The day after cousins Debi and Peter arrived, grandson Nathaniel had to go back to college. We had lunch after church in Asheville.
All six of us piled in the car and drove to Charlotte. It probably took two and a half hours. We figured we could visit in the car and not miss a moment of being together. Photos taken during a break show the faces of three of our traveling guests.
Nathaniel offered to pose in his dorm room, and who was I to refuse?
In the parking lot, I saw his view of the city of Charlotte for the first time. Those tall buildings were just a few blocks away. The stadium was in view, too. We knew the trip home was going to be long, because a game had just let out. There were various groups of people dressed alike and walking together, as well as gridlock in the streets. John deftly maneuvered us away from the city center, and we shortly hit molasses traffic on the interstate. Lise used to live in the area, so she directed us on back streets. The trip home was twice as long as it would have been on a normal day, but we could talk as much or as little as we liked.
The next day, as we sat at the dining room table, I said, “I miss Nathaniel.”
I may have imagined that Lise and John steeled themselves for an outburst of grandmotherly grief. They laughed when I continued, “No matter where he sat at the table, he could reach anything and pass it to you.”
A footnote for Rooster: Nathaniel told us at church that he had forgotten something at the house. In the hubbub of leaving, he didn’t lower the mirror in the foyer. We all agreed this was not a terrible thing, since he will be back for Christmas in less than a month.
Mehrling Muse 
I thought of the mirror as soon as you said you all piled into the car! You have us all trained! He will be back before you know it!
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You are with us all the way!!!
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Glad the Chef is back safe in his dorm and you are home safe as well. Perhaps the misdeed of not lowering the mirror shall carry a penance. An extra dessert of your choosing could be applied. Failure to lower or raise is a right of passage Nathaniel, quote the Rooster “Never More”.
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Oh! You are amusing! Nathaniel’s aunt read your poem and thought it delightful. I’m glad she was here to see it.
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Game day traffic can be a bear for sure.Time flys so get ready for round two, or maybe it is three or four. lol
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We will have a three-week lull before December happenings begin.
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You are so funny that Nathaniel could reach anything on the table – everyone waited for a flood of tears. 🙂 The dorm room was nice – Nathaniel’s bed perfect! How long is Nathaniel’s schooling until he is done Anne?
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This is Nathaniel’s first semester, and he hopes to go for four years. The first two years he has cooking classes, and the second two involve classes related to business management. He’d get a bachelor’s degree at the end of four years. I presume he’d have certification and an associate’s degree after two.
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During the first two years he is learning pastry-making then? Does their teacher/professor show them how to do creations and they watch, then student do the same on their own?
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I didn’t hear Nathaniel talk about how they teach baking skills. He did mention his teacher whipping out icing roses. Nathaniel struggled with those, but I liked the ones he made here.
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It sounds like a fun curriculum – the first two years anyway, the last two years will be bookwork and I hope Nathaniel doesn’t forget how to do the piping and make those icing roses. 🙂
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A month of standing on tippy toes in the foyer isn’t so bad and a constant reminder he’ll be back.
xxx Humongous Hugs xxx
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I commented this morning that I wondered what my hair looked like before we went out walking. The mirror stayed high on the wall.
xxx Mirrored Hugs xxx
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Mirror or no, I so enjoy your adventures, Anne!
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Thank you. We’ve had lots of adventures in the past week, with a few more sure to come this week. Our daughter will go back to Denmark this Friday.
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That’s great you found the silver lining of traffic! I need to remember to do that- makes life better!
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Boy dorm rooms and girl dorm rooms are so different. I’d forgotten how little they do to make their collegiate life home-y. Not even matching bedspreads… 🙁
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The students are responsible for more now than they were in my day. Nathaniel and his roommates have to supply their own toilet paper. Lise said the other room in the suite had nice decorations, even a string of Christmas lights! The fellows have to clean their floors and bathroom, which I think is a good thing. That’s something I never did in the dorm. Of course, we won’t talk about how little I do now!
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Interesting. We had no suites. Just individual rooms with 2 or 3 girls in them and a community bathroom for the whole floor. Three showers + 25 girls to using them taught me the fine art of negotiation!
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Your experience was like mine, only I don’t remember a rush for showers. Maybe I showered at a different time from most of the others. I DID shower!!! DAILY!!
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😄
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Nice family sharing and adventures Anne, I always enjoy reading about your family.
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