Raindrops, Dewdrops, and Teardrops

This past weekend Mark and decided to make a quick trip to Charlotte, NC to visit the Swing family. We left early Friday morning after making what we affectionately call "the Mall run." This is the process Mark goes through each morning that is in effect restocking the merchandise at the stores sold the previous day. Brian offered to do this while we were out of town.


We woke to rain and it continued all the way to North Carolina as we passed no less than four accidents on the highway. Once in the mountains the raindrops turned to very intense rain and the usual 60 miles an hour dropped to 45 or less with heavy traffic taking its time to be safe. But there are few places in the USA that can match the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and even in a heavy rain, we could feel God's presence.



Finally we arrived in Charlotte meeting Kevin at Lexi's daycare. She had a picture of her Mimi and Mark in her arms and reached with open arms to greet me, which of course thrilled me to no end and assured her concerned mother that the pickup was going to go well. Once home she showed us all her toys and ate everything I put in front of her for her snack.

Kevin and Jenn came home from work and after changing clothes we all headed for a local pizzeria which had the best pizza I've had in years! Even Lexi loved it. After dinner she had her bath and played with her grandfather who teased her endless that he was going to take her passy away. She loved it and finally wore herself out laughing and went to bed.

The next day Jennifer, in her most organized manner, had an itinerary for us which we followed almost to the letter. We woke up and there was a soft dew on the ground and low clouds that threatened rain. After I fixed breakfast (giving Kevin a break since Jenn doesn't cook), we drove to the train station and road downtown and toured the Epicenter. It was too early to shop in the stores but we were impressed with the three story "outdoor" facility with a stage on the third floor outside being set up for a band and sitting behind the curtain was a Red Bull aluminum bar. Pretty cool. Then we walked to the center of downtown Charlotte where there was an open market including a live band. We walked around in a misty rain but stopped by the waterfalls to take a few pictures.




Getting back on the train and on perfect schedule we stopped and got off at Pike's, a local restaurant that used to be a drug store. Serving home style food and homemade cream sodas and desserts, I had the vegetable plate - sweet potatoes, green beans and squash. I should have had sweet potatoes x's three - OMG - It's a miracle I only gained one pound over the weekend!


However the highlight of lunch was watching Lexi eat. The child is in a growth spurt and eats with her hands (due to the daycare not having enough time to spoon feed all the children; they just put the food in front of them and let them have at it.) I videotaped it and if I can figure out how to download I'll add it but you have to picture Patti Duke as Helen Keller in the Miracle Worker eating her food without a fork to appreciate the intensity in which Lexi ate her macaroni and cheese and green beans. She practically cleaned her plate, if you don't count the handfuls that fell on the floor. For a child that spent the first twelve months of her life hating to eat/drink her bottle, I for one was very happy to see her wonderful appetite and did not mind how she ate it.

The rest of the day we shopped for food, wine (Two Buck Chucks which is now $2.99 a bottle), fresh vegetables at the market, and clothes sometimes together, sometimes just the men, sometimes just the girls. For dinner, Mark and Kevin grilled ribs and chicken while I made stuffed baked potatoes and baked corn on the cob and sliced some of our fresh tomatoes from the market. Kevin and Daniel's high school friend Matt Thomas who lives in Charlotte, joined us with his girlfriend Gretchen. We spent the evening playing cornhole. It's a beanbag toss game which takes time getting the hang of, and which I managed to score only once. I was told holding a beer in the other hand would help with your balance, but I didn't think it would work well with a glass of wine so didn't try it. Lexi had fun watching us all play.

That night the thunder rolled and rain fell and we were very happy it didn't rain on our cookout. Lexi, Mark and I spent the evening watching Ace Ventura until she fell asleep in Mark's arms. Jennifer got some great shots of her going back and forth to the two of us stalling before going to bed.

In the morning I fixed biscuits, sausage and cheese grits which the Lou Lou loved. And then we all kissed goodbye and Mark and I headed back to Chattanooga. As usual my tears were both happy and sad ones. Sad to be leaving my daughter and her precious family and happy to see them so happy with their life; and grateful for having such a good and peaceful time enjoying their company proving that little drops of rain, dew or tears didn't ruin our trip, it only made it better!

Thanks Jennifer, Kevin and Miss Alexandra Anne Swing for a great visit! Love you, Mimi.