Nashville To The Nations: March 2012

We have finally reached the end of Tin Pan South week - notoriously known as the most exhausting week of each year. Tin Pan South is the annual NSAI songwriters festival here in Nashville. From Tuesday through Saturday, ten different venues host two shows nightly - that's almost a hundred shows to choose from in just five days! Phew! Each show features four or five songwriters who play and share stories for several rounds. And each one is phe.nom.e.nal. Some shows might have a big name artist that everyone will recognize, but most are names that are only revered in songwriting circles. I know I say this all the time, but those are the ones that just blow me away - a name and a face that I don't recognize, who has written hit after hit that I've sang along to my whole life!

My Mom and I found ourselves at the Hard Rock Cafe each evening, enjoying the beautiful warm Nashville night air from their terrace overlooking lower Broadway. Some of the highlights were Josh Turner (one of my favorite voices), Mark Narmore (That's What I Love About Sunday), Mark Nesler (Just to See You Smile, You Look Good in My Shirt), Jeremy Spillman (He Oughta Know That By Now, Another Try), Brett James (Jesus Take The Wheel, Who I Am, The Man I Want to Be), Lee Thomas Miller (The World, The Impossible, I'm Still A Guy), and two of my all-time favorites, Dave Barnes and Brandon Heath! Crazy good. Pinch me. I can't believe I live in Nashville.

We had my Dad snap some photos of us before we headed out one night. I sure like her!

Don't be fooled. This was staged.

My days were filled with fun, too! The girls and I made some adorable bunny bunting. After helping me string it from the mantle, it was decided that they needed cottontails, too!

We spent several mornings on the playground, coaxed some neighborhood ducks up from the pond, drank delicious fruit smoothies, and visited some baby chicks. An A+ week, for sure!

I love this sequence of Hattie faces. She tried so hard not to smile!

This was mean. I should be ashamed. I slicked their wet hair up and they looked like a pack (pod? school?) of narwhals running around the living room. You can see what Mazie thought of me and my camera.

Friday morning, we were up early (after being out 'til the wee hours) to send my Mom off to the airport. Apparently the entire state of Kentucky was also heading south (NOLA bound) on the interstate, so after finally reaching the airport, my Mom had missed her flight. At the same time, my Dad was greeting some dear friends from back in Wyoming who were just arriving for the weekend. After another (slow) trip back to the airport to retrieve my mother, who had now been bumped from several stand-by flights, we all gathered back at the house to enjoy dinner and an evening of fellowship together. So fun!

My Mom and I finally made our way to bed for a few short hours before leaving again for the airport at four this morning. The Kentuckians had all passed by then and we had a short and easy trip in. Wanna know a secret (or a not-so-secret if you've known me a while)? I love airports. So we hugged it out at the Nashville airport and I sent her on her merry way. Now it was 5 AM and I was already dressed and about for the day, so I just kept the goodtimes going. I decided to try something I've always thought about doing but never actually done - I drove over to Love Circle to catch the sunrise. After sitting in my car for forty minutes, it was still dark out and John Rich hadn't invited me in for pancakes yet. And then a few other carloads of people pulled up and I realized the clouds were going to prevent a good display of the rising sun, so I drove away. I'll have to try that one again another day.

So I had a shopping list of things I needed at WalMart, so that's where I headed next. Wow. WalMart is so lovely at 6 AM. I only had to share the place with four sweet senior citizens. I took my time, walking slowly up each aisle, giving great thought to each item I dropped into my cart. It was really enjoyable. I finally gathered my purchases and made my way to the car, just knowing I had successfully killed a large chunk of my morning. Nope. Looked at the clock in my car...7:30 AM. Now what?!

I had a book in my purse, so I hopped over to Panera for some breakfast and quiet time. I never just sit and savor like that. It was nice. Also, I think I've only ever ordered bagels from Panera. Today? I tried the four-cheese souffle. Wow! It's only 8 AM and I am acting all sorts of crazy! Look at me! I did indeed kill some more time and then ventured over to the newly reopened Opry Mills mall just before it's 10 AM opening. I was well prepared for a large crowd, but to my complete surprise I got a good hour and a half of relaxing browsing in before the masses arrived.

Before I had even made it back to my house, I received a text from my Mom letting me know she had landed in Vegas. So I returned home at the crack of noon and am now feeling like I have just lived through the longest day/week of my life. I'm wrapping up some domestic duties and looking forward to another evening with our guests...and then BED. And have I mentioned that I'm caffeine free?