7.29.20// up up + away

I spent this weekend in the hometown. Even after 3 months of being quarantined there, it still felt too far away from my apartment in Tennessee.

This trip wasn't planned. Since the beginning of July, I've settled back into what is the new normal of Nashville. I moved into a new home, hosted socially distanced co-writes, played a round or two 6 ft away from everyone else on stage, and started production on the album I've been dreaming of creating.

The train that is the music industry seems to be finding the tracks again, and I'm on board.

Even so, I couldn't help but take one more spontaneous trip home. After life gave me a few good reasons to pack my bags, my wheels were pointed east toward the home-state.

The weekend rolled by at a steady pace and I was just along for the ride. Mount Airy isn't exactly the place you go for thrill and adventure, but you are guaranteed an extra rocking chair on someone's front porch to watch life go by in. That's mostly what I did this time at my Mama's house. Back and forth, back and forth.

Back- this porch got an extra crack in the brick this year

Forth- here come the kittens from the bushes

Back- the horses are hollerin', it must be 5:00

Forth- maybe tonight I'll roast some peaches after dinner

If that doesn't sum up the entirety of my stay in the mountains this year, I don't know what does. It was the quiet I had been trying to recreate since leaving for college, and I got to live it for 3 whole months.

On my last day at home, my cousin and I fueled up on caffeine and Slim Jims at our favorite corner store and drove around town. After taking every back road and memory lane we could think of, I pulled into Veterans Park. I hadn't been there in years, and I wanted to see if the swing set I grew up playing on was still there. It was.

The grass was overgrown and the metal wasn't as shiny as when I was a kid, but that hasn't stopped them from being the highest flying set of swings in town.

We must have spent an hour out there like a couple of 10 year olds. I remembered how I used to hang upside down on the uphill of a good leg pump. My cousin tried to convince me that if you get the timing right, then jumping off feels a whole lot like flying. We swapped quarantine highlights, and laughed until our faces hurt as much as our arms hanging onto those rusted chains. I took inventory of all the highs and lows this year has held, all while swinging back and forth, back and forth.

Back- I can't believe I haven't done this since 5th grade

Forth- I think I can make my toes touch that cloud right there

Back- There are 10 songs waiting on me back in Nashville to turn them into a record

Forth- This year has crafted life into something we never expected

Back- I think it's time for me to leave now, because there's still work to be done

Forth- Up

Back- Up

Forth...

and away.