To Tennessee and Back Again...The Tale of Brooklyn's Travels - Part Four

My cell-phone morning alert (set for 6:30 am) jolted me from pleasant sleep, and I opened my eyes to a beautiful Tennessee spring morning. The Campbell's red mini-van (driven by Mr. Campbell), was heard going down the drive, and you could hear Mrs. Campbell stirring about in the kitchen. Hannah Arentson (age 19) and Brittnie Miller (age 19 too!) were groaning in their bunks and attempting to wake up. I gingerly crept down the ladder of the bunk bed and ran to the window, pulling the curtains back to get a peek outside. Since it was quite dark when I had arrived, I really
had no idea what my surroundings looked like. It still seemed unreal that I was actually in a different state, and at the home of Colin and Nancy Campbell! In fact, to this day, those two months shine like a bright golden dream and it seems as if I just imagined it all. Except for the fact that I keep in touch with everyone. Okay, enough of this rambling! Back to the original story...

Hannah informed me that I really needn't get up that early, and that Mr. and Mrs. Campbell didn't really care if we came to breakfast on time or ate in our room. (I found out after the girls left that that was not true, and yes, Mr. and Mrs. C are very strict about meal times and 'sitting up to table.' Oops!)

After I was ready for the day, I walked through the french doors into the main part of the house, and Mrs. Campbell greeted me with a strong hug. My first impression of her was a kind, cheerful, on task / duty driven person who steers a straight course throughout her day. Mr. Campbell came in a bit later, and he was very different from what I had expected. Tall, kind, with a commanding prescence, yet a bit of hillarity, he was the exact complement to Mrs. Campbell. During my stay, it was so neat to see how well they complemented one another.

Hannah, Brittnie and I had a hurried breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, and then went downstairs to the office promptly at 9:00 am. There, they showed me the 'ropes' of office work. I learned how to locate and ship items, enter magazine subscriptions into the database (aka "Squirrel Mail"), take credit card orders over the telephone, do donation / money orders, and run credit card orders through the machine. This last task held a bit of difficulty, as one of the girls had been improparly running transactions through as authorizations instead of sales. In other words, Above Rubies was making no profit on items sold for the past 3 1/2 months. Hannah showed me how to run everything back through (force transactions) the machine, and what to do if anything went wrong. It was a long, un-eventful, yet rewarding day. I was beginning to worry about how I was going to manage without the two girls.

We climbed back up the stairs and began to help with dinner. Hannah and Brittnie showed me where all the dishes and food were, and disclosed the secret food stash in our clothes closet. They solemnly bequeathed all their food to me, since they were leaving tomorrow.

That night at the dinner table, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and the liberian children went around and gave 'eulogies' to Hannah and Brittnie. Devotions were completed, we said our good - nights, and went off to bed. [Here I must note that Brittnie left after dinner to go stay with Rocky and Monique - the Campbell's son and daughter - in -law. She was to be their nannie for the next year.]

Bed time came and I wearily laid my head upon my pillow. It had been a busy day, and I was eagerly looking forward to tomorrow. Little did I know that on the morrow, I was to experience my first tornado warning!!

To Be Continued...Stay Tuned!

To Tennessee and Back Again... The Tale of Brooklyn's Travels - Part 3

Well, the airplane did not crash, and the terrorists must have forgotten to hi-jack it. We safely landed in Nashville, when I instantly became so nervous I started to shake. Joy graciously walked me to the baggage claim signs, and I placed a call to Mr. Campbell, informing him that I had arrived and was ready for pick-up. But, there was no answer. "Oh no!!" I was beginning to panic, "I'm alone in a strange part of the country, and no one is answering!!" Trying to calm down, I hoisted my bags and walked to baggage claim. On my way, I telephoned again, and still there was no answer. Then, there they were! Two Above Rubies Girls, and Mr. and Mrs. Campbelll's two adopted daughters. They were holding a sign, and I was so relieved to see them.

They helped me get my other two bags, and escorted me outside. Opening up the doors, I felt a blast of heat, and just about choked. When I left Seattle, it was 45 degrees outside, and had just snowed a few days earlier, and I was dressed accordingly. Let me tell you, DO NOT wear a wool skirt, long sleeved shirt, sweater, and heavy stockings to Tennesee if you are planning to visit. That simply is not the proper attire for 85 degree heat with full humidity. Imagine my discomfort when the girls laughingly said, "Oh, our Ruby mobile doesn't have air conditioning." "Oh, yeah, ha ha ha! Don't mind me if I just curl up and die back here from heat stroke."

Our journey ensued and there was another shocker in store for me. The speed limit on the freeway was 7o mph! Our freeways are mostly 6o, until you are about 1 hour, south bound only, down the road.

The Tennessee countryside was lush, beautiful, and green! It was so gorgeous that a deep part of my soul that loves natural beauty was satisfied. We were all having such a jolly time, looking out the windows and chatting that we made a wrong turn which resulted in an hour long detour. By this time it was dark, we were lost, and very hungry. At about 8:45 pm Hannah, (one of the Above Rubies girls) said, "Oh, look! We're somewhere in Dickson! Isn't that interesting that we're in a town that we know. Let's go to Shoney's for dinner..." Anyway, by this time I had contacted my mother with the comforting info that I was lost in a strange land with strange people going to some unique southern restaurant called 'Shoney's." She was quite worried, but was attempting to stay calm. I promised to telephone her after we were done with dinner.

Exhausted from my flight, and still dying in my wool skirt; the girls dragged me into the restaurant. It was buffet style, and I was to later learn that buffets are a Tennessee thing. It was so weird to hear all the people talking so strangely. I felt alone and afraid in this restaurant with options on the buffet like swiss chard and some beef / vegetable thing on rice. That was another eye opener for me, to learn that Tennesseans (sp?) love swiss chard. I mean, the swiss chard was good, it's just that it isn't served in Washington restaurants. Common restaurant vegetables are: potatoes, corn, carrots and beans, not swiss chard (or 'silver beet' as New Zealander's term it.)

We rushed through our dinner, then went to the counter and paid. Here was another 'culture shock' for me, as the waitress spoke so thickly with her unmistakable southern accent. Drawl would probably be a better term for it, as it sounded so slow and slurring. No offense to any southerners reading this, but I by far prefer our more cultured speech up here in the Northwest. :o)

On the road again, we drove down a long winding country road, and turned in at the driveway of a large house. "Here we are!" The girls said "The Campbell's seem to have gone to bed already." With that, we quietly walked through the large house and up the stairs. It seemed like a dream that I was actually here; in the home of Colin and Nancy Campbell!! The girls showed me to our room and we all prepared for bed. As I lay in the top bunk, I could hear frogs croaking through the open window. "Tomorrow is going to be SO fun!" I thought as I succumbed to the power of sleep.

To Tennessee and Back Again...The Tale of Brooklyn's Travels - Part Two

The woman next to me introduced herself and continued to chat away. "Isn't it wonderful that only two of us are here on this row...there is so much more room this way" and other comments helped ease my nervousness. She was such a kind lady, and sympathized with the fact that I was leaving my family for two months. Joy proceeded to tell me about her family and her two children (both boys), and all their interests. It was such a relief to realize that this was a kind woman who wasn't some crazed psychopath! But, when she realized that her youngest son and I were about the same age, she began directing more and more of her conversation in his direction. It soon became apparent that this mama was 'daughter-in-law shopping' and that became slightly disturbing until I was able to divert the conversation.

Note of warning: stay away from nice mothers who have eligible sons. It can be dangerous out there. Anyway, back to my story...

The flight was long and uneventful, and I snapped pictures at an amazing rate. My chatty companion didn't leave me much time to devour "Uncle Tom's Cabin", so the entire flight was punctuated with interesting remarks like, "Oh, these Oreo snacks are so good. You must try some. I had some on my other flight and they were really good. By the way, do you like soccer? My youngest boy is very athletic.." Here there was need for diversion so I remarked: "Did you see that interesting mountain back there? Here's a picture of it!" and "I have to use the restroom, will I die if I stand up and walk there?"

Oh dear, that was a bad decision on some one's part. Of course certain well meaning engineers designed airplane aisles to be about 6 inches wide, so of course unsuspecting passengers trying to walk somewhere will incidentally collide with certain grumpy travelers elbows. This situation can turn serious when the aforementioned grumpy traveler happened to be holding a cup of water in the hand attached to the elbow that was bumped. To top it off, when you apologize, the now irate traveler's wife will invariably shout "Of course he's not alright!! Just look at him! He's all wet!"

At least the flight attendant understood my plight and handed me napkins, which I in turn handed to the grumpy traveler's wife who was attempting to dry poor Herman's lap. Anyway, Herman and his wife continued to sizzle as I passed them on my return trip, and the glares scorched the very deeps of my soul. Dear Joy, inquisitive as ever, remarked "What happened back there?" I wearily related the events and she calmly berated them as 'creeps who could have for seen these events by keeping their elbows to themselves.' Since she was in an aisle seat, she kept me updated on how they appeared to be feeling. At this moment, the intercom system came on and told us to keep our seat belts fastened. The plane began to shake, and looking out the window, all I could see was fluffy swirling whiteness.

To Be Continued...Stay Tuned...This Could Take Awhile...Check Back Soon!!

To Tennesee and Back Again...The Tale of Brooklyn's Travels - Part One

On Wednesday, April 30th, I set forth on a 3,000 mile journey by plane to the new and exciting land of Tennessee. My purpose for leaving? To work in the office of Nancy Campbell, editor of Above Rubies magazine. Feelings of excitement and fear of the unknown struggled for expression, resulting in a jittery / ditsy Brooke who sadly exasperated her long suffering parents.

"What do I do if my bags are too heavy and they won't let me take them??" and "What if the security guard refuses to believe I am under age and tries to sabotage my flight plans?" " Maybe terrorists will hi jack the air plane and dump my limp body into an arid desert. Will you guys miss me?" These questions and more plunged me into a wave of fear, and slightly disturbed my already worried parents. It was a step of faith for them to allow me, their one and only baby girl, to fly across country and stay with total strangers for two whole months. But, God's hand was in it all, and my parents safely escorted me through the security guards, and onward to my gate.
As we were sitting there, looking out the massive windows and seeing my airplane quietly resting on the ground; my mind flashed back to the circumstances that had brought me thus far...

I was sitting at our dining room table, the morning sun was glittering and dancing through the window, illuminating the Above Rubies magazine that I was thumbing through. As my eye ran down the page, I saw a picture of four girls that appeared to be around my own age. This piqued my interest, and I decided to read the article. Nearing the end of the editorial, there was a blurb about girls being welcome to come to TN and stay with Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, in order to help Mrs. C. out in the office! I ran to my mother and said, "I want to go so badly! Please!!" AND, can you believe it? My mother had been thinking that I should go to TN ever since she read that article herself!! Mommy suggested that we pray about it and seek God's will in this matter. So with that, I walked away and prayed really fast.

Well, time went by and I eventually stopped praying about it. The desire was always in the back of my mind, but I wasn't very committed to praying. That Spring, Mrs. Campbell came to Olympia for a retreat, and my mother and I attended, hoping to meet Mrs. Campbell and ask her more questions. Oh my, that was awkward!! Mrs. Campbell thought that I was like 24 or something and started asking me questions like, "Well, and what do you do?" Very hesitatingly (I was scared to death of her!), I lamely answered, "Well, I do school work and cook dinner." From the look on her face, she clearly showed that she was not impressed. Trying to fix the situation, I hurriedly added that I was only 14. Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed "Of course you would still be homeschooling. I am so sorry! I thought that you were about 24 and was a little surprised at your answer." She laughed and after a little more discussion, she agreed to let me come when I turned 16, although she usually prefers to have older girls. I was so excited and relieved!! Anyway, months passed and the excitement wore off, and realism reared it's ugly head. Questions like: "How will I pay for this trip?" worried me to a frazzle. Finally my mother had to take me aside and tell me that this was in God's hands, not my own. (Do you see the pattern here, as God was drawing me closer to Him?) More time passed, and I was saving money as quickly as I earned it from my piano teaching, and from working at the swimming pool. Finally, January of 2008 came, and my mother made the fateful call to Tennessee. Dates were talked over, and schedules were compared. Finally the dates of April 30th to July 1st were scheduled in, and airplane ticket purchasing was starting to begin. God provided the rest of the funds for my trip, and my tickets were purchased and my anticipation began to mount! I, Brooke Parsons, was actually going to fly all by myself to a strange new part of the country. It was a positively exciting adventure!!

All this and more came to mind as I continued to wait in the airport with my parents. As our last few minutes came to a close, I began to realize that the people I loved most in this world were to be separated from me for two whole months. Suddenly the weight of this hit me, and I was almost in tears as I hugged, kissed, and waved farewell to my darling parents. Sitting in the plane and gazing out the window, I realized that I had just embarked on an adventure of a lifetime, but I was desperately homesick already. Then, the pilot's voice came over the intercom, and our plane launched into the wide open blue, leaving everything I loved behind.

To Be Continued.....

I Have Arrived!

Hey Everyone! I have finally returned from the deep southern state of Tennessee. Many adventures and many new friends, I would love to tell all about it. But... alas, there is such a thing as NO TIME!! So many responsibilities and other things keep me away from my beloved blogging. I shall post again as soon as possible. Until then, just be happy that I am back and that I have missed you all horribly.

Tootles!!

~Brooke

Farewell Until July!

Hello Everyone!

I will be quite busy for the next two months, so this blog will not be updated for awhile. Look for another post sometime in early July. Have a extravagantly jolly couple of months. Are you all looking forward to summertime?? Can't wait for the warm, sunshiny weather!!!

Farewell my dear bloggy friends, until we meet again!

In Christ Alone, Brooke Parsons

Good Times

Hey Everyone!! It's been awhile since I have blogged, hasn't it? We have been very busy, helping some dear friends move, having my niece stay with us for the week, etc. It would be very fun to do a long blog post now, but I have to do Algebra lessons! So...here's some pictures documenting the time that I have been away. :)

A Day of Happy Moving:

The Van is being unloaded into the new happy home
Chris, a very happy mover
My mom, another happy mover
Gabe, a happy mover showing off his macho-manly strength Drew, a happy mover trying to look bored, but utterly failing

Four happy movers, eating a happy meal
Thumbs up to Mr. Cornutt! He's the most amazing and happy mover that ever was!

A Week With Gracie:

Kitchen Photoshoot - Picture OneKitchen Photoshoot - Picture Two

Gracie At Swim Lessons
A Puppetshow Designed and Written by Gracie
As Gracie would say, "Hey guys, it was really, really fun."