Adventure in the Big City!

What a week! I have had some interesting adventures. Have you ever read the story of the City Mouse and the County Mouse? Well, I was the country mouse in the big city this week! I was in Nashville Monday through Wednesday at a conference. This was a big deal for me for several reasons. First, I was excited about several of the sessions at the conference and second, I was very nervous about leaving Michael. I have only been away from him two nights since his birth almost eleven years ago and I was afraid it would affect his school work. Everything turned out great, though. I think I need to start at the beginning!

I have known about this convention since June but waited until August to get a hotel. I wanted to see how Michael was adjusting to school before I committed to spending the night away from him. If I needed to, I would have driven to Nashville every day. After school started and he was doing so well, I decided to stay in Nashville since the sessions would run so late into the afternoon. The problem was that most of the hotels were booked so I went with a good old Best Western that was close enough to the convention center that I could walk. This turned out to be a huge mistake! The first day of the conference was good except the driving into downtown in the morning. (How do people do that every day?!) Anyway, in the afternoon, it is time to leave the convention and check into my hotel. I just about died! First, those blasted downtown streets and their one-way signs! I went around the hotel three times before I figured out how to get into it! Then, there was no self parking so I get to deal with valet parking for the first time. (See! Country mouse!) I walk into the lobby and figure out that this hotel is OLD. That is no big deal but when I see the old elevator and my room, my heart sinks. How will I stay here for two nights? I decide to be a trooper and make the most of it. My good friends from school save me for the night and take me to Green Hills to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and then I do some shopping in Davis Kidd bookstore and wander around the mall. Around 9, we head back to our hotels. (They are staying at a nice one, by the way!) I get settled and into my pajamas when it occurs to me that my hotel door has no barrier to the outside. The hotel is older and all of the doors face outside. I am not usually a scared person but I'm sort of freaking out by the thought of it. (Too much watching Nashville news I guess!) At midnight, I slowly relax and snuggle into my sheets and I smell something. Great! What is that smell? Do I want to know? I finally get to sleep sometime after 1 am. I wake one other time in the night when a door slams and am up for good at 4 am. Yep, three hours of sleep! I surf the Internet and watch TV and make a plan to go next door to the Sheraton where some friends from the conference are staying. At 6:30 am I am dressed, packed and standing in the lobby checking out! I go over to the Sheraton and find out they do have a room and about cry with happiness! My friends and I go to the conference and have a wonderful day. We walk back to the Sheraton and after I check in, I haul all of my stuff into a large room with the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on! I open the curtains and there is a beautiful view of the Nashville skyline. Awwww! I get my stuff settled, call my sister who lives in Nashville and drive over to see her new condo and head out to eat with her and my niece at Charley's. We have a great night and I head back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. The next day, I attend the final session and head back home to see my two guys. Whew!

It was an interesting experience for this country girl. I am glad for the opportunity to attend the convention and I am grateful to have a supportive husband who said to go for it. As for this weekend, this country girl is staying close to home!