Take a Walk in My Shoes

I've been thinking a lot lately on the topic of perspectives. How our perspectives change as we get older, how perspectives and the ability to see from other people's perspectives is a beneficial trait, how perspectives can affect our day to day life and make our lives better or worse - for some reason this has all been on my mind since well before the holidays and I'm just getting around to writing about it. I think I will do a series on this topic so I can get it all out of my head and "on paper."

We'll start with how our perspectives change as we grow from being a child to becoming an adult.

I don't think all people take the time to really think about this topic but it can be so helpful in so many ways. For me, I'm hoping that remembering what my perspectives to different situations were like as a child can help me be a better parent. If I can remember what it was like to be a kid, that can help me understand my children better and hopefully relate to them more on their level.

For example, I remember a lot of what I was thinking at certain stages in my childhood and how I perceived adults and how I acted toward them. I can distinctly remember my thoughts and how I WANTED to act but was either embarrassed or too shy to actually act. And I can remember how I wished the adult would act or say something to make my situation easier. I am guessing this is probably a more general realization and that many people could probably relate to this memory.

Something more personal to my childhood and probably not something everyone can relate to is how my individual personality affected what I did, didn't do, behaved and interacted with others. For one thing, I was very stubborn. I still am, which DJ would testify to in a heartbeat, but I've at least learned when to stop being stubborn, or at least I'm getting better, whereas when I was a kid I didn't know that I was really only shorting myself.

When I think back to all those instances where I vehemently refused to do anything I was asked or told to do, I realized that really those things would have been really fun for me or at least produced a sweet memory. Instead thinking about it leads to a lot of regrets. I definitely feel for my parents who had to deal with their ridiculously stubborn child and I think I understand a little better now how hard it was probably for them to know that I was doing that to myself. They wanted me to have fun experiences and I absolutely refused.

HOWEVER, I have decided there is an upside to this. Even though I do feel huge regret sometimes for being that way, I feel like I am probably destined to have as stubborn, if not more, of a child because that's just how it works, isn't it? What comes around, goes around. And I'm sure my parents repeated that mantra as a small comfort when I was stomping my 5 year old foot on the ground in defiance.

So where's the upside?

The upside is that when I have my stubborn defiant little girl (let's be honest, boys aren't near this bad...), I will at least have somewhat of an idea of what's going on in that little head. And hopefully I can use that to my advantage and in effect, use it to her advantage and hopefully she won't have as many regrets when she gets older. 

Let's get one thing straight here before I end my discourse.

I don't blame my parents for my stubbornness. Or any of my regrets.

They really did the best they could and I'm sure they used all the tricks of the trade but let's face it, I didn't get my stubbornness from them. They are both very NOT stubborn. In fact they are often quite reasonable. So they didn't really have the weapons in their arsenal to face off against the tempest that was Nichole Spring Nelson.

My hope is that I can keep those memories,even when life becomes more hectic, and remember to "go to the mattresses," er, maybe "go to the crib" would be more appropriate here, and not just "fight" blindly when the going gets tough and challenging. I don't ever want to give up and I think remembering that perspectives are different at all different ages can help me to be a really good parent.

So there's the upside. There's always an upside in life. It's all about perspective!

Atlanta - Part 4

The latter half of our Atlanta trip was a busy one. We took in the Aquarium, the New World of Coca Cola and attended the game day festivities before the actual game for which we were in Atlanta for in the first place.







The Aquarium had a great variety of exhibits and I'm glad we went but at the same time I could have skipped it. There were sooo many people there when we went. You couldn't really take time to watch any of the animals because you were surrounded by people everywhere you went that were waiting their turn to see whatever it was. And my camera battery died halfway through. So I don't have any pictures of the 22 foot whale shark that we got to see or its smaller counterparts (and by smaller I mean, they were ONLY 17 or 18 feet long). That exhibit was probably the coolest and we were there during feeding time. I now have a better idea of how Noah was swallowed by the whale. Heck, he could have been eaten by a whale shark by the looks of things. When that whale shark opened his mouth to take in the food, it was like a vacuum sucking in everything within 10-15 feet of it. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately the exhibit for the Beluga whale was closed for maintenance so I would like to go back to the Aquarium some time when that exhibit is open and there are fewer people.

That night DJ and I were invited to a dinner hosted by a medical group in town that always hosts the medical teams of both teams during the Chick-Fil-A bowl. We took a big comfy bus with everyone from the UT medical staff and Virginia Tech medical staff to Maggiano's Little Italy where we were fed appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts and as much drink as you wanted. The food was delicious and DJ made some new contacts that will hopefully become useful one day.











On Wednesday we headed to the New World of Coca Cola, which was a tour of everything Coca Cola. It covered everything from the history of Coke to an animated movie of what happens when you deposit your quarter in the Coke machine to a 4D movie about Coke around the world to sampling Coca Cola-made beverages from all the continents to the impact of Coke on our culture. And at the end of the tour, we each got to take a bottle of Coke home with us that we had personally seen bottled. It was a great tour, especially for someone like myself that loves the Coke commercials and the marketing strategy of Coke. They really are marketing geniuses.

Finally Thursday came. Game day. At times, I forgot why we were even in Atlanta! But not on game day. There was a new feel in the air. People had arrived to the hotels and things were bustling. Don and Lorraine had arrived the evening before and we were ready to see the Vols kick some Hokie butt! But first we went to a parade that morning.





















The parade got us pumped up and then we headed to the hotel to warm up. Could you tell it was freezing?? In an effort to be as in the spirit as possible, we decided it was absolutely necessary to drink some Fuzzy Navels before the game. The Chick-Fil-A bowl used to be the Peach Bowl so it was absolutely necessary to drink Peach Schnapps before we headed out to the game. Oh and we ate Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

The next part of the saga can be summed up in two words. We. Lost.

Nothing more can be said. It was incredibly disappointing and I will share only one picture. A picture that shows the hope we still had before the game began.



To be honest, I don't think it even mattered to Don and Lorraine that we lost. I mean they definitely wanted the Vols to win but more than anything I could tell they were so proud to see their son on the field working hard and taking care of his team. If I would have taken their picture after the game, they probably would have still looked all happy. It was so much fun to finally watch a game with them in person!

Ok so that was more than two words about the game and I just have to talk about two other things. They had soap clouds that wafted to the ceiling during the game. They clouds were in different shapes appropriate for the game, like the Vols sign and the VT sign and the Chick-Fil-A symbol. And right before the game started, little stuffed Chick-Fil-A cows started parachuting from the ceiling for like 5 minutes. That was the best part of the whole night, even though I didn't catch one.

After the game Don, Lorraine and I (DJ had to finish up at the stadium) took the metro back to the hotel (best idea we ever had - it only took us 15 minutes to get back to our hotel whereas, if we had driven, it could easily have taken us over an hour). We were back just in time to ring in the New Year. We turned on the t.v. to watch the ball drop in NY, poured some more Fuzzy Navels, got text messages ready to send out at the stroke of 12 and started to count down! And just as it reached midnight, wouldn't you know, fireworks started to go off right outside our window?! Directly across from us was a fireworks show that actually was really good! We couldn't believe our luck! It was the perfect thing to make us forget the Bowl loss and really focus on the joy of a new year.

And that is the Atlanta saga. The end.

Atlanta - Part 3

I forgot to talk about this church in my last Atlanta post. I had heard about Christ the King Cathedral on Trip Advisor (where I do all my serious trip research) and decided we had to at least stop by and take some pictures. This is a BE-AU-TI-FUL church. If you're ever in Atlanta and have some extra time to kill, you have to stop by. It's in Buckhead, which is the nicer part of Atlanta, so the drive to the church in itself is fun. But the best part of this church is on the inside and unfortunately, I just couldn't bring myself to take any pictures. You know, people were praying, it was quiet and I would have felt really foolish snapping away on my camera. But oh man, I reeeally wanted to. (I took my in-laws when they arrived and my mother-in-law didn't feel the same sort of hesitation so I guess I should have just gotten over it and snapped away.) Anyway, the inside of the church is just gorgeous. I can't even do it justice with words, but I'll try. You try to picture it.

When you first walk in, you have to let your eyes adjust to the dimmer light and you notice that it smells like the incense they use during mass. The main front altar looms out of the dimmer light and you can see it is a large wooden piece that takes up more than half of the front wall. Everything is decorated for Christmas with red and white poinsettia plants covering the altar. There were two smaller altars on either side of the main altar, one held a big gorgeous nativity scene and I can't remember what the other one was.

It wasn't a huge cathedral but it definitely felt big. The walls were made of cement, which at first seems cold and stark but instead you realize that it gives the church a feeling of strength and stability. The ceilings were very high and supported with large round pillars that lined the side aisles. The pews and kneelers were cushioned with red material that showed signs of use. All that in itself gave you a sense of awe but then when you turned around to walk back outside, you saw one of the largest, most magnificent organs covering the entire upper back half of the church. The pipes sticking out looked like long skinny trumpets and it was bright gold. Centered on the back wall behind the organ was a beautiful colored stain glass window. It really made us stop and stand in awe. I so badly wanted to hear it play. I bet it sounded as magnificent as it looked.

So the stop we made at this church was definitely worth it and as I said before worth another stop to show my in-laws later on. They were as impressed as DJ and I were.

The next day, Monday, DJ only had to work a couple of hours so that gave us the majority of the day to explore. We had intended to take in the Coca Cola tour that day but when we arrived the line was immensely long, so instead we purchased tickets for Wednesday and walked around the Olympic Park across the street. They did a beautiful job building that park for the 1996 Olympics, and I would love to see what it looks like in the summer.

The CNN Center was on the other side of the park and we walked in to see if we could take a tour there but we struck out again. They were sold out till the next day. Instead we walked around some of the shops for a little while (I finally bought a UT shirt for the game) and headed back to the hotel.

That night we had planned on going to dinner and a movie but neither of us was really hungry yet and decided just to go to the movie and eat popcorn. We were very surprised to find out that the theater we went to not only sold popcorn but had an entire menu! And the theater didn't just have seats - there were tables with little buttons that you pushed to order from the menu. You could get whatever you wanted! It was probably one of the highlights of our trip. We couldn't believe there was such a thing and we had a great time ordering drinks (I had a glass of wine in my movie! Could it get any better??) and our dinner, which we ate while we watched the movie. I had chicken parmesan and DJ had beer batter dipped chicken fingers. The food was actually really good and they make the food as you order it so it was hot and fresh. We plan on looking for those theaters everywhere we go from now on. It was the best.

I have one more part - Part 4 - to share tomorrow and then the Atlanta saga will come to an end. It's been a great time so far!!

The Blues

As I try to get back into a routine after being gone for a week and then having company for a few days, I realized that I'm not ready for life to return to normal. I liked the hustle bustle of the holidays and being on a trip and having family here. I decided I have a little bit of the After Christmas Blues. I've been racking my brain to come up with something else that I can devote some of my time to. I'm drawing a blank.

My house is clean. (For the most part.) I don't have any projects in mind that I could complete. (Until I can start working on my office...more on that later.) I'm waiting for the library to have the next book in the series I'm reading but I'm third on the list so that might be awhile. I'm pretty tired of watching t.v. because I did a lot of that while in Atlanta and when we had company.

I think I need to start thinking outside the box.

I will inform you now that this, this unsettledness, is a Nelson thing. This cabin fever/after Christmas blues/whatever you want to call it when you feel the walls closing in on you and you just have to get busy with your hands and DO SOMETHING....it runs in my family.

Take my dad for example. Actually he is an EXCELLENT example. Every winter, you can bet gold on the fact that he will do something new and different. He'll take up a new hobby. He'll plan a trip. He'll buy new things. It's always something different. Every year there will be something to take up the dead time during the slow season.

One winter he decided to get involved in training airport security after Homeland Security revamped the policies in airports. That took him away for a few weeks at a time during the winter. Another year, he bought a semi-truck with the intention of helping my uncle transport cars to and from Denver and making some extra money. Another year he decided to buy the house next door and start working on making that into a lodge for the campground. Those are just a FEW examples. Trust me there's more. This year he bought an old refurbished 1960s or 70s (or some really old year, I don't know) pickup truck and re-energized an old hobby of researching old cars, which, of course, involves going to car shows all over the country. Him and my mom have several trips planned to Phoenix already this winter. I can't wait to see what my dad will come up with for next year.

But you know what? I really like this about my dad. I like that he has tons of interests and, instead of sitting around dreaming about what it would be like to do this, that, and the other, he makes good use of his down time and gets to it! And I like that I have the same desire to not just sit around and do the same ol' thing every single day. Life would really get boring I think. So I guess it's not really a curse to have this itching desire to always be DOING something in the dead of winter when there's not much to be done but rather, more of an opportunity to try something new and to start a new hobby or finish a project or gain more knowledge. I think God made winter, at least for the Nelsons, so we could be motivated to branch out in life.

That's what I've decided. Cabin fever/After Christmas Blues is actually a blessing in disguise. I'm going with that.

Atlanta - Part 2

When I last left you, I was just headed out to explore Atlanta for the first time.

Mission accomplished.


We explored it in and out. We first went to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and saw where Dr. King and his wife are buried. There was also a beautifully done museum and gardens that you could walk through. Obviously the gardens weren't much to look at this time of year but the museum was really well done. I was very impressed and actually got a little teary eyed at some of the exhibits. That is a shameful part of our history but so many great people are immortalized as a result.





We headed over to the Oakland Cemetery to take some pictures as we waited to hear what our dinner plans would be. I had heard the cemetery was beautiful in a cemetery sort of way so I thought it was worth a drive through. We saw some verrrry old headstones and some very ornate ones. It was pretty but we only spent about 10 minutes there with me shouting stop and go whenever I saw things I wanted to take pictures of. It was a lot easier than walking around but I think 10 minutes was about all DJ could take.

Once we heard that there were no definite dinner plans and we were on our own, we set out to find a yummy place to eat.





The only problem was, we had different ideas in mind about what we thought sounded good so we spent a good long time "touring" downtown and everywhere else. We eventually ended up back at our hotel and ate at one of the restaurants there. Isn't that just the way it goes sometimes? Dinner was actually pretty good and I finally got to try some authentic southern foods. I had chicken fried steak, collard greens and a whipped mashed potato concoction. I didn't think I would like the collard greens as much as I did!



We happened across a car on fire during our "tour." That was cool. A cop came flying around us we snapped away on our camera. I felt so touristy. Oh well.

More to come on Atlanta soon!