Summer Break Is Here!

Boy, have we gotten the rain! I was on the road Thursday afternoon when the bottom dropped out and that was the hardest rain I recall driving through in a long time. The boys and I cut the grass yesterday and it needs mowing again today (okay, that’s a stretch, but it sure feels like the truth).
LAST WEEKEND
I wrote all about Jenna’s graduation last time, but last weekend was far busier than that for us. I mentioned the Jones family came in for her graduation and we enjoyed visiting with them both here at the house and twice out to eat—-the Catfish House after Jenna’s graduation and Los Agaves the following evening. Wherever we are it’s always nice just to catch up.

Additionally, Morgan got married last Saturday morning. She and Jim Ring III (who we all know as Jimmy) tied the knot in a private ceremony on the farm near the old tobacco barn. Family and friends were invited to a brunch reception under a large tent in Kenny and Lori’s back yard.

Last Saturday morning turned out to be beautiful, but all the preceding rain sure made setup an adventure for their family. The tent was set up that Thursday (the 19th). Then the rain came. Both families spent Friday working to pump the water out of the yard. Yes, as absurd as this sounds that’s exactly what they did. When I heard about what they were doing I could hear Aunt Mar’s voice in my head saying, “That yard is just going to be one great big loblolly of a mess!” In the end it was a little squishy in places but nothing serious.

Morgan made a beautiful bride! She and Jimmy made their appearance around 10:30 where we all—and by all I mean a couple hundred people or so—were eating a nice breakfast. It was a tender moment when Kenny and Morgan danced and good to see that when Kenny was done no one had gotten hurt.

Sunday, after the Jones family left for home Vicki, Jenna, and I went to the Davidson Academy Baccalaureate service. A first in DA history was that one of the seniors delivered the sermon. His class decided to ask him to preach since he plans to go into the ministry anyway. He did a great job and kept everyone on their toes with some of the funny things he said.

SCHOOL IS OUT!
I’ve never experienced an end to the school year that didn’t feel like running full speed off a cliff. This year was no different. I suppose it’s because you put so much effort into getting everything done before final exams that when they get here the end is simply abrupt.

Ben and Nate were each exempt from all but one final so by Tuesday they were both done. Now summer break is here for them and it’s time to relax a bit—except for the fact that they both have summer reading assignments and Ben has a summer math assignment. Some work is never done.

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
So on Wednesday Ben was included in a group invitation to an afternoon/evening school’s out party. They had a great time, though the rain put a serious damper on the original plans to have a bonfire and other outside activities. What turned this thing into an adventure for us was the trip home. You see, neither Vicki nor I could get Ben to the party so Jenna offered to take him at noon and pick him up at 10:00. She simply said that if she was going to drive to Joelton and back twice he would have to treat her a Sonic. A deal was struck and off they went.

It was on the way home that Jenna, who was driving Vicki’s van, hit an animal. Jenna thought at first she had hit a kitten which made her want to cry. Then they began to get a whiff of the skunky odor which gave her a whole different reason to want to cry. Fortunately it wasn’t too potent, but the smell was still there.

The next day Vicki called Jenna from work and said for Ben to park the van in a sunny part of the yard and roll down the windows so it could air out. Well, Ben decided the only sunny part of the yard was the spot behind the shop where Jenna’s garden was last year. It was not within Ben’s experience to think about the fact that since we’ve gotten a sizable percentage of our annual rainfall in the last week and that there’s standing water just visible in the grass out there this might not be the best place to park a two ton minivan. He backed it in where it immediately sank down to the frame. I will admit, I know the feeling.

I was at work when the text messages with photo evidence started coming through. There wasn’t much I could do from 30 miles away except advise that they find a neighbor with a tractor. Steve Freeland came to the rescue only to find there was nothing under the back of the van to hook a towing strap to. That news brought me home because I knew there was more rain on the way.

It turns out we did find a small hole in the rear of the frame used to tie down the vehicle in shipping that would work. Steve happened to have a hook small enough to fit. That gave us just what we needed for his truck to pull us out. Good neighbors are priceless!

MARY POPPINS
Had Steve not been able to rescue the van the big rain I mentioned in the opening would have ensured the van’s predicament for several days. As it was, the van took us to see the Hendersonville Performing Arts Company’s production of Mary Poppins that night. Ben’s basketball coach, Stephen Sorrell, played the part of Bert and did a fantastic job. Actually, the whole production was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. (Is that too corny?) We thoroughly enjoyed the show! If you live locally we highly recommend going to see it (visit http://hpactn.com for more information). The show runs through June 12.

Joe