It occurred to me recently that I never get around to trying to post pictures here from my iPhone, even though I have an iPhone 4s with a really good camera.
Let's give it a try....
That, as you can see, is Andrew. Andrew in his beloved red shoes. "Red shoes!" he crows happily when I tell him it's time to put on his shoes. "RED SHOOOOOZZZE!" He is standing by the door to the screened-in porch at my parents' new house.
Yes, my parents are moving to Nashville. Mom is officially retiring from her school job in May, and she'll become a full-time resident of the Music City shortly thereafter. Not that she's counting the days (okay, actually she is). Daddy will continue to work in Memphis for a little while longer, and he'll drive back and forth. Grandaddy Bill, my 94-year-old grandfather will move to Nashville, too, and live in an as-yet-to-be-determined assisted living facility.
I've been looking forward to my family moving here for so long that I hadn't stopped to think about the fact that this will be the end of Road Trips to Grandma's House as my children know them. Well, as William knows them. Andrew's only made a couple of road trips in his two years, neither of which he will remember.
Now, I could get all sentimental about what it's like to take a big trip to the grandparents' house. And I started to do that. I started to think about how much I always looked forward to visiting my own grandparents when I was a child, how I stockpiled books and treats for the car trip, and loaded film into my camera in anticipation. And I wondered if my children were going to miss out on that whole experience and wish that they'd had the chance to go somewhere different occasionally and see new things.
Then I came to my senses. I adore living in Nashville, and I think my parents will like it, too. But beyond that, they'll get to have the experience of getting to know their grandchildren and spending time with them on a more regular basis. My in-laws live here, and I love that they have a good relationship with William and Andrew because they get to see them both on a regular basis. I want my parents to have a similar benefit. Instead of having to stay with us for a week, they can drop in for Sunday night dinner or show up for a Saturday afternoon soccer game. And then they can go home and sleep in their own beds and have all their own stuff right there. They can go to school on Grandparents' Day or have lunch with the boys, or (hint hint) do a little babysitting. But they don't have to cram in all their grandparenting into a four-day trip here or a week there. I think it will be good for everyone--and probably less exhausting.
I admit that a small part of me will miss our trips to Natchez. I didn't get a chance to go to Natchez this year, and it doesn't look like I'm going to get the chance to return before Mom moves up here. I will have to remember all the good memories from my past trips. The upside to this is that I'll never have to subject myself to a marathon road trip on the slow-going Natchez Trace with tired, grumpy, hungry little boys in the backseat. The downside, of course, is that I won't get a chance to say goodbye to the little town that welcomed me during a tough part of my life. I'm still not entirely sure how I managed to make it to Natchez with 11-week-old William, but I'm glad I did.
