Starry Nights

Memphis has a huge park called Shelby Farms. It is over 4,500 acres of green space in the city limits, making it more than 5 times larger than Central Park in New York! Every year as a fundraiser, the park sets up a massive light display. For $20 per car, you get to see all sorts of impressive light arrangements on the trees, bridges, and surrounding grounds. It's pretty cool!

The wind blew to turn the blades of the windmill, and then the tree next to it lit up

(above) this is a huge sloped field where a ball would roll down, then bounce across a stream and hit another light display to illuminate candy canes and a "kapow!" sign

A fisherman trying to snag a big catch

 

Family Togetherness

I've noticed something about our Memphis friends - a lot of them are originally from Memphis, as are their parents. The result is that, when two native Memphians are in a relationship/married, they could have nearly unlimited opportunities for family togetherness with multiple branches of extended family trees. One couple was telling us about their Christmas plans that include 4 different events with 4 different family gatherings just on December 24 and 25. 

That is really different than the way I grew up! Where we lived, the closest relatives were a 1.5 hour drive away, so it took advance planning to go there, especially when my siblings and I were young. The other side of the family lived on the other side of the country. Visiting them involved a day-long flight, a trek we made every 2 years or so. When we did head east, I thought it was fun that two of our cousins lived across the street from Grandma and Grandpa, but I never imagined such a life for myself. 

In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, I realize I have rarely lived in the same place as any family member since starting college. The one exception that comes to mind is my mom's cousin, who is kind of like an aunt. We both lived in Seattle and DC at the same time, and we had all sorts of fun together :) 

Adding DF's family to the mix now means I've got Midwestern blizzards to contend with if we want to spend the holidays with them. He has 20+ aunts/uncles between the two sides of his family spread across several states...I doubt I'll ever meet all of them. Oh, and I should note that DF's brother did live in Seattle at the same time as us for a couple years.

How would life be different if I had settled permanently in my hometown? Perhaps gone away for college, but ultimately returned? Would I be happy? Would my life be less stressful, more holistic/connected/intertwined with those around me? Would I have a stronger sense of place and community? Would I be bored and wonder what I'm missing out on beyond the confines of my little valley?

Christmas Dinner Observed

I think I've encountered a regional tradition - the Women's Christmas Dinner. The church we attend here started advertising for their dinner months in advance, and I've also seen promotions for other churches holding similar events. Imagining it was a small gathering that only old ladies would go to, I didn't really pay attention to the announcements at first. Before long, I started hearing more people talking about it, younger people, women who appear to be hip. That the event often sells out quickly should have been an indication of its popularity. Another clue would have been that my ticket was for table #64. But I was still clueless when I arrived at the local hotel last week where the event was being held in their largest ballroom.

I discovered there were some 650+ women in attendance! The attendees included women from the church along with their friends, neighbors, and relatives. It's a very festive occasion that people look forward to and talk about afterwards.

Here's how it works. There are tables of 10, and small groups of women will get together to purchase a table (like a Sunday School or Bible study group). Each group is responsible for providing the decorations for their own table, including chargers. The culturally appropriate behavior is to arrive to dinner in advance and walk amongst the tables, expressing your approval of the decor by taking photographs and making comments such as, "isn't that darling!" and "y'all are so creative!"

I comply with cultural convention.

After an appropriate amount of ooh-ing and aah-ing, all the women are seated. The husbands and sons are recruited to volunteer as waitstaff for the evening, to keep costs down. They bring out the bread and entrees and refill water glasses with style.

After dessert is served, the entertainment portion of the evening begins. Various musical performers play/sing Christmas songs, and there is a short drama performed by some teenagers. I try to just be in the moment and accept it for what it is. The performers are into what they're doing and sincere in their efforts. (Some day I need to write a post about sincerity in Memphis --at least as I've observed-- vs. the cynicism/irony so prevalent in Seattle.)

At the end of the night, the appropriate behavior is to help clean up the centerpieces and thank the ladies at your table who provided the lovely decor. And now you know what happens at a Women's Christmas Dinner!

Ice, ice baby

Memphis is currently under an Ice Storm Warning and everyone is acting like the world is about to end. Most of the school districts shut down for the day, and DF's office closed early. One of the lame things about working from home, though, is that I don't get any snow days! I kept hoping our internet would go out or something, but no such luck.

After work, I took a stroll around the apartment complex to observe how much ice had accumulated. Note: it wasn't much. The roads were wet, not frozen yet. But I think overnight we might have an ice skating rink on our hands.

dentist

With the calendar year almost over, DF had to get in to see a dentist before our insurance was a complete waste of money. I called a couple in the neighborhood before I found one with an opening left in December. We both went in earlier this week. Now, I realize that I've only seen one dentist in Memphis, so I can't generalize to all of them, but that won't stop me from making some observations!

This is a father-son dental office. The father dentist came out through the waiting room when we first arrived. He greeted us with a handshake and some awkward chit-chat about us being new patients while staring really intensely. When I went back for my cleaning, I noticed that the office is not as technologically advanced as dentists I've been to in Seattle. They have a little swirly water spout/spit bowl (rather than spraying water in your mouth). They don't give you sunglasses to keep your eyes from getting splattered. The hygienist did all tooth scraping by hand - no water or sonic powered scrapers. She seemed impressed that my teeth were in good shape and not totally plaque-ridden. Her comments made me wonder how gross her normal patients are...Then the dentist came in to check my teeth and acted like a sketchy mechanic, like he was looking for a problem to charge me for and was disappointed he couldn't find anything. He also droned on and on about football (ok, that part wasn't as weird).

In conclusion, my teeth feel cleaner but I'm going to find a new dentist for my next 6-month checkup.