Onward | Making the best of it

BY MICHELE MILLER
What’s What New Port Richey

July 14, 2020

“These are the moments of clarity and declared priorities when we make up our minds in an instant about what matters most and drop everything to see it through.“

And so that is why a couple of weeks ago we found ourselves embarking on an impromptu road trip to Nashville, Tennessee after the youngest daughter’s car was totaled in an accident by a careless driver.

Thankfully no one was hurt. Even so, it was the latest in a series of hard knocks for the youngest who was having a difficult time finding a new/used vehicle that would fit her budget. After a couple of sketchy interactions at local car dealerships, one where a finance manager tried to talk her out of using her very good 2.5% pre-approved loan with Suncoast Credit Union, she was hitting a wall and we were hitting the road.

“Pack your bag,” I told the old man after hanging up with our daughter who was sitting in the parking lot in tears.

These are the moments of clarity and declared priorities when we make up our minds in an instant about what matters most and drop everything to see it through. It’s a parent’s prerogative, one that drives a better purpose in revealing the strength in family ties that go both ways.

“No worries, one day you’ll be changing my diapers,” I joke when the youngest protests that the proposed trip is too much.

But it isn’t.

It’s just right.

Fortunately, we are able to act. As retirees, we have the time and the means – if we tighten our belts over the next couple of months or so. A bit of waning stamina, too, reminds us that time is of the essence.

And so a bad turn unfolds into an adventurous trek north that leads to some well-spent moments in the Music City.

Best of all, we get to wrap our arms around the girl we haven’t had a hug from since Christmas.

Finding a new ride turns out to take a couple of hours at a no-nonsense, bottom-line dealership that we drop in on a whim. The 2018 Hyundai Elantra with only 5,274 miles just came on the lot. Our timing is perfect. The monthly payment is affordable.

Add to that – getting to sop up a little more of Nashville, including taking a free and very enlightening self-tour of the Nashville State Museum which goes on and on and happens to have a stunning temporary exhibit of paintings of the Smoky Mountains.

We order take-out from Five Points Pizza (it’s the best!) and enjoy a fine dining experience at the upscale restaurant where our daughter is moving up the ladder.

“She’s a rising star,” her boss tells us while stopping by our table to say hello. An anonymous donor picks up the tab.

We catch a matinee of the movie, Elvis. Make a promise to get to Memphis to see Graceland next time around. Finally, a return visit to a favored breakfast spot – a cute little place on the outskirts called Eggstravaganza that’s become a traditional last stop on our way out of Nashville.

We exchange teary goodbyes. Watch her drive off in her new used car. Then hit the road again, this time venturing on an excursion down the scenic Natchez Trace Trail which we discover roles right on past the final resting place of Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

You learn something new every day.

It’s an impromptu side trip that we’ve been meaning to take, one that brings us down some winding backroads that unveil both the upper crust and underbelly of Alabama. Scenes you can’t take in from a plane or wouldn’t see at all if life didn’t happen the way it does with good and bad turns.

We cross one more thing off our bucket list. Hit the road again, and head on home.

All in all, it was a very good week.

Thanks, universe. :}

Now onward.

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