Weekend in West Tennessee....Part 2

After leaving the fish fry, I headed to another small town in an adjacent county, Greenfield. This is where my friend Ginger is originally from--we met in college. She now lives in El Salvador and came home for a couple of showers to celebrate the upcoming birth of her and Ramfis' first son, Gino. I always enjoy my time with Ginger, she describes me as her "lifelong friend" (that's how she introduced me to her childhood friends who were there). I think that's a nice description....a friend you want to have for life and not just for "now." I am SO thankful for the ones I have. Plus, it was neat to see Ginger pregnant...I'm glad that I get to go through different phases with my lifelong friends and see how we all change and grow with each one. The hosts did a great job of planning the party; everything was themed around "Ginger's about to POP!"....meaning every drink and food item had the word "pop" in it. Noted: Think of creative things like this for someday when I have to throw a shower. Or, look on Pinterest.

Alison, Ginger, and me

Most of the shower attendees were friends of Ginger from home, and most still live there in the area. They also all have children. I realize this is not unusual in most small towns, but sometimes I still forget that not everyone lives a life of freedom like me :). Ironically, one of the hosts (who didn't know me), sent an email to me asking to share parenting advice with Ginger and Ramfis. Ha! I thought this was quite hilarious when I read the email, and decided to cut and paste from blogs I read....isn't that where all the cool people get advice? ;) Fortunately, our friend Alison, also from college, also came down from St. Louis to the shower, so I had someone I knew to hang out with. Since we were both from out of town, we stayed overnight at their house, and I'm glad we got a little extra time to hang out with Ginger and her sister, Sheena, who was in town from Knoxville. They both are new-ish moms and gave great advice to Ginger. One thing I'm thankful for--that with friends like this, you don't feel out of place when they're talking about something you have not experienced, because regardless of what they're going through, you're walking through life with them.

The last part of my trip was to visit my parents at their home, and also the cat, Charlie. I was very tired from the busy weekend, so I always appreciate that I can really rest when I'm there with no interruptions. (Do you do that at "home"?) Plus, just swinging on the porch swing can be so nice on a summer (I guess, actually spring) evening with Charlie to keep me company. :)