beauty

I had to take a break from hiatus long enough to post a picture of my newest niece...isn't she adorable? I can only hope that if I ever have children, they are half as lovely as the ones my sister has produced.

hiatus

Well, as much as I like to think that I can sustain two blogs at once, all of the other obligations in my life tend to prove otherwise...so for now, I will be focusing my attention on my "Coach T.'s Quotes" blog. Perhaps in the future there will be more musings from Aunt TT...but at this point, I will just be piggy-backing off of the words of wisdom of others...

knowing and doing

In addition to being an aunt, I am also a lacrosse coach. Since I never really played lacrosse, and didn't know much about it when we began our season, I decided that my contribution would be encouragement, and I appointed myself the quote guru. Each day, I email all of our players a new "quote of the day" to inspire them, which inadvertently tends to inspire me, too. One day, I came across a quote that really made me stop and think-- "at the center of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." (lao tzu)

And it occurred to me...why is it often so difficult for us to make decisions? A majority of people I know are indecisive...they waver incessantly even on the smallest of decisions. And the thing is, I think a lot of times we really do have the answer...we know in our hearts what we want or what sounds right to us, but for some reason, we have trouble committing to it. Some type of fear holds us back...fear of being wrong, fear of missing out, fear of hurting someone or getting hurt, fear of failure...the list goes on. And so we either decide not to decide, or we let someone else make the decision for us. Shouldn't we begin claiming those decisions for ourselves?

Back to the lacrosse team, I have to take a minute and brag on my girls. They just earned the Division II state championship title. They knew what they wanted, and they got it, and I feel like a proud parent. Way to go, champs.

redefining home

I have noticed, in the last couple of years, a shift in the definition of "home" for me...and I think it happens for everyone at some point in their lives. When we are kids, "home" is usually the place where our parents, or family, lives. When we think of going home, we think of going back to that place where we originated. All throughout my college years, and even in the years since, I have always considered my trips to Chattanooga "going home". But, lately, I find that going to Chattanooga is simply going to Chattanooga, and that returning to Nashville is what I consider "coming home". It's a simple shift in rhetoric, but I think it represents a larger shift in my heart. Perhaps it has happened because I recently purchased a house of my own, but maybe, and more likely, it is because I feel that I have established a family of sorts here...my heart has become connected to the friends and associates I have in Nashville, and even to the city itself. And I do not mean this in any way to belittle my family or my original home, because my family is more dear to me than anything else...but I have come to establish a home of my own-- a residence for my heart and soul, and it always feels good to come back...

bad sign?

Hmmm...is it a bad sign that I have only just begun my blog of musings, and I haven't felt much of a muse lately? I think that I am going through a bit of a dry spell with my philosophizing, or perhaps I am also a bit overwhelmed by the infinite possibilities of topics on which to ramble. Maybe once things slow down at work a bit, I'll have a little more time to focus on the other issues of the world...

hence the name

I'm feeling like I should first address the naming of this blog...

I am an aunt. This title was first hoisted upon me 4 years ago with the birth of my sister's little girl, Kaelyn, which also happened to be one of the most incredible moments of my life, being present for the birth. What had been just an idea wrapped in the bubble of my sister's bulging belly was now a tiny, squirming, miniature person...an extension of my sister, and somehow it seemed, also of me. In her, I could already see the Townsend trait of big, expressive eyes and the beginnings of a smile destined to steal hearts.

Now, there is another jewel in the auntie crown, as my sister just brought a second beautiful girl into the world, Sienna Marie. Kaelyn has taken on the ever-important role of big sister (for which I have offered to train her, although this offer met with a skeptical response from my sister!)

Being with these children is truly a joy, and nothing matches the warmth I feel in my heart when Kaelyn catches sight of me and runs to me with her arms outstretched, yelling "T.T.!" I can't think of a more noble thing in life than to play an important role in the life of a child, and I feel honored to be a part of the adventures of my nieces.

Thus, there are musings from Aunt TT, which will not always deal with the subject of aunt-hood, but are merely meant to be observations on life...which I may someday share with my two favorite representatives of the next generation.

and so it is

I feel like this moment needs a "tah-dah!" Here it is--the birth of my blog. No fanfare, no little blue or pink bubblegum cigars stamped with "Congratulations!"--just a tiny little blip appearing in the infinitely large web of life we know as the internet. It seems a little odd to just throw my thoughts out there into the world, but here goes nothing--and maybe, just maybe, it will become something...