the Earth moved

We in North America seem to be getting a bit of seismic activity these days. Yesterday's earthquake prompted my friend Kym to say: Be nice! We only have 15 months left!

But instead of looking forward, the earthquake had me looking backwards. I was thinking of the last time the East Coast shook and the phone lines were down and I couldn't get in touch with my parents*. That was September 11, 2001.

It was the events of September 11 that led me to reconnect with Aaron. We had fallen out of touch when we had both started dating people who were geographically closer. He was at school in New York and I was at school in Roanoke, VA. That's a distance of 500 miles, which is a long way to travel without a car and without money for trains/buses/airplanes.

It was our mutual friend who suggested that I send him an email because at that time he was stationed in Kuwait. A lengthy correspondence between us followed, along with visits once he returned stateside. I made the decision to get a job in the state where he was stationed so that we could be closer and see if this relationship was going to be forever or just for now. (Side note: my dad thought I was crazy, but still drove 1,230 miles in two days in a moving van to get me where I had to go) That was in October of 2002. This October will mark our 8th year as a married couple.

Maybe that's why I love hearing how married people met. Maybe that's why I see tragedy as a catalyst for change.


*My parents are fine, by the way. My dad got a half day off work and was pretty pleased.

Back from Bama

I came home.
I have to say that travel by oneself is a horse of a different color. On the way there, I kept having brief moments where I would frantically look for the children before remembering that they were at their grandparents house.
I got to visit with family, drive around the city, go to the Birmingham Museum of Art (twice), and sleep in EVERY SINGLE DAY. There was a lot of good food, a lot of good memories, and a lot of fun. It was hard to come home--I wanted to call Aaron and have him just pack the house & the kids up and move on down. Here are my cousin and my Aunt--this is the cousin that came to visit back in June.

This is my great grandmother's house (technically it's somebody else's house now). My Nana's brother built it for his mother. (His house is on one side and Nana's sister's house is on the other).

Kelsey took me to Orr Park in Montevallo to show me the trees that had been carved by a local artisan. They are all along the foot path: faces, dragons, unicorns, llamas, wizards. It was fun to scout them out.

This is Aunt Carmela, myself, and my other cousin Andrea. We were waiting on a table at Joe's Italian. The food was yummy and I loved that the propritors know Aunt Carmela because she eats there so frequently.

And on our way to the airport we made a stop by the Peanut Depot--where you can get 'em roasted or boiled.

That's the abbreviated version of my adventure. I thought I should fill you in before I got distracted and moved on to something else.