Part Two

Some of you have already read about this part of our journey - but only in bits and pieces. Now I get to spell most of it out.

I. The phone call
We woke Friday morning with full intentions of getting on the road and visiting Lynchburg, TN and the Jack Daniel's Distillery (that and my name may make you think I'm a lush - but I'm not!). Then we received the call. Our lovely dear and wonderful neighbors called to let us know what I should've already known - it rained all night Thursday night and most of it right on top of the lake and our river is rising rapidly. We moved quickly from calm and relaxed after three days with our niece and her kids to dazed and confused with total stress and anxiety mixed in. It was like we were paralyzed and didn't know what to do. I make calls and go online so we can make informed decisions.

II. The trip with a detour.
After searching and calling we decide that we can't change our course right now because we need a plane or rental car to get Kent home to take care of our stuff and neither of them were available from Alabama! We loaded the van and moved onward toward Chatty, but for some insane reason we thought that we could still visit the JD distillery and make it to Chatty on time - how could that be since we didn't leave on time? are you seeing a pattern? None the less, we detoured right by the facility and kept on trucking (or following - there was a funeral procession all the way through Fayetteville!). After a pleasant stop at Chick-fil-a (do you ever stop to think how out of towners feel when we invade our local CFA? - until Friday I didn't care, I'll have to reconsider that for my next CFA group!), we pressed on to Chatty with our faithful although mildly wayward in cloudy situations GPS in tow. The kids were all wiped out but they were in good moods anyway.

III. The arrival
When we arrived Kent went to check in and figure things out. If you haven't been here, downtown Chatty is quite fun and inviting. Kent saw all his cousins lounging in the lobby. The excitement built as the night went on. Where apprehension loomed before our arrival, now pleasure was taking it's place. When we had all gathered. We decided to go to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Our boys were exemplary. Most people including us worry about our kids behaviour in stressful situations like eating out, but we didn't need to worry! Our kids and our extended family really enjoyed one another.

IV. The Joy
It wasn't over with just one dinner. It started Saturday with Breakfast, swimming in the heated pool (M's favorite thing so far.) followed by lunch at MM's aunt's assisted living facility and concluded with a nice sit down dinner at Sticky Fingers. Between lunch and dinner we visited a nearby cousin's saw mill. His house is a log cabin made from parts of an old tobacco barn. It is so way cool. The way they have it decorated is like it was a family home and had been for centuries! While we were there we enjoyed apple cider and molasses cookies and one another's company. If you haven't given your family a chance to open up in a few years, now may be the time. MM was very unsure of what his cousins would think of our life but now he sees that they want to love him not judge him. What a joy!

Sidenote:
There were six kids total at the reunion. Half of them were my own. One had just turned a year and the other two were 12 and 14. All the kids were wonderfully behaved (except my own of course, because they can never be perfect, right?) but I must say that the 12 and 14 yo were very pleasant to talk to and get along with.

V. The conclusion
At the end of this reunion I must say that I'm sad that it has to end and we have to get back to our own lives. It wasn't long enough. We didn't have enough time to do all that we wanted to do. There wasn't enough time to ask all the questions and get all the answers and sort out who's who among the cousins. It's not like we can just visit them every week. We are all amazed at how much the blood relatives are alike and yet so unique. BTW: many of them were born in my hometown which means they aren't all that bad... I almost forgot: The river never made it into the first floor and no one lost anything of value during the heavy rains. Our neighbors and my dad made sure that any valuables were up and out of the way of any rising water. This marks high water #3 for this calendar year.

I hope to have some pretty pictures next time because I'll be home by then I think. The only time I've had to do this blog thing is when everyone else is asleep!