The next step in Hannah's acceptance to PA school was to actually visit Montgomery, Alabama. In fact, it wasn't until I needed to buy plane tickets that I actually knew where in Alabama Faulkner was. I had driven through Alabama multiple times as a child in the backseat of my grandparents' car on the journey from Lubbock to Tallahassee, but I had no lasting memory of any of it. I was delighted to see that it sits very near the panhandle of Florida which meant I had some understanding of the people there.
Hannah, however, does not ;-)
Everyone she has spoken to has mentioned one of two things: (1) the weather and what an adjustment that will be for a Michigander, or (2) the culture shock she will experience, living in the deep South. I have tried to explain to her, what it's like being a woman in the South, and it will be interesting seeing how Hannah adapts, or doesn't. She likes being unique, and she might not change at all, but I personally love Southern women, and Southerners in general so I wouldn't be upset if she came home saying "yes, ma'am" and "y'all".
But the weather? For the three days we were there, it was mid-80s during the day, and no joke, we didn't see a single person fanning themselves, or sweating in general. We, however, couldn't wait for the air conditioner to cool us off after just sitting in the car, putting the keys in the ignition! Hannah took a very zen approach to it all, and accepted what I had told her: living in the South is just moving from one air conditioned car/building/house to another. The only weather you need to endure is walking between those places! She quickly saw that I was right, and handled it really beautifully.
She had a list of places for us to see, several in Montgomery proper, and several others in Prattville (said "Pratt-vul") because Nancy told me that Hannah needed to look there. When preparing to land at Montgomery's airport (MGM--isn't that cute?), Hannah was relieved to look out the window and see green. She's so conditioned to living in brown desert when she's at school, that she was already happy. And I'm thankful that she's living just east of the Mississippi River--a goal that she has set for her future life in general. As soon as we landed, we headed to the first apartment complex, just minutes from her school and in the heart of the city. The green pool, the fitness room covered in boxes, and the condition of the front door told us that this probably wasn't the best place for her to live. And the same for the second place. So despite having more places to look at in the city, we headed straight out to Prattville. In fact, I changed our hotel reservation out to Prattville as well.
And sure enough, Nance was right. Prattville is upscale and has lots of shops and restaurants Hannah frequents, but mostly, it's SAFE. It felt SO safe in comparison. Of course, along with safety goes the price of housing, but for once, a Kennedy kid wasn't going to be slumming it during school--John and I both agreed on this thankfully.
We found several places where Hannah can see herself living, as can I, but with the recent housing boom and inflation, finding an available apartment is going to prove difficult. In fact, I think we may need to go with one of the most expensive options just so that she has somewhere to live. She'll keep calling this summer to try and reserve a spot, but we found several good options.
We also visited Faulkner University! What a teeny tiny little school, but what a darling place to call her own. It looks southern with beautiful lawns, and brick buildings with white columns. We stopped by the Eagle Spirit Store where the most expensive t-shirt was $12.99 (eat your heart out, M Den!), and then we got directions to the health sciences school. Hannah knew this before, but it was crazy to see a converted Burlington Coat Factory building, all gussied up, gutted, and brand spanking new (kudos to a school that repurposes a building that borders the campus instead of building a new structure). We walked in, soothed by high concentration air conditioning, and just took it all in. There was a security guard, so we didn't go far, but it was good to see where Hannah would take the next step in her career path. She left very excited, especially after seeing there's lots of parking (hello, shopping centers) and that it's all safe. I was happy to see it's a quick exit off the highway, so the commute shouldn't be too bad ;-)
My friend here in Northville had once lived in Birmingham, and all she could tell me is how much they loved living in Alabama. Well, what a beautiful thing that there is a temple in Birmingham, so I made a reservation for Hannah and me. (I have found through the years that if I go to an unknown temple with the kids before they move somewhere, they will go afterwards by themselves much more than if I don't.) The temple is about 90 minutes from Prattville (in Birmingham), but the building where the Birmingham YSA meet is on the way, so we swung by there to see the building and then went onto the temple. It's the exact same layout as the Detroit Temple, so I honestly think Hannah and I could've found our own rental clothes if we hadn't brought our own ;-) But there are beautiful windows in the dressing room, and the telestial room has a mural on the walls. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same, down to the conundrum of the celestial room carpet, table, flower arrangement and chandelier not being centered ;-) I could tell that Hannah was feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and with the Spirit, knowing that what she was doing and where she was going was the path Heavenly Father had laid out for her. I just admired her faith.
Without taking a day to look around Montgomery for housing, we ended up with extra time on our last day. One of my favorite ways to see a city for the first time is to do an online scavenger hunt, so we bought the one and only one for Montgomery. WE LEARNED SO MUCH! As we went around the city, first on foot, and then in the car when we were a couple of miles away from the starting point, we discovered the stark contrast in the history of the city: it was the birthplace of the confederacy (and the confederacy's first capitol), as well as the birthplace of the civil rights movement. In fact, it was in Montgomery that Rosa Parks first sat on the bus. I'm always a sucker for anything patriotic, so we took a tour of the capitol (which was not on the scavenger hunt), and I was in awe of the historical moments which had taken place in that building. And on the flip side, we could see Martin Luther King's church from the steps of the capitol which led us to several significant sites for the civil rights movement which left us both in tears.
It was a great introduction to the city of Montgomery, and I hope Hannah over the next few years, comes to love that city like a second home.
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| Sure was happy to see the lights of Detroit! |
We had plans to fly out of Montgomery that evening, but our flight was delayed which meant we were going to miss our connection in DC by about an hour. This meant, we would need to stay overnight in DC, and then fly the next day to Laguardia, and then onto Detroit. I was sick about it all--I just wanted to get home. Unbeknownst to me, Hannah was praying that our second flight would be delayed as well, something that I wouldn't even consider praying for. What a surprise when we landed in DC to discover that our connecting flight WAS delayed and was actually boarding as our wheels touched down. But then, we couldn't put up to the jet bridge, and I figured all was lost. But I told Hannah to run for the gate, and I would wait for our gate-checked bags (yes, it was one of those tiny planes where all bags are gate-checked). Well, she did, and while I was waiting, she called and told me they were holding the door for us, but only for a minute more. As soon as I had both of our bags, I ran down the terminal to gate 59. There was Hannah, waiting. We threw our boarding passes on the scanner, we ran down the jet bridge and they closed the door. When we got on the plane, everyone was seated, and an announcement came over the speaker, "Boarding is now closed." I had been attempting to stifle a panic attack from the moment I had started running, but obviously it showed on my face, because did not only the stalling jet bridge guy tell me "It's okay. You can stop running now," but the man who was seated in front of us looked back and me and told me it was okay. And the flight attendant came up to me and offered me water. Admittedly, I had tears running down my face, and I was sucking air through my mask, but I just sat down and wondered at the miracle. It was at that point that Hannah told me she had been praying that we would make the connection...and wouldn't need to stay overnight...and I wouldn't need to cancel my temple shift the next day.
That's the faith that can move mountains and that can get a musical girl into PA school when all odds seem against her. Yeah, she's gonna be just fine.
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