I recently visited my daughter in Birmingham. (Which is why I didn’t post on my blog last week). It was a great visit that almost didn’t happen.
Time For A Visit To Birmingham
I had some Southwest Airlines travel dollars to use before May 1 so, back in February, I talked to my girl and planned a quick trip to Birmingham to see her. We narrowed it down to two possible weekends (we both had busy schedules) and the weekend of March 11-13 seemed the best. I had not seen her since Christmas so I was more than ready for a visit.
I’m trying to be content in this empty nest life. I’m not crazy about living so far away from my children, but every time I get to visit them, either in Birmingham or Nashville, I am thankful they chose such fun places to live.
I got a call from my daughter the weekend before I was supposed to leave. She was getting over a cold. A few days later, she called to say she was feeling better but at that point, my dog was having an issue — I will spare you the details. I really wanted to see my daughter but I felt guilty about leaving my dog, even though my husband was perfectly capable of taking care of him. I checked in for my flight the day before I was supposed to travel, not confident that I would even make the trip.
It was a friend’s message that persuaded me to go.
Just talked with Jim. Do not cancel your trip! Opportunities to have time with your daughter is so seldom. This world is too crazy to pass up an opportunity to be with family.
Tiina
So, I did go on the trip — even though my dog wasn’t completely well, even though it was going to be very cold. I saw that as an opportunity to wear my new winter coat since I haven’t been anywhere cold enough to wear it.
Enjoying Birmingham With My Girl
My daughter picked me up from the airport on a Thursday night and we packed in as much as we could in three and a half days. We ate delicious food, shopped and watched movies. We were local tourists to a cute antique store and winery about an hour away. A friend and I helped her with decorations for an upcoming baby shower and I even went to work with her one day.
You’ve heard of “Take Your Daughter To Work” day — well, we had “Take Your Mother To Work Day.” She works for a small consulting company that operates out of a downtown co-working space called Forge. I had a virtual workshop to attend on Friday and she had to work so we went to work together.
I have not actually gone to work in years, and when I did, it was to a classroom and not a hip downtown workspace. She helped me get set up with my laptop and earbuds in a cozy cubicle. I could see her working across the way. We went to Pizitz Food Hall one floor below us, bought our lunch and ate it outside in the courtyard. It was a gorgeous spring day. It was hard to believe that snow was in the forecast for the next morning.
After a rainy night we woke up to a thin blanket of snow on the ground. It was serene, so peaceful, a real treat for this Florida girl. It had all melted by lunchtime so we were able to continue with our planned agenda.
Until Next Time
It was so good to spend a few days away from the cares of the world and reconnect with my daughter, something that is important to me. I’m incredibly grateful for a husband who doesn’t mind me making these trips and also for a kind son-in-law who doesn’t mind having me take over his wife for a few days.
As usual, the visit came to an end way too soon but I went home with enough memories of good times to get me to the next visit.
Kim Wilbanks 