We sure did squeeze a lot of fun into one whirlwind Saturday. I can’t remember the last time I was up at 4am for a road trip but I couldn’t wait to be surrounded by the mountains of East Tennessee. I hate that we missed the gathering last weekend with Dad, Janice, Levi, Roy, Jax and Elijah as they celebrated Grandmother’s 104th birthday but we’re making up for lost time.
It has been months since we have seen each other so we arrived to lots of laughs and wonderful hugs. Grandmother looked amazing and in high spirits even with sixteen wicked stitches in her left hand and sporting a yellowish-green bruise in the middle of her forehead and right cheekbone after her fall a couple of weeks ago. She is a trooper!
Since we set out so early this morning, we were right on time for lunch. We decided to sit around the kitchen table (my favorite place), to catch up and enjoy a bucket of crispy KFC fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, coleslaw, biscuits, chicken tenders and French fries.
After lunch, we presented Grandmother with her belated birthday gift, a vintage, heart-shaped locket with photos of the grandkiddos, DJ and Becky and Roy and little ol’ me.
This visit, we decided to treat ourselves to an overnight stay at the Carnegie Hotel as a late anniversary gift. So while Terry checked us in and grabbed a much needed nap, Grandmother, Phyllis and I stretched out in the bedroom and tuned in to watch the end of the movie, “Signs” with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, which I hadn’t seen since it was released in 2002. It was fun to watch that again.
Next we watched “John Wick” with Keanu Reeves which was a scream. Grandmother, kept asking, “Why is he killing all those people?”and Phyllis and I would laughingly reply in unison, “Because they killed his dog.”
Terry returned just as the movie was ending and John Wick was eliminating the rest of the evil doers. Instead of getting out for dinner, we ordered from Carrarbba’s and had it delivered. We gathered around the kitchen table once again and enjoyed a trio of chicken parmesan, lasagna and fettuccini Alfredo with a side salad and warm bread. By 8:30pm we were all fading so we called it a night basking in the joy of our day together.
Checking out of the Carnegie Hotel.
By weekends end, we are usually anxious to get on the road, but today we decided to stay a little longer and attend church with Grandmother and Phyllis Sunday morning. As the service drew to a close, the church took a moment to honor Grandmother for her decades of service and presented her with a beautiful cake while the congregation serenaded her with “Happy Birthday”.
As always, we had a wonderful time and we we’re looking forward to our next visit.
Getting ready to head to church with Phyllis and Grandmother.
