Finding Home

It has been a little over six and a half years ago that I moved to Tennessee. I not only moved away from home and family and love, but from another life. Tennessee was a fresh start. It was a lot harder than I thought that it would be.

My job was wonderful and I loved my apartment, but moving to a new city on your own is hard. I would go to dinner and for drinks with people from work, but there was no real connection. I went on countless dates, but never found a spark. Tennessee never felt like home, just the place in which I was living.
Months later, a friend of mine came to visit. By that time, I was really homesick. So, we went to go see a Nashville band that used to frequent my college town. During a band break, I spoke to one of the musicians and told him that the band reminded me of home and good times.

A week later, I got an email from that musician that read:

Hey girl,
Just dropping you a line to let you know that we are back at the Flying Saucer tonight (Friday 13th) if you get a chance to get out. We also have a party going on for a close friend & musician Saturday complete with lots of homemade chicken wings, beer, & pickin' just down the road outside of Dickson. We don't just invite anyone to these hootenannies you know. Holler at us if your interested. Hope your doing fine!
Peace~ Brother Squirrel

Unfortunantly, I already had plans for that night and told him that I MIGHT make it, but it would be late when I arrived. I had my reservations:

Where in the world was Dickson?
As a single girl, should I go to a party alone?
How well did I really know this guy? I just met him a week before.
Why would he invite ME to a party?
What kind of wild parties do musicians have?

In the end, I threw caution to the wind. I arrived at the party around midnight, when it was in full swing. There were tons of people, tons of food, a bonfire, and a full blown band playing in the living room of a beautiful log cabin. Everyone seemed to know each other, so I was the odd-man-out, but this place was different. The people were warm and welcoming. It was more like home than any place in Nashville.

I was introduced to Kyle, the birthday boy, and knew that he was someone special. But I didn't get much conversation in before other people wanted his attention. So, I wandered the party meeting new people and having a good time.

A couple of hours later, the party was coming to an end and I decided that it was time to go back to my apartment. When I was saying goodbye to everyone, Kyle came over and asked me to sit and talk for a minute. Our conversation flowed like we had known each other for our whole lives. The next thing that I knew, the party had been over for hours and the sun was coming up.....we were still sitting at the kitchen table talking.

We still talk like the night that we first met. I still learn something new about him everyday. I still get the same feeling that I did when I first met him. When I look into his eyes, I see unborn children, vacations that we haven't yet taken and front-porch rocking chairs.

That night, I not only found love, but found HOME.

Happy Valentines Day, Punkin'!