Tennessee Love

When we were told we could be placed anywhere in the country, we were excited… and feeling pretty adventurous. When they told us the specific places that were the most likely, we were stoked. All of them sounded great. We hoped for some over others, but none of them seemed too crazy.

Then corporate plans changed and they said, "We know where you’re going! But we can’t tell you. And you get two offices. And you start in 3 weeks."

WHAAA?? 

Two offices is great. Starting in 3 weeks is great. But what do you mean you can't tell us? It has proven difficult to arrange big moves without knowing where you’re going. Not to mention the anxiety.

Finally, I got a phone call from Mitch at about 5 a.m. California time. And let’s just say that’s not my prettiest time of the day, especially since being away from Mitch totally traumatized our child in that she NEVER slept. Naps or otherwise. So that early was generally a rough time of the day for us. In short, I was out of it. 

Mitch said “Are you ready to hear where we’re going?!” 

In my head thinking Why would you taunt me with such a pointless question? but I really said “Yes!” 

“Are you sure?”

 Thinking: ARE YOU SERIOUS? 

“YES” 

“Okay…we will be living in….Nashville, Tennessee!”

 “…”

 “Well, are you excited?!”

 “That’s…weird.”

 “Alright well call me when you wake up”

I could tell he was slightly disappointed with my reaction. But I didn't really care, it was 5 a.m. And I was going to be living in the South.

Not that I had anything specific against the South, it was more that it was definitely not one of the nationwide options floating around in my head.

 Nashville just wasn't on the list. 

When I woke up, I thought about it for a while. I thought about how excited Mitch seemed to be, and how undesirable my response probably was. And then I started to think about all the things I thought I knew or heard about Nashville. 

Then I started to get a little excited

I knew people there had accents. Maybe Tessa could grow up with a little tiny southern accent?! So cute

I knew it was pretty famous for its country music, and I like county. Some of it anyway…

 I didn't know anything about the weather. 

I really didn't know anything about…anything.

I also remembered that whole time we were waiting to hear where we would be living, Mitch and I prayed all the time thanking our Heavenly Father for the job opportunity and telling him we knew where we would be placed is where He needed us. Where we, ourselves, could grow. And where we could try to bless other people’s lives.

 It is obvious to me that Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves, knows where we will flourish and be happy, and knows who we will come in contact with. I love considering all the ways in which my life has weaved itself so that I was able to know certain people at exactly the perfect time. That I was in exact places that I needed to be, participated in events and had conversations with specific people that changed my life. 

That is not an accident.

In light of all of this, I prayed, thanking Him that we knew where we were going, and that it was in Nashville, Tennessee. I told Him I knew we are going there for a reason, and I prayed that we would fulfill whatever it was that brought us there.

Then I called Mitch and we had a very different conversation. Neither of us knew much about Tennessee. And as we talked to others about our new adventure we heard a lot of 

“The people are nice.” And, “The food is good.” 

SOLD!

Flash-forward to today. We've been here for about 8 weeks. 

And we LOVE it. 

Maybe the next word above love, whatever that word would be. 

• We LOVE the people (I think that’s #1) 
• We love our ward 
• We love the weather (so far). We have been warned about the intense summers and winters, the humidity (coming from Utah..uh yeah!) and allergy season, but we have experienced none of those yet
• We love the food. Mitch loves it more
• We love all the things to do
• We love our apartment and its location 
• We love how green it is 
• We love all the things that make it different from California and Utah 

On the first day of work, Mitch said he had been invited to church 5 times. A regular conversation starter is “What church do you belong to?” What a shock when you came from California and people avoided acknowledging a higher power like it was a plague. And in Utah where you either were a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or you very much weren't but either way you didn't talk about it. We have been warned to be prepared for when someone will slam you for saying you’re Mormon, because it will happen. We haven’t had that experience yet. 

• Everyone is nice
• I have noticed people love babies. Tessa is a big hit wherever we go 
• The bugs are HUGE (that’s not a love, it’s just a difference) 
• Tornado warnings are something I've never experienced, and I say it’s scary but I also think it is super exciting! I secretly love turning on the weather channel to check for tornado warnings. Is that weird? Maybe it’s only exciting now because my county hasn't been singled out by one yet.

And when I say we love our ward, this is my favorite ward I've ever been in. Ever. On the first Sunday we were swarmed with people curious about our family and introducing themselves. I really was having about 6 conversations at the same time at any given time. We were invited to a members home for dinner that same night. Tessa has regular play dates with other kids in our ward and I’m making friends.

I can tell that grandparents are missing Tessa, and that Tessa is REALLY missing her cousin Ella, but of all the great things about being out here, it just feels right. We know this is one of those things where we are exactly where we are supposed to be. I’m not sure how long we’ll be here, and to be honest, I’m not that worried about it. I could see us here for a while. But if we’re not, I know we’ll be off to another place God has planned for us.