My ideal environment for writing is one of peace and quiet, but that seems to be a rare commodity anymore. With only two kids, you would think they could not generate that much noise. Oh but they do! My daily life is lived amongst shrill screeches and sibling fighting and very loud boy noises. I am a quiet person by nature, but I have been forced into this chaos, and I honestly think I have mastered the skills to tune out all of the background noise in order to preserve my sanity! Today is no exception. I am filtering out the above mentioned as I write. And now on to the inspiration for today's post...
I have never really thought about the fact that I got 2.5 solid years of one-on-one time with Coulby, and none with Caroline. Coulby had the advantage of being an only child for a while and had all eyes on him. So when I had the opportunity to do something with my daughter, just the two of us, I jumped on it. Well, it involved my hubby taking some time off from work to make it happen (thanks, honey!), and some babysitting arrangements with my dad (thanks, dad!), but everything worked out.
For years my grandmother has talked about having a family reunion for her entire side of the family, including those distant, distant relatives that are related somewhere along the line. She and my aunt finally made this dream come true when they helped organize a reunion in Nashville, Tennessee. I really wanted to go so that I could see family that I have not seen in years, but also because it was a chance for Caroline and I to have some real quality time together. Some girl time. So our road trip was planned. My mom and aunt and I would be traveling with Caroline on a 10+ hour drive. A girl's road trip...no boys allowed!
I am not sure what I expected from Nashville, but what I saw was not what I anticipated. It was beautiful countryside, a nice clean city, and the nicest people you could ever meet. Everyone was friendly. I really loved it! And Caroline was a perfect angel, enjoying every second of her girl's time and all of the attention she got wherever we went. My favorite part of each day was lying down beside her in the bed and watching her fall asleep.
We crammed so many fun things in to the time we had in Nashville. We had a nice dinner with family, a great day of shopping in Nashville's huge mall, a tour of the Gibson guitar warehouse (thanks to my uncle and his connections), a bus tour of downtown Nashville (including The Hermitage; president Andrew Jackson's house), an evening at the Grand Ole Opry, and a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Nothing beat the time we got to spend with family.
I hope that I will get the chance to do something like this with Caroline again in the future, but I am just happy that I got to experience Nashville with her. And I have TONS of photos to prove it! I would like to plan a Christmas in Nashville at the Opry Hotel (which is exquisite and breathtaking), but that is a goal for the future. I think Coulby would really love it! And while I did not buy much in Nashville, I did take home some kick butt cowboy boots! How could I leave the heart of country music without a pair?
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