Sweetwater

I grew up in a small town called Sweetwater, TN, located about 2 1/2 hours southwest of where we are living now. My parents still live there and run their dairy farm with the help of one of my sisters and her husband. Ever since Anna was born, we've tried to make the drive about once every 2 to 3 months to stay for several days and visit.


This last visit was a fun one. My parents recently moved to town but still run the farm which is several miles outside of town. Being "in the city" has added a lot to our visits. During our latest visit my mom and I walked with the kids to the duck park so they could traumatize a bunch of overweight geese and ducks. We enjoyed some time at the school playground that is a couple blocks from my parents' house. We spent an afternoon at the city pool. We also had some time to just relax and be with my sister and her family.

Athens is a neighboring city where I went to high school. It is home to one of the most awesome playgrounds I've ever seen. Take a look at those slides! Shouldn't there be pools at the bottom? Shouldn't the sign read "Welcome to Athens Regional Park where your kids will enjoy zooming down really high slides, climbing a web that is two stories high, sitting on some really hot surfaces, and a field trip to the ER!"
For me, a nice part of going to this park is that I frequently discover some long lost friend from high school who has brought her children to play. It's great to reconnect after so many years. How many years has it been? Oh, it's not really been many. Did I say after "so many" years? I just meant that it seems like it's been awhile. It's really not. I'm really young, you know. Really.