Mammoth Caves and why Research is Important.

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Mammoth Caves is a short 90 minutes from here, and being people who generally enjoy National Parks we figured it would be a fun way to spend a day. Because I have two modes in life, all or nothing, which I employ at random it seems, I went with the “nothing” approach and planned as minimally as possible. Like, stand in line at the visitors center and google “best cave tour” because you didn’t realize you had to go on tours. It turns out a bit of research might have helped, mostly regarding managing expectations.

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Nashville: 1 Month

13615312_10100136120265868_7598727836731586139_nOne month ago we moved in. This seems somehow impossible. Time is simultaneously inching by and then, lurching forward. The adjustment has been unlike any we’ve had before. It’s been difficult primarily because all of a sudden we feel very “locked in.” Like anywhere else we’ve moved there’s the adjustment of a new city, of finding your places and learning your way around. But we’ve done that so many times, that it doesn’t really feel like an adjustment and causes exactly no anxiety. No, what we’ve had to adapt to here is the general low-lying feeling of being stuck.

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Nashville: 1 Week

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A severe weather warning woke us up this morning at 3:30, which was OK since Alex had to get up for work anyway. We sleepily made coffee and watched the weather rage in the still-dark night while flash flooding threatened the entire area. We share a car, and although his commute to work is a 10-minute walk, we were afraid he’d be swept away, so at 4 am we braved the weather and drove the empty streets that had turned into a flowing river to Vanderbilt. I grew up visiting Chicago, and witnessed their legendary thunderstorms. But Nashville has that beat. In the few weeks we’ve been here the weather has oscillated between end-of-the-world and clear calm blue skies, often within  minutes of each other. It’s sort of how we feel about life right now, so it feels appropriate. Alex just completed his first week of residency, which simultaneously flew by and took an eternity. Continue reading