We set off for Knoxville August 1st with our U-Haul bursting at the seams. Billy has had feelers out for over a year in search of his next career opportunity. We drove up over the weekend of the 4th of July and scoped out the area and real estate. We went to one open house and decided to act sooner than later. The housing market is crazy everywhere. Considering the choices available that could accommodate Katie and be in the school district we wanted, our choices were even more slim….that said, we settled on “Grandma’s house”. When house-hunting for any length of time, the homes all start looking the same to me so we started giving nicknames to our potential prospects……hence…Grandma’s house.

Grandma’s house is a wee little, 3 bedroom/2 bath ranch that sits back on a half acre lot. The home was built in the early 70’s. Minus the rotary phone and shag carpet, the 8-track decade left its mark in plenty of other ways. I’m not complaining; overall, the home is very charming – also very brown with a hint of avocado green but then more brown. The green, low profile tub in the kid’s bathroom is pretty awful but helpful when getting Katie in and out of the bath. It isn’t perfect by any means but it works for now. It works until we build a home that better fits our needs.

Granted we moved from a 3 bedroom/2 bath ranch but the square ft is lacking a bit so we had to get creative in our use of space. I currently have canned goods and running shorts in our bedroom armoire that currently sits in our “formal dining” room along side a desk and printer. I have winter clothes in Katie’s closet, and a chest of drawers in Nathan’s room. Our kitchen has only a bare minimum of kitchen utensils, cups and dinnerware. Only 4 travel coffee mugs await you next to the Holy Keurig instead of 47.

So hand me the phone book, tether me to the rotary phone, and top off my glass of Tab cola ‘cuz here we are Knoxville. The Bradley’s have arrived. Ahhh…Knoxville. Good ol’ Tennessee…..Home of the free, Land of the brave, God-fearing, American flag-flying, believer in the Constitution and baby Jesus. So immensely refreshing. Deals are decided and sealed with a hug and a handshake. Many businesses are closed on Sunday. Doors are held open. Neighbors initiate introductions and wave. Boots are acceptable wear to worship.

The new job and new schools seems to be going well. Nathan didn’t get to start on Day 1 but it all worked out. He managed to get everything on his schedule he wanted. He informed me his second day of school that he has “never seen so many blond girls in his life”. Stand down, soldier, let’s pace ourselves. He says everyone is nice and there have been no school fights despite having just over 2000 students enrolled. Put some Jesus back in school and see what happens.

Everyone has been very helpful. We got to meet Katie’s teacher and the EC staff. She is one of 8 students in her class with one special ed teacher and 3 paraprofessionals. They do things a bit different here. The kids start out at the Primary school, then Intermediate, Middle and High school. The special ed students attend 8th grade for 2 years. I like this idea because middle school to high school is a big jump for these kids. We are thrilled both kids can get back to normal. They are back in the classroom. Katie gets to resume field trips and choir. If you take a quiet moment you can almost feel football season in the air.

The down side (there always seems to be one of those) Katie continues to keep us on our toes. She went almost 3 weeks without a seizure. I was so relieved but slowing they crept back in. The week we moved up til about a week and a half ago she had quite a few episodes. We have another medication in our back pocket to start next but decided to give the current one last push before throwing in the towel. She hasn’t had a seizure since the 18th. Fingers and toes crossed.

Before we go about our day, let’s talk about the Kroger here. Tennessee Kroger is gynormous. Gy-nor-mous! You can start off ordering a latte at Starbucks, get your covid vax, see a nurse for that relentless runny nose, fill your prescription, buy an outfit, buy a toy for your nephew’s birthday, organize your pantry with new storage containers from the household items isle and …..I’m forgetting something….oh yeah and groceries – they even sell groceries! You could spend all day there.

Well, gotta go. Time to take my rollers out, put on some frosted, blue eye shadow and pale pink lipstick, light up a cigarette and blast some Fleetwood Mac. Now let’s start up that wood paneled, baby blue station wagon cuz the kids ain’t gonna get themselves home from school.