Au Revoir Nashville, Hello Telluride
With each goodbye, we say hello to something new: a new person, a new place, a new experience. Life is a never-ending cycle of hellos and goodbyes, of beginnings and endings.
Hellos and goodbyes
Hellos and goodbyes are a part of life. They are a reminder that life is always changing and that we must be open to new experiences. I have said goodbye to many friends over the years, but I am always excited to see them embark on new adventures. Like my dear friends Jennifer and Brad moving to Telluride a year ago is just one example.
While I was sad to see them go, I am also happy for them. They are embarking on a new journey that will surely be full of excitement and joy.
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
— A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Jennifer, Brad and Snakes
As any parent knows, having teenagers can be a challenge. Between the hormones and the bad teenage shenanigans, it's a wonder any of us make it through alive. But one thing that can make the teenage years a bit more bearable is having a close-knit group of “parent” friends.
My son was extremely lucky to have had such a great group of friends in high school. There were at least eight of them, including Jennifer and Brad's twin sons, Isaac and Sam. As the boys became closer, the parents started to become friends as well. And that’s how I got to know Jennifer and Brad.
Our parents’ group has felt almost like an extended family to me. We handed out candy on Halloween, met for Indian food at Woodlands, had impromptu potlucks, took tap dance lessons, busted teenage parties (that would be me), and grounded our kids.
It’s been wonderful to see our kids form such strong bonds through the years. I'm grateful that they all stayed close even after graduation and that the parents have remained such good friends too.
But what about the snakes? Well, The Snakes are what the boys called themselves. I think the name had something to do with "girls" — but I'm not entirely sure. At some point a mom in our group changed the name of our own text message group to the Snake Parents. We still laugh about it today.
It’s been seven years now since the boys graduated from high school and now live in Los Angeles, New York, Birmingham, Nashville, and… Telluride.
Jennifer and Brad’s home in Nashville
Jennifer and Brad have five children, three girls and twins, Isaac and Sam. Before moving to Nashville they lived in Peru for several years with their young family. Most of the furniture in their home is Peruvian and from the company that Brad worked for.
From the moment you walked into Jennifer's home, it was clear she had impeccable taste. Her bookshelves were filled with an artfully curated rainbow of books, and her wall galleries were adorned with portraits of her beloved pets, Jennifer’s pen and ink drawings, vintage photos and even Salvador Dali himself.
But it's not just her eye for aesthetics that made Jennifer's home so stylish. As someone who has studied interior design, she knows how to create a cohesive design scheme. For instance, the beautiful furniture from Peru blended seamlessly with her new navy blue velvet couch. In other words, Jennifer is not only stylish, but also knowledgeable about design.
As I walked through Jennifer's home, I couldn't help but admire her sense of style. However, what really caught my attention was the way that her home felt authentic. It was clear that every item in her home had a history, a story. Everything in her home spoke to the interesting, adventurous life she has led.
It was clear that her home was more than just a place to live; it was a reflection of who she is.
And that, more than anything, is what I admired most about her home.
This leads me to why they decided to pack up and leave Nashville for Telluride.
Between the Covers in Telluride
Jennifer and Brad’s twins, Isaac and Sam, moved to Telluride upon finishing their university studies and have been living there for several years.
During this time Jennifer and Brad had gone to visit many times. My guess is they fell in love with Telluride, an old mining town, now a tourist destination, located in a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado
So when this couple became empty nesters, they decided to seize the day and follow their dream of owning a bookstore. They chose Telluride as their destination because their boys were already living there and it's obviously an amazing location.
And wouldn’t you know it, a bookstore was for sale!
Everything happened so fast that when they told us about their plans, it came as quite a shock. And within less then a month they were on their way to Colorado.
The name of the bookstore in Telluride is Between the Covers. A small business that’s been around for 50 years!
I have to admit I’m a little bit jealous but mostly happy. Life is full of change, and it is always exciting to see what the future holds. For Jennifer and Brad, even though they’re having an amazing time in Telluride, I know they'll never forget their time with us in Nashville.
This song — on the Elvis original soundtrack — has been on repeat for a while but it feels more poignant today. This story reminds me of my hardest goodbye… when Campbell went away to school in Arizona. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child is a traditional spiritual. An early performance of the song was in the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Side Note: I survived Campbell moving but I still hold out that one day he’ll come home or at least he’ll build me a mother-in-law cottage in his backyard.
Last night I was invited to go to the Shakespeare Festival at One City here in Nashville. The sky was on fire with lightening but Gem of the Ocean was worth the few drops of rain. Worth seeing. Sept. 8-9
"Art is what's going to save us all. It's essential for people to come together and have reasons to come together, especially now...people needing to have a connection to other people, to have shared cultural experiences... laughing and enjoying themselves. That's the gift we want to give to the city," — NSF Producer Robert Marigza.
That quote from Winnie the Pooh is so lovely--sometimes the simplest ideas are the most poignant. Congrats to Jennifer and Brad on their move and bookstore acquisition! I hope you have plans to visit them and see Telluride, Lisa 😊
Lovely piece, Lisa! The words and also the photos, wow! I admire the bravery of people who can just up and change. People who can do that are fearless and vulnerable. And I’ll bet locals are grateful they are preserving their local bookshop, too.