2,190 Days

By the time Sam and I pull out onto the highway in our UHaul next week, I will have been a Nashville, Tennessee resident for 6 years almost to the day. That's 2,190 days here or 52,560 hours. I've called Clearview Drive, Central Avenue, Brownlee, and White Brige Road home. I've had only three roommates (plus Sam). I've had four jobs but only interviewed for one of them. I've had one other job interview since I've been here and it involved getting pseudo-kidnapped and taken to Kentucky (I later turned down their offer). I've been through five cell phones. Four of them have been Nokias, and one Motorola. True Story. I've had one car totaled by a sweet lady WWII veteran, and sold another on Craig's List. I've been introduced to Korean food. I've had three dogs and two cats (some for longer than others).

I've been to seven bachelorette parties (really only two in Nashville) and three (only three?) baby showers. I've lost track of how many weddings, but I have travelled to eight different states to attend them.

I've written a feature screenplay and pitched it to a big whig. Discovered my heart swells with excitement whenever I am on set. Acted in a dozen films, ranging from 10-minute student shorts to 50 million dollar disney pictures. Done therapy with close to 50 children, and I hope helped most of them.

I've loved a lot and had my heart broken. I may have unwittingly broken a few as well. I met my husband and had a beautiful wedding. I leave this town with some friendships that have stood the test of time and are even stronger than they were six years ago. Lost some friends and don't know why.

I've learned a lot about myself and about life. I may never like olives, and I have stopped trying. I hope to never return to 9 to 5. The dentist is expensive. So is insurance. People STILL don't get how good the music in Nashville is. Some brilliant ideas that should be making someone piles of money are not, and a lot of stupid ones are making plenty of people rich.

Now that I'm re-reading this it's reminiscent of a chain letter. Which leaves me with only one way to end it....
Pass this letter on if u luv your friendz!
That's something else I've learned about myself. Always trying to make jokes when I start getting sad.
Here's to the next 2,000 days.

Ellie Roosevelt Williamson

I came back from a baby shower a couple of weeks ago and found Sam pouring over the Humane Society website with a mischievous grin on his face. "I've been to the humane society..." he started. "I fell in love with this dog. I almost brought her home but that's not how the Williamsons do things. I hope you say it's ok to get her." The next day we went back and checked her out again. I have to say the people at the Humane Society LOVED her. Every time we would start talking to an employee they'd say in a half-whisper "You know Ellie is the best dog here." She is 10 months old, and fully housebroken. Apparently when she first arrived as a pup she was WILD so that won her a ticket into the PPUPS program, a doggie school in the women's prison here that trains dogs as part of the women's rehabilitation. She spent four months there before returning to the Humane Society, and knows a long list of commands (I'm still trying to memorize them all).

At first I was a little disappointed at the prospect of having a fully trained dog. Being that my work background involves behavior modification, I've been relishing the thought of molding a young pup into a well-behaved furball. But, as I've gotten to know her, I'm seeing there's still things to work on. She's rather skiddish at night and especially wary of bushes (yes, bushes). She gets separation anxiety whenever Sam and I leave for any period of time (which is a real doggie ailment that involves whining, and pacing the house with anxiety). She also loves other dogs and wants to play with them whenever we see one in the neighborhood. She is what I would describe to friends as a "boy dog," ie, she's a little too big to be a lap dog (although she tries anyway) but she can run really really fast and jump really really high (characteristics which I've always found that boys appreciate in dogs more than girls).

A few other things Ellie loves:
Chasing Bunnies
Riding in the Car
Going for Walks
Throwing dog toys up in the air and catching them
Birds
Running like a cheetah

A couple of years ago, I started really wanting a dog. I came up with an imaginary name for her: Eleanor Roosevelt. The fact that her name was already Ellie was funny to Sam and I and of course, as she already answers to it, we'll keep it as is.

On Putting Down Roots

I can't tell you how elated I am at the prospect of being somewhere more than temporarily. I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's all temporary, really, but I can't remember the last time I had all my boxes unpacked and all my pictures up on the walls (I can, actually, it was circa July 2006 in a sweet little house on Central Ave. Mary and I had pooled all our stuff into one charming abode. Since then I have lived at my parent's house, where most of my stuff sat in the basement for about a year, and at Dunham's Station, where our dining room has served as a holding place for our boxes for the better part of six months).

It's weird, I feel like I haven't gotten a chance to have a "home" for Sam and I since we've been married. We've been in this holding pattern of waiting to move and/or putting up with less than spectacular aspects of our apartment (see haikus below) and I can't wait to be somewhere and get settled in. Not to mention being somewhere that not a soul has ever lived in before! A brand new balcony, oven, windows, doorknobs, of our very own!

I really enjoy creating an inviting atmospehere, cooking for friends, and generally opening my crib up to others to enjoy. I feel like Sam hasn't even seen that side of me as a wife yet. It's been a strange an interesting time--giving away or selling a good part of our belongings. Finding out I really haven't missed any of it. It's refreshing, in a way, to not have a bunch of stuff bogging you down, especially as we get ready to start a new chapter of our lives.

Stay tuned as we pack up what's left of what we own in the next couple of weeks and head north! Hang on! It's going to be wild!