we owned a 12 year old girl, we would've known it was an actual case of Bieber Fever spreading throughout town.

Bieber filmed a Christmas video on Main Street causing 10 million screaming tweens (and 3 adult homosexual males) to flood the DTF in layers of scarves and skinny jeans. Video evidence of the plague can be seen here:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110928/WILLIAMSON01/309280141/2318/NLETTER08/Justin-Bieber-draws-crowds-to-downtown-Franklin-for-video?source=nletter-news

Legend has it, high pitched squeals from the crazed fans were heard for miles around. Decibel levels reached 165-170, the same as a space shuttle launch.

News of last night's Bieber invasion came to me via text message from my "Little."

Hey watz up u can c dat im not @ skool cuz i went 2 c justin bieber last night n i stay intil 1 this mornin
im bout 2 sent u some pics n some video it was alsome
it waz nice like a every christmas present so dat waz gud

At least she knows how to spell Justin Bieber's name correctly...

Picture Pages!

I present to you, dear readers, a showcase of some recent snapshots.

Here I am with ONE THIRD of my basil plant. That's right - there are 2 more outrageously large branches still hanging out in the garden. This bunch here made 4 jars of yummy pesto. I almost forgot to mention my pesto is vegan gluten free organic pesto, retailing at Whole Foods for just $99.99 per jar.

Sean's cup overfloweth with excitement about the start of football season. Specifically college football. We invited John & Bethany to watch the 2nd UT game of the season at our place (Sean and John's Alma Mater), and Sean got in touch with his Martha Stewart side. He iced these cookies on his own. Aren't they sweet?

Sean's allegiance to The Volunteers has been shaken up a bit by his new employer (a much more prestigious university with less tacky colors). We spent a recent Saturday afternoon cheering for the Black & Gold, and cheering for new jobs.

C'mon Get Happy

August was great and then, not so great. Kind of all at the same time. Does that make sense? It was crazy, busy, fun, good, happy, bad and sad. I realize regular life includes all of the above, but August felt incredibly intense. Come to think of it, so does September.
Some August Highlights:
.I resumed weekly visits with my "Little Sister"
.New tenants at the Yellow House, which involved lots of cleaning and a mild amount of stress
.Wedding showers, dinner with new friends, visits with my grandmother, traveling for work, daily sessions at the gym in preparation for our trip to The Beach...

...and then, of course, there was the actual trip to The Beach itself.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Sean received a long-awaited job offer, I was awarded Employee of the Month title, and then we found out Murphy has doggy lymphoma. We celebrated with each other, and cried with each other. The highs have been high, and the lows...well, they're a bit stinky.
Here we are at the end of September, and I now have a big case of The End of Summer Blues. The browning of leaves, the freezing 70 degree temperatures, and football - they grab my heart, rip it out, and stomp its ass on the ground. Each year I try to fight it, and fight it HARD. I'm seriously considering the purchase of a sun therapy lamp. Now more than ever I have to make a conscious effort to stay focused on the positive - things like making a giant pot of chili, a new season of Parenthood, date nights with Sean by our fire pit, and my favorite holiday Halloween.

I can't help but shed a small tear as I vacuum pack my bathing suits into the storage bag. And I'll be shedding actual tears when it comes time to say good bye to our sweet pup. I guess the fact that I'm here on earth to experience sadness and cry a little bit is a Good Thing. It means I'm real. Means I'm alive, and I can't complain about that.

Flying into Fall

The series premier of Pan Am just aired its first 5 minutes, and of course, we are tuned in. Would you expect any less from Mr. Sean P. the Pilot? I don't know if I'll be able to get past the cheesy dialogue, and I'm not sure the rest of America's viewers will be able to either...

Speaking of flying, though...Sean is eager to return to the cockpit. I expect he'll be back in the air in a matter of weeks, continuing towards his instrument rating.

Back on the ground, we just returned from our annual visit to St. Louis to see our friends The Jensens. It couldn't have been a more beautiful weekend weatherwise. We welcomed the first days of fall relaxing with good friends, which is exactly what I needed to help combat The End of Summer Blues. Sarah planned a special TV Themed costume party to coincide with our visit. I just so happen to love parties AND costumes. It was so much fun, and I especially enjoyed meeting the rest of their St. Louis friends.

Thurston and Lovey Howell

Marge Simpson and Jimmy Neutron

and Dr. Who

I'm already looking forward to our next encounter with these crazy kids. See you in the Spring!!!

It's back to work tomorrow, and back to our normal routine. Only, this Monday will be a Fall Monday instead of a Summer Monday, and I'm not so thrilled about that. As part of my battle against the End of Summer Blues, I have plans to treat myself to some retail therapy. I'm also working on plans for the halloween party. My copy of this year's Martha Halloween has already been skimmed and tagged! I really want our guests to enjoy it, which means I need to keep the fun coming, and add new and exciting elements each year. But no pressure, right?

Update: Project Pink Chair

I purchased this pink chair for $10.00 in January, and vowed to turn it into something beautiful. I still have high hopes for this chair. Unfortunately, it looks the same as it did 8 months ago, only it's in a different spot in my house (hiding in a dark corner of the bonus room).

I feel just awful about this. Somehow this poor chair earned a permanent position at the VERY BOTTOM of my to-do list. It's down there next to "learn to speak fluent Spanish" and "go back to school for a real degree."