The little things in life....: From the Lakes of Minnesota to the Hills of Tennessee

I look back 2 months ago. I was spending my days packing up a house we built in Menahga just three years ago. Waking up and packing. Falling asleep with packing tape residue on my fingers. Everything I touched needed to be valued as something to be kept or to sell or to donate to keep our cost of moving down. Everything I touched brought back memories. Ahhh, that is Dharma's collar. I miss my dog. Scott will tell you the story of how I asked for her while awaiting my epidural at the birth of my first son. I still can argue today that she was the only one who would understand the pain and not bring in stinky burritos into the room. Look, there is a wedding gift we haven't used yet. Remember that hot September day in Duluth when we got married? Who knew it could be so hot in Duluth the month of September? I don't think I noticed. Then there was the endless family photos, highs school memorabilia and, well, junk. The flood of memories that once was and now...

Quickly, the days to leaving Minnesota approached. With Scott already in Tennessee for the summer, I was the leader. The only leader. I had to keep a level head and be the cheerleader for the kids that leaving their home was a good thing. Not only a good thing, but a great thing. That was a tough job. No, it sucked. Packing up their most prized possessions while convincing them that it would be alright. Leaving friends, teachers, church, grandparents, aunties and uncles. Forgetting about routines, known roads and city playgrounds. Wondering where dad was. I held back tears most days. Some days it just wasn't possible to control. Those were the days the kids and I shared tears.

We had our tearful goodbyes as I was trying to not puke and hold back tears. Really, I wanted to cry. Sometimes I did. We had our last overnight visit at Hiawatha Beach. We had breakfast with friends. We played at parks and went to parades. Grandpa helped pack so many nights and grandma brought dinner. Friends brought boxes. I just could not find the right words to say because I was afraid I would cry.

On the morning we were to leave on our journey from the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee, I awoke before the children. Tears streaming from my tired eyes and without a coffee pot, I went to the deck to not awaken anyone. The most beautiful rainbow was forming in a place I had never seen a rainbow before. Within minutes it turned into a double rainbow. Bright and vibrant I stood motionless in awe. I took pictures, but it doesn't even begin to show the beauty or hope that it brought to me.

We took off from Minnesota and was fortunate to see many special people on our trip. Weather didn't cooperate the greatest on our first day. Correction, it was afwul. Scott drove through and around violent storms on his way through Minnesota. We hit a huge storm somewhere (now in 2011, I am sure it was a tornado) and then the sirens went off after a visit with Autnie Kris. But what could be worse than hanging out with Auntie Kris in the toy section of Target for a endless amount of time. Priceless. Not to mention the treats they hand out during tornado warnings when they lock the place down. We finally made our way to our hotel after the all clear was sounded. I mean all clear. Not a cloud in the sky. For miles. Maybe even states. The kids were so excited to stay in a hotel the first night, they forgot about any other amenities (i.e. pool and pop machines) and just jumped into bed.

We made the whole 1,200 miles from our home in Minnesota to our new home in Tennessee. Remarkably, it didn't suck. I admit it was fun. I would do it again. In fact, I hope our home in Minnesota sells soon so we can start planning a trip back there next summer. After all the kids need more memories like this...