Christiana, Tennessee Entrance
What is it about small towns that hold so much appeal? Maybe nothing for you. I know some people prefer big cities, but crowds, cars, and chaos exhaust me. I grew up in a series of small-ish towns. Nothing as small as Bell Buckle, Tennessee (under 600 people) or Volcano, California, where we moved from. Our little population sign coming into Volcano boasted 99 people, which someone had crossed out and changed to 101. But anything well under 100,000 is good enough.
We landed in Lewisburg by Divine design. I truly believe the good Lord picked out this particular place for us. One of the first questions people ask when introduced to us is, “Why Lewisburg?” Mind you, this is most often from someone born and raised here who never left. I think when we’re too familiar with a particular thing, we tend to lose sight of its beauty. To quote Chaucer, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” I never laid eyes on the place until the day we pulled into the drive with all of our belongings. Faith in action.
Lewisburg isn’t perfect—but no place save heaven is. The town square could use an overhaul and it doesn’t boast any Volcano-worthy restaurants. Side note: if you live in Northern California and haven’t tried out the Volcano Union Inn for dinner, you’re missing out. Fortunately, we aren’t into the restaurant scene, so the food situation isn’t a deterrent. We have friends who live in Franklin where there are far too many edible temptations to distract one from a healthy lifestyle.
Millers Grocery, Christiana, Tennessee
But, oh, the benefits of living life in a small town. If you’ve kept up with my blog posts, you know we laid Chris’s mom to rest last month and returned home just ten days ago. Last week, I wrote about the desire for us to be more spontaneous. Be careful what you ask for! Friday, we spontaneously decided to meet up with our friends, who are also dabbling in real estate, to look at a house in Christiana (an hour away) for Chris’s sister and brother-in-law. What a stunning day. Clear, blue skies, temps in the low 70’s, fresh air. We spontaneously had lunch with them in Miller’s Grocery and Café, in the heart of this tiny town. Not the healthiest meal, but every now and then you just gotta go for it.
That night, we met up with them again in Franklin along with a group of California-transplant friends for a potluck. We’d spontaneously offered to help out the Lion’s Club with their Oktoberfest breakfast, so Saturday we were needed at Rock Creek Park at six. In the morning. Before the sun came up. Temps of only 39 degrees. But it was Oktoberfest. Yes, a quaint small-town tradition which is just another perk to living life here.
Vendor at Oktoberfest, Lewisburg, Tennessee
Y’all, you’ve never heard more Thank you, ma’ams in your life. My job was to pass out containers of syrup and butter for the mouth-watering pancakes with a side of sausage. I lost count of how many times someone came back to ask where the sausage came from, because they hadn’t tasted anything better. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear it was Kountry Boy sausage (because we’re in the south.)
By the time we were no longer needed, the temperatures had risen by a good twenty-five degrees, the sun was shining, and there were puffy clouds dotting the sky. We found out Friday night at the party that there was another house in Christiana, less than a mile from the one we saw earlier, that was worth a look-see. So, we spontaneously drove out to Christiana (population 2,600) again to meet up with our friends to tour the home.
If you haven’t ascertained by now, we’ve been more spontaneous since we returned from California than ever before. Oh, and we will be driving up to Nashville with other friends to tour Cheekwood Estate and Gardens tomorrow. We might just need a couple days to recover from all this spontaneity. When I catch my breath long enough to write this week, it’ll be a time of rest, relaxation, and inspiration.
The new series I’m working on takes place right here in Tennessee. The more familiar I am with every niche and crevice of this beautiful state, the more authentic my characters’ experiences. And hey, it’s research, right?
Share with me some of your most recent spontaneous adventures. I’d love to get more inspiration.
Comments 1
Right now I can’t afford spontaneity. I sit amid boxes in every room, trying to figure out where to put things, or to get rid of it. When I can be spontaneous, I will come see you and Chris. I am glad you called yesterday. Love you lots!