What We Miss About "Home" - Franklin, TN - Parte Dos!!

Rusty at the Factory

Today, February 15th, marks the 1 month anniversary of the start of Our Awesome Middle-Aged Adventure... or at least the Panama part of it (We actually consider the real beginning to be over a year ago, when we vowed to change our lives.). Back in December, 2011, we wrote a post about what we thought we would miss about Franklin, TN, our home in the States. If you are new to this blog, see: our original "what we'll miss about home" post .

As it turns out, we do fondly remember and long for the people, places and things we wrote about back in December. While we don't consider ourselves to be "homesick," let's face it... there are certain things that you can't bring with you, and these particular people, places and things come to mind today.

History, charm and authenticity... these are characteristics of Franklin that we love. A great example of this is how the old stove factory, left derelict and abandoned for many years, was transformed into The Factory. The Factory has shops, restaurants and  meeting spaces for churches, music lessons, karate, etc. Additionally, the parking lot is where the Farmers' Market is held every Saturday. This sculpture ("Rusty") stands tall and proud at one of the entrances, and he is made of all sorts of cast off metal gizmos that we believe were gathered here during the transformation of the building. Rusty is arriving for work at the factory, all  ready for the day. And he even brought his lunchbox..!

Here's a full-length view of Rusty - He's huge!

Embarking on an adventure always means that new people will come into your life in surprising and wonderful ways! Back in September, 2011, Tom and I had to move out of our little duplex in Franklin, and with only 4 months remaining until our exodus to Panama! This meant that leasing a new place in Franklin would be out of the question, so Tom and I did something that we never considered doing: we became roommates with a person that we didn't previously know. It could have only been the work of God that brought us together with Stacey Carden, who had just decided that her 3 bedroom home was just a little too big for one person! As soon as we learned that we had to move out of our place, we got online and checked Craigslist. Lo and behold, Stacey had just placed her ad for a room for rent. We wrote to Stacey and asked her if she would consider renting the room to a couple of crazy people who had sold almost all of their possessions and were planning to go off traveling. Being the easy-going free spirit that she is, Stacey said, "come on over!"

It turned out that we all got along famously - 3 "mature" people who love to eat, swap stories and laugh - and those 4 months sped by. It made us all say repeatedly, "Why did we not do this months ago?." Besides allowing Tom and me to save a lot of money for our trip, and give Stacey some good income on her unused space, it was just FUN. As we moved into Stacey's place with just the stuff we were planning to bring with us on our trip (half of which eventually ended up at Goodwill anyway), it really brought home the fact that we were actually DOING THIS.

While in residence at Stacey's House of the Wayfaring Travelers, we got to be the grateful recipients of our host's selfless hospitality: not the least of which are her amazing cooking skills. Stacey makes the best pot roast in the world. Many folks who know her will agree. And it's not just the pot roast. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn casserole...the list goes on and on. And she's not shy about using the butter! And being the outgoing soul that she is, and one of nine kids (or is it ten? I lose count), there are always friends and family around her. We were fortunate to get to know Ann, Stacey's delightful Scottish mom, as well as her good buddy Linda, and when we mixed our kids into the group, it was always a party. When we left Stacey's house on January 14th, there were hugs and tears and we will always have love and gratitude in our hearts for this very special lady!

Two of the classiest ladies in Franklin: Stacey and Ann Carden.

By now everyone in our orb knows that I am a great lover of espresso, and Starbucks is my "habit." I'm not being paid to shill for Starbucks, and yes, I realize that other places sell espresso. But my Starbucks experience has always been about the people who work there as much as the coffee. For some reason, Starbucks seems to attract employees who are typically cooler, funner and nicer than other places. Or, as Tom theorizes, it might just be me, since I tend to talk to everyone. Whatever IT is, the point is that some of my dearest friends work at the Cool Springs Starbucks and Jesse is one of them! No matter how bad his day might be going, you would never know it.

Our dear friend and favorite barista, Jesse Estrada.

Another great thing about Franklin is the Harpeth River. Even though the Harpeth got a little bit "out of hand" a few years ago and flooded part of the town, it is typically a very tame body of water. The river snakes through Franklin, and you can cross over it numerous times as you pass through town. Here in El Valle, the Rio Anton does the same thing, and Tom cracks me up as we walk around town, crossing the "Panamanian Harpeth" over and over.

The Harpeth River winds its way through Franklin.

In the months preceding the Adventure, Tom and I worked as much as possible to earn money for our trip. In addition to my "main job," I also worked weekends at a local department store called Stein Mart. Tom increased his hours at his job, so we really did not have much time to spend together during the weekends. Knowing that we would have plenty of time to spend together on our trip made it all worthwhile (although the waking up at 4 am some days for Tom did get old). While we don't miss WORK at all, we do miss some of our former co-workers (Tom sez: "ALL of mine - those kids're good kids!"). During my last week of work at the mortgage company where I was a compliance manager, there was a wonderful goodbye luncheon thrown in my honor by the sweetest co-workers anyone could ever ask for. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to Amber, Brian, Clay, Brittany, Stephanie and everyone!

Susan's former colleagues at her going away lunch.

Now, for the greatest "void" we are feeling today - we miss our family! We miss Tom's parents and sister and brother-in-law in Tucson, Arizona and my brother in Albany, New York, and my dearest friend Shari, in Brooklyn. And we miss our kids, Thomas and Alex, like crazy! Both of them are students at the University of TN, and are very busy with classes, jobs and activities, so they probably don't miss us quite as much. We are looking forward to Spring Break when they will visit us here in Panama and we get to act as tour guides in our new home.

Our kids - Thomas and Alex - at UT's Neyland Stadium

Now here's a quick rundown of all of the "other stuff" we miss about Franklin, TN:

Everyone knows by now that Tom and I enjoy good grub. While Panama has fantastic dining options, every now and then we crave a taste of home. The following Franklin restaurants come to mind at present:

• The Bunganut Pig. I dream of their perfect hamburger and onion rings, sublime Spring, Summer and Fall evenings on the patio listening to live music, and the fact that their professional wait staff can take your order without needing to write it down (and they get it right 99% of the time!). Tom misses their ribeye steaks, onion rings and the friendly atmosphere of the place. We always felt like friends, rather than customers, every time we showed up.

• Jersey Mike's. A regular number 7 on wheat, thankyouverymuch. Mayo AND oil and vinegar. Heaven!

• Chick-Fil-A. Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Nothing more needs to be said.

• Mellow Mushroom. Kosmic Karma pizza and Capri Salad for me, Funky Q BBQ Chicken pizza for Tom and the cool libations of our choice. A table with a view of the square would be great! After dinner, we'll take a walk down the street to Starbucks and Sweet CeCe's for coffee and dessert.

• Shane's Rib Shack. Tom's go-to for down home BBQ ribs and a large sweet tea. I'll have the loaded baked potato. Mmmm  mmmm!

• Logan's Road House. Another place for delicious ribs. I took Tom here for his first TN meal, and it sure did give the right impression!! I love the blackened tilapia and a nice big sweet potato with butter and cinnamon.

There is a lot more we miss - such as the way people pray before meals and no one looks twice (here in Panama we are a bit of an oddity in restaurants when we say "grace," but that's ok!); the way "strangers" on Main Street start chatting and become friends; the way that a "Kroger Alert" can occur with just the slightest threat of a snowstorm.

So, Hello to everyone in Franklin! You are always in our thoughts and prayers!