A summary of our day is this: we drove to Charlotte, spent the day with Nathaniel, and came home. Those of few words could quit reading now and be satisfied.

The first half of the morning drive was in heavy rain. John had to concentrate on driving, and I could see little of the beautiful mountain scenery beyond the mist and fog. Thank heavens the day improved, with only intermittent showers the rest of the day.

Parking for the uptown church was in a garage next door. By scanning the ticket inside the church, the fee was waived. The skyscrapers of the city center are only a few blocks from the university campus, so Nathaniel walked around the area to pick out a church to attend when he started there last September. Walking in the church made this grandmother’s heart warm, as people greeted Nathaniel. They knew him. Think of it! He began going there when he was 18 years old and far from all his family and friends. The clergyman Nathaniel introduced to us commented that Nate was more regular in attendance than many of the other parishioners.

I took a photo from the back pew, Nathaniel’s usual seat, before people began to come in for the service. Immediately behind us was an aisle, a slightly raised section for the choir, and the beautiful organ. After the service, several choir members and the choir director greeted us. One man in particular spoke of chatting with Nathaniel from time to time.

I realized the photo Nathaniel sent me a few weeks ago was not the front of the church, but a gorgeous view of the back. I should have noticed which way the pews were facing.

I took only one photo of our brunch venue. What a typical family picture it was! I announced I was going to take it, stood up beside the table, aimed the camera, again asked people to look at me, and pressed the shutter. One was paying attention. The other two are constant punsters. I’m sure they assumed I was pressing the shudder button.

Who would have thought it would be difficult to find a place to chat on a Sunday afternoon? If there were a free place to park a car in the business district, we didn’t find it. We looked for a park, but it had metered parking on the perimeter only. We found a former church, now housing a charity, with a parking lot in the shade. We sat there to visit. After several minutes, I realized I could see Nathaniel’s face in the outside mirror, the mirror that tells you objects are closer than you think. Duh! His long toes were wedged under my seat. I would have squirmed if he had wiggled them under me.

The boys posed for one closeup as we said goodbye on the campus. We had a wonderful time together and hated to see the day end.